Have you Ever Met an Honest Mechanic

[rdanz]

Driving 30 yrs never met one yet

[placo1]

My mechanic is honest. I recently brought my car in to him convinced that I needed a new timing chain and oil tubes. Rather than agreeing with me he checked it out and convinced the engine was running perfect and explained the noises I would be hearing if I had a problem.

I had also asked him to repair/replace my power steering pump and after taking everything apart he stated that the hoses were the problem, not the power steering pump. He saved me a ton of money and my car is running perfect.

They are few and far between but I find that people on this forum have narrowed down the good guys and always strongly recommend them.

[Kuan]

Have you not met Steve Brotherton rdanz?

Kuan

[Holson Adi]

Yeah my mechanic has saved me a lot of money.. by telling me to do things by myself (I admit i'm lazy) or he'd help me do it myself when it's a little challenging.

My radiator started leaking from the top neck. I asked him if he could replace the hoses and he insisted that it's just the clamp. But I wanted the hoses replaced anyway.. but he told me to go home and put the new clamp on (he gave me one)... a new clamp and voila.. perfect...

I know two great great MB/Euro car mechanics and I think I'm sticking to this brand from now on.

[rdanz]

Originally posted by Kuan
Have you not met Steve Brotherton rdanz?

Kuan

No Should I?

[Kuan]

Maybe, or perhaps some of the other guys here who help us out gratis. Like Benzmac perhaps

Kuan

I have a very honest mechanic if I can't do it and I would trust him with my first born. (when I have a kid)

[Ashman]

search this site for MR Mb Motors or Enrique.

He is my mechanic, and is as honest as they come. he runs a proffessional operation, and wont let you replace parts if they dont need to be. He is always on the outlook for your safety and the vehicles well being.

I also have anothe rmechanic, who works on my dad's range rover and my brothers, and he is great too, and my fathers rolls mechanic is also top notch.

Honest mechanics are easy to find, look for referrals in your area from friends.

And not to mention the techs who frequent this forum, steve, mb doc, donnie, guido, alain, and the rest of them.

Alon

[ebennz]

Originally posted by rdanz
No Should I?

YES.

especially if you don't feel there are any honest mechanics.

peter

[rdanz]

Originally posted by ebennz
YES.

especially if you don't feel there are any honest mechanics.

peter

OK where is "honest" Steve located?

[blackmercedes]

Steve is one of the very skilled and highly valuable resources that frequent this site, helping us MB freaks for nothing. No dinero for Steve for helping out.

And his advice is nothing short of incredible.

But, here we go again. All mechanics are bad, all so and so..

Not all mechanics are dishonest. I know many mechanics that keep themselves in business through honesty. I know that the profession has it's bad apples, like any large group of people.

As I am fairly knowledgable (for a lay-person) concerning my car(s) it's tough to put one over on me. But, it's rare that someone tries to.

I do stay away from large chains like Sears/Canadian Tire/etc. as they often have dishonest business practices that means they attract dishonest employees.

There is a long list of terrific professional mechanics that support our efforts to keep our MB's in top form here at MB-Shop. And I'm sure they are just the tip of the ice-berg...

[ebennz]

Originally posted by rdanz
OK where is "honest" Steve located?

www.continentalimports.com is located in gator country.
gainesville to be exact.

where are you located? [we can't tell because your profile doesn't say]. i like some privacy too.

when i had the stem seals replaced on my car, i drove to florida to meet steve and have them do it.

i have a good mechanic here and a very good relationship with my local m.b. dealer. i may end up in florida sometime, so i thought i'd try them out. I WAS NOT DISAPOINTED.

anyway it's like some of the other guys have said honest good mechanics/technicians are out there.
a few bad apples can sower [sp] a bunch, but not the whole barrel.

when i go in to a service dept i know [most likely] i need them more than they need me. it doesn't hurt me to be nice and try to joke around and "warm them up a bit [to me and my problem]"

we've all been screwed and IT AIN"T FUN !! we all know what you're saying.

have you looked in the 'good m.b. shops' section here?

peter

[hill]

Most of the mechanics I worked with for 13 years were very honest. However some of the dealerships and chain store managers were not. Be very afraid of places that will not allow you to talk to the person that actually does the work. Some service writers and managers think their Enron execs.

Five cannibals are hired as engineers in a defense company. During the welcoming

ceremony the boss says: "You're all part of our team now. You can earn good

money here, and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat. So please

don't eat or nibble on any of the other employees". The cannibals promise to be

good. Four weeks later the boss returns and says: "You're all working very hard,

and I'm very satisfied with all of you. However, one of our janitors has

disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to him?" The cannibals all shake

their heads. After the boss has left, the leader of the cannibals says to the

others: "Which of you idiots ate the janitor?" A hand rises hesitantly, to which the

leader of the cannibals says :"You fool! For four weeks we've been eating

Supervisors, Team Leaders, and Project Managers and no one noticed anything,

and you have to go and eat someone who works for a living!"

[suginami]

The mechanics that I've used have been overwhelmingly honest.

My problem is that most of them have not been very good diagnostic technicians.

I just feel I've paid dearly for their "stab in the dark" mentality, throwing parts at the problem until one of them finally fixed the problem.

I'd conjecture more than half of the parts I've had replaced on my car were done so unnecessarily.

I don't mind paying for diagnostic time, but don't like paying for parts that shouldn't have been replaced in the first place.

[blackmercedes]

When it comes to "throw parts at it" dealerships, this is not an indication of a dishonest mechanic.

It is a symptom of:

1. Dealers not being paid proper rates for warranty work. As dealers do all of the warranty work, they are under pressure to replace a part quickly and get the car out. The mechanic has a disincentive to properly diagnose the problem.

2. Dealers have high labour rates thanks to free loaner cars, free latte's, and other amenities. At $85+ per hour, folks just are not willing to pay for true diagnosis time. If the dealer told you that they could try to find your stalling problem, but it could easily cost $600 or more before even fixing the problem, most people (me included!) would faint and leave after regaining consiousness.

This a failure of the public and car makers. The public has demanded highly complex cars with a large number of gadgets and geegaws, but want it to be as reliable as their Sony FM radio. Car makers have responded, and cars have gotten better and more complex. But when something goes wrong, watch out! Dealers have not invested in the depth of training needed for their service personel, and I understand why. Highly trained people are in demand, and they can walk out with that expensive training at any time.

Also, the public is paying record high prices (as a percentage of income) for cars. Cars have more content, but people spend lots on it. A Corolla today is similar to a Caddy of not too long ago. Given that such a large part of their income went into buying the car, the last thing they want to do is put more money into keeping the car up.

Leasing has solved part of the problem, allowing people to "buy" a new car and not worry about long term operating costs. Makers have moved more product, but created a glut of good used cars. Some makers have taken BILLIONS of losses on residual values.

With the rush to introduce new models and new technologies, the repair shop can't keep up...