They exist. But they’re expensive and usually backlogged.
But yea, I do most stuff myself (humble brag). This weekend I’ll be changing the struts and tie rod ends on one of our Saabs. It’s an easy and fairly inexpensive job, and will probably save me at least $300. I also do brakes, exhaust, electrical, sensors, and anything that bolts to the engine.
And I don’t do it just to save money. I get a certain amount of satisfaction doing it. Plus I’ve learned a lot about mechanics and using tools, which has come in handy where I work.
Yep. I’m replacing a head gasket and broken intake manifold studs right now. Brakes and all that fun stuff are pretty easy, and I feel happy when I get them done.
The cooling system on one of my BMWs is a weak spot. I’ve done the waterpump so often, I can whip it out in record time. It’s a “Lifetime Warranty” part, so that’s good.
Yep. A local speed shop is owned by and employs several of my former students that have pleasant memories of me. I always get good, fast service without getting “extra” costs tacked on. The shop is within walking distance of the house as well.
I have a very bad mechanic – me, and a superb real mechanic to fix what I break and do stuff that requires actual knowledge 8 * ) He is pricey (still less than the dealership), but his work is exquisite and he’s very honest.
I loved the guy who owned the shop about ten minutes walk from my house. About 12 years ago, I mentioned to his son (who was clearly being groomed to take over) that I was thinking of buying a new car. He asked me if he could buy my 17 yo car when I did. So the following May when I was ready to buy a new car, I went over to the station as asked for the son. There was a new owner (one of the old mechanics actually) who told me the previous owner had sold it and moved back to Greece (where he was from) and refused to say anything more on the subject. I was really devastated because I had trusted him so. But the new owner has turned out to be, perhaps not as friendly, but as decent to me as the previous owner, so I cannot complain.
There’s a shop down the road that my family has always used, meaning 4 adults with 4 cars, for over 20 years. So they know and like us.
The owner is approaching or over 60 so who knows how much longer it’ll be around. I don’t know if he’s got people coming up under him who would take over or not.
My cousin’s a great mechanic so if I ever felt something was questionable, he’s there for a second opinion for me. He just has a full-time job and lives a half hour away, so he’s not my mechanic.
Yes, I do. I do a lot of my work myself, but I have a mechanic that I take stuff to hen it is too involved to do in the driveway or requires more detailed diagnosis. I could get the work done for less money elsewhere, but I’ll gladly pay extra where I know I will get honesty, integrity and quality - every time.
Ugh, I suspect my 328i is about due for this - I’m closing in on 120k miles. Mind-boggling how long this has been a BMW issue!
As far as the question, I do my own work. My plan currently is to use the dealership for whatever I can’t do, as they’ll be pricey but do solid work. No one I’ve met since moving to KY is happy with their repair shop, with several using some guy who does work in his driveway with parts you buy.
Yeah, my E39 and E46 cooling systems bit the dust at 133 and 148K. I hope enough changes have been made that the X3’s lasts longer (I’m not optimistic).
I’ve got a guy. He (and his team) does very good work.
Every time I’ve needed some work done, he’s never asked me to make an appointment but rather takes me on a walk-in basis. Granted, there’s usually a wait of a few hours but his shop is right on the bus line that goes from his front door directly to my apartment.
The last time I needed some repair (through no fault of my own), he quoted me an out-the-door price which was less than half of what the insurance company was going to charge me. They even finished the work a lot sooner than expected.
To make matters even better, when I bought my new vehicle he offered to help me sell my 20 year old clunker. He even got me $100 on top of my asking price.
They do good work and he’s VERY honest. And he remembers me every time I come in. Good stuff.
This. For the first few decades of our marriage, I don’t think anyone but me touched our cars. Ditto for the house, deck, wiring, plumbing, roofing, tile, etc. I figured out looong ago that these guys aren’t supermen. If they can do it, I can do it. For years mizPullin referred to these skills as our “third income”. Not only do the savings add up over time, learning these skills will allow you to own expensive stuff (bought used and cheaply) unavailable to the average Joe. Though like most here, I view transmissions like I do outboard motors; A combination of voodoo and magic that’s best left to the experts.
I’m a lot older now, and my health, wealth, and level of interest have reached the point that I no longer do this. Boat, car, truck, or RV, I just drop them at the dealer and let them deal with it. When I bought my last truck, I declined the salesman’s offer to peer under the hood. I told him I had no plans to open it. (I literally saw the engine for the first time when I added w-washer fluid)
The thing about your mechanic being helpful when selling off your car is also a good sign you’ve found someone right. I always could rely on my former guy in that regard. He knew the condition of my car and knew who would pay for an older but still reliable car. And that the buyer might continue to bring the car to him.
In my 20s and 30s I’d buy the Haynes(?) Manual for whatever car I owned. With that book I could change brakes, replace thermostats, troubleshoot issues, even replace ball joints. It probably took me 10x the time it took a pro, but I always got the job done.
I suppose I could still do this, but I cannot afford to. My time is worth too much to waste a whole Saturday working on a car.
I’ve known some of these old mechanics (and similar in other fields) over the years. I suspect that many of these people are not really making much money doing what they do.
IME lot of these guys own the building they’re in and thus aren’t paying rent, and are also at a point in life where their living expenses are very low. So they don’t need to make much money to keep things going, and they only keep it up because they like the work they do and don’t really know another way of life having been doing it so long. But it’s difficult for a younger up-and-coming guy to replicate that.
When younger guys take over those businesses they try to keep the clientele while increasing efficiency by hiring low-skilled/low-paid workers to do the simpler grunt work, plus they increase prices a bit. Sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, but replicating the old guy’s business model is even less likely to work.
Opposite problem. My time is worthless. Seriously financially irresponsible to pay someone to fix what I should instead of watching TV or playing with dogs.
I disagree. Wall to wall customers every single day is an excellent business model. A customer you know will be back after the next service interval is a good thing. Every one you lose needs another “blow-in” to happen by.
If a business wants to have an apprentice/low-skilled worker to work on my car then they don’t get to charge me the rates of a competent and experienced tradesman. Charging the same is trying it on, charging MORE means “goodbye”. “Increasing efficiency” doesn’t mean letting numpties loose and then having to fix what they’ve messed up. Handling more work than you or your staff is capable of, or capable of supervising, is going to lose you custom. (Actually, that’s exactly what happened when the “older guy” sold - I took it in for a routine service, they let an apprentice do it, and he messed something up, AND they had charged me more than the previous owner. I had an old car then, one with nothing fancy under the hood, I could have done it myself if I’d wanted to/had the time. Messing it up was quite an achievement…)
The older guy I used to go to wasn’t cheap, and nor is my current guy. They are/were reasonable and they don’t pad bills with nonsense or add ridiculous mark-ups on parts. They don’t/didn’t get any quibbling over their bills from me, because I know it’s been done once, and done right. They aren’t charging less than they should for the value of their skill.
EDIT: My current guy is a young bloke
