Save Money on Auto Repair: Finding a Good Mechanic

People ask me for car care advice all the time. I think it has something to do with the grease under my fingernails. But unless you are going to describe a specific noise your car is making, or some weird symptom you've noticed, I can't be of much help. I can carry on long conversations with other car guys about problems and repairs and improvements and modifications, but it's doubtful I can fix your car around the water cooler in the office. Though there was one time I was able to tell my wife how to fix her car after two minutes on the phone, and she was able to drive to work, it doesn't happen often.

I can give you advice--and may even be able to diagnose and tell you the solution to your problem, but if you aren't the type to do it yourself or don't have a mechanical aptitude, you're going to need to find a mechanic. If you want to save money on your car repairs, you need to find a GOOD mechanic. One you can trust to diagnose what's wrong quickly, only fix what needs fixing, do things right the first time, and actually do what they charge you for.

On the rare occasion when I need something fixed that I don't have the time, skills, or equipment for, I can drop off my car anywhere and tell them exactly what I want done, and check that it was done. I'm not trying to sully the name of auto mechanics' everywhere, but it is a fact that in the state of California a mechanic is required to give you the replaced defective part when installing a new part. This is a simple attempt to keep the dishonest ones honest.

Where are you going to find a good shop? Or how do you know a good shop when you find it? Lucky for you we all live in the future now. Not only can you get the opinion of all your friends, co-workers and family members, you can easily access the opinions of total strangers via the internet. A few good places to start are Yelp, AAA and Cartalk.com.

AAA has been rating repair shops for something like one hundred years, so if a shop is okay, they should know. The Car Talk guys have been at it for twenty years or more, and if you've ever listened to their radio show, you know they tell it like it is--though often times with a lot of bad jokes thrown in. Yelp I am sure you are all familiar with. If a shop isn't providing good service, people on Yelp are going to be talking about it. Of course, even the good shops aren't perfect, but if multiple people like their mechanic enough to rave about it online, they must be doing something right.

The other thing, besides dishonesty, that will cost you more when it comes to auto repair is bad diagnostic skills. Most mechanics charge an hourly fee for repairs based on a standard rate table. If the table says it should take 3 hours to remove and replace an alternator, and the new guy takes 4 hours to do the job, they only charge you for 3 hours. But first, before they can fix the problem, they have to diagnose the problem. This is the most frustrating part of getting your car fixed. You can have a "drivability" issue that is more an annoyance than anything else, and spend untold hundreds of dollars having things checked, adjusted, flushed and replaced, and still have the same problem. The unfortunate fact is that most mechanics are just "parts replacers" who know their way around a tool box, but lack the deductive skills to diagnose some of the more complex problems.

With a little computer research on your part and just one tool you can help solve your own problems. On modern, computer controlled, OBDII cars (on-board diagnostics 2, used in everything since 1996), you can get a code reader, and decode any "check engine" codes your car has. All the computer is going to tell you, or your mechanic is an alphanumeric code like: P0138. This code can then be translated as: "O2 Oxygen Sensor Circuit High Voltage (Bank1, Sensor2)."

What does that mean? I don't know, but I can look the OBD codes up, and so can you. I have described it before an the automotive I-ching. It looks like the most likely cause of that error code is a faulty O2 sensor, a quick and easy fix. How smart are you going to look next time you go to the repair shop if you tell them to check and replace the rear O2 sensor, and check for a short in the wire connecting it? At the moment code readers are 50% off at Advance Autoparts. Get the code yourself and be forewarned, and forearmed. Another good thing to do is do an online search for your car, and the error code, and see what comes up. You may have a problem that is covered by a dealer service bulletin, or at least a problem that others have had and posted about in enthusiast forums, oft times with a solution.

On a personal note I like to go to a shop where the guys have moto-vehicular based hobbies. If I see a race car in the corner of the lot, or signs of a home built dune buggy, or a desert race bike, I figure these guys must know how to fix things. When you race things, you break things. When you can fix things quicker, or build things that break less, that can mean the difference between winning and losing. Finally, if these guys can fix your car all day, and still want to fix things after hours, or on the weekends, you know they are not just into fixing stuff for the money.

I also like a shop that isn't a mess, but is not too nice. I don't like to think that they are spending lots of money on their customer lounge to distract me from how much time and money I am spending there.

Don't be afraid to get a second opinion. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to do some research online. Do start a long relationship with your guy and your car by taking it in for simple things like oil changes, periodic maintenance, etc. If they get to know each other--and you--your mechanic may be able to catch problems and fix them before they become expensive.