same mechanic/shop or where ever is cheapest?

[SandrA9810]

the other topic on cars got me wondering...
Do you use the same mechanic shop for all your repairs, or do you take it to certain places that "specializes" in certain things?? Like jiffy lube for oil changes, just brakes for brake jobs, aamco for tranny problems.

We used to kinda go where ever to get things done. Then when we moved to orlando, and discovered car care at MK, we only ever take the vehicles there. I recently took the truck in because it wasn't right. Spent 50 on a diagnostic, and got an estimate of 900$ for repairs. I told kari what they said and gave her the sheet. Well she asked a friend to help front the money and would pay back when the tax return came. Well he gave her an extremly hard time about spending hundreds on a brake job, and replacing the sway bar. But she refused to go any other place. We both have a lot of trust in the guys there, and have probably saved us thousands of dollars on labor between the two cars. And they're extremly honest when it comes to how bad the problem is.
And there's times that they'll show me what's wrong, i go buy the part at auto zone and do it myself.
It's also nice that they have all the records of what we've had done to both cars over the years. So there's no guessing of what has been done.

 

[NikiM20]

We have a friend who is a mechanic at a dealership. He
does all of our work for us.

 

[bumbershoot]

Before the days of DH, I used the dealership for everything.

Now, DH and most of his friends are really good at repairing things that they know about, and diagnosing things they don't know how to fix, plus DH is really good at calling mechanics on any BS they might pull (he has helped out MANY women at his office save hundreds at a time simply by giving them the right words to use or by actually speaking to the mechanics for his coworkers...I've experienced the rotten sexism that happens at some mechanic shops myself, and I'm glad DH is there to help me and his female friends). One of his friends has a lift, and his brother has a whole shop setup with a lift, and his brother works at a dealership.

So we're pretty much set for repairs!

All that said...I don't go to Jiffy Lube for anything. Not even if you paid me. Actually, they paid me, and I let all of their freebie coupons fall in the trash, because it wasn't worth the risk. Those quickie jobs they do cause them to damage cars, and mine was damaged, I needed a new rear axle because of their incompetence. When my dad went in to talk to them about it (he'd come up to visit me to put in that new rear axle), they were astonished that he "only" needed $400 to pay for the axle, because they'd just replaced another (former) customer's brand new Cadillac, for the exact same thing, from the exact same bit of incompetence.

I'd go just about anywhere over JL.

 

[mikehn]

If you found a trustworthy shop, I would stick with what you have. There is nothing cheap about auto repairs. Every shop is going to make money off you, one way or another. My criteria for a good auto shop is convenience, one that will accommodate my schedule.

 

[NMAmy]

An honest mechanic is worth his or her weight in gold and I stick with them for everything when I find one.

I used to work at a car dealership as a service advisor. Most places are anxious to court business from female customers. And in my experience, it's easier to fix the real problem when someone comes in who hasn't tried to diagnose their own issue. Think about it. Someone comes in and says, "I need my brake pads replaced." The mechanics do that and then the customer (usually a male) says, "Well, you didn't fix the problem--I'm hearing a squeaking noise and just assumed it was the pads." Then he's paid for brake pads AND then has to go on to pay to fix the actual problem.

Tell the mechanic what symptom you're noticing and be specific. Demonstrate it, if possible. Ask questions and if they're condescending or don't want to explain all repairs fully, take it somewhere else. They're really not out to get female customers at most places that value repeat business.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I currently use my dealer for repairs.

But they have an ongoing $15.00 oil and filer change which also includes a full inspection as part of it. Ford calls for servicing every 7,500 miles, but I will also get an oil and filter change overy midpoint between routine servicings. And every 4th oil change is free.

My latest safety inspection (at 33,500 miles) showed that I should give serious thought at my next routine servicing of getting my tires replaced.

 

[SandrA9810]

the great thing about these guys, is they're not sexist. They take me to the back and will actually show me what the problem is, where it's coming from, and what they have to do to fix it.
And of course my first question is always, how long before i do more damage?
Kari's parents came down to the fort for the first time in their "new to them" RV. The inside rear wheels needed a bit of air, so we took it over to them. Which they normally charge for air for RV's cause they're a pain to do, but they did it for free. And told them they should replace all 6 tires because they were old and showing signs of dry rot. Gave them a quote of 800, they said no thanks. Went home to plan their next trip north, and halfway there, one of the tires blew, and they spent more money having to replace them all.


They definatly are worth their weight in gold.

 

[descovy]

I stick with one mechanic...

now, he is not open weekends, and does not do tires... so a local tire shop that he recommended we use for tires, weekend oil changes.

I think it has saved us money in the long run because he has the history of the car (repairs). At least once, we had an O2 sensor replaced in our van and less than a year later, check engine light came on again. It was the same O2 sensor that went out prior. If if went to any old mechanic, I would have payed to have it fixed twice (it was a "faulty" part) once at the first mecahnic, and again at the second.

Best advice in total is learn your owners manual. For example, I have an '08 prius. For the first 100k miles no regular maintence is scheduled... beyond oil change and tire rotations every 5000 mi. So why change it at 3000mi? Because the lubey-lube told me to?? The dealership sends postcards in the mail... a 30k service for *only* $100! What a deal!! No, my owners manual says I need nothing different than my usual $20 oil change/tire rotation.

 

[PaulaSue]

As a Co-owners wife I say after the warranty is up, go to the same place to get all done and they know what has been done and will take GOOD care of your car/truck. We also do tires, SI, EI and lots of other things but not body work.

Now I am not taking about Sears or a big place like that. I am talking about a mom and pop kind of shop who cares about their customers and cares that you are happy and will come back. We have mechaincs who have been there well over 10 years and not changing every few months/years like the bigger places.

 

[shortbun]

I would never price shop for an auto repair. I've seen what cheap repair jobs can become. For years my cousin owned a car repair shop, mostly for foreign sports cars but he had a couple of guys who worked on BMW,Volvo and Mercedes regular cars as well. I used to hang out there a little because we grew up together and were close. When I needed work done, my cousin often did it with me and taught me what to look for, how to do things and what was important. The biggest thing I learned hanging around there as a youngster was to detect BS from a mechanic. You MUST find a mechanic or body shop who really know their craft and you should be prepared to pay for it or learn how to do it yourself. Cuz still has all his diagnostic machines although he sold the shop years ago and travels to teach others how to repair certain cars. His right hand man has a body shop for exotics now and that's a really interesting field-the care that is taken with humidity, tools, paint, temperature and so forth when doing good body work versus just putting something back together for insurance is quite different. I've been known to drop in and watch the work being done on my cars. Mechanics get kind of antsy until they find out I know enough to carry on intelligent conversation-then the calibre of their work often improves. There is a code among car people. Get educated and get good service.

 

[wdwfan16]

We use the dealership for problems we think are above the ability of our normal repair place. Our normal place is very honest with us if they feel it is out of their ability. They then tell us to go to the dealership.

Stuff like brakes are billed by looking up the number of hours in a book that is used by all auto mechanics. The price per hour is what you can control. Find out the hourly rate to compare.

Our dealership had a higher hourly rate than our regular repair place.