what do you expect from your mechanic?

[ben131185]

dropped off the au at the local mechanics this morning for a service.
he asked if it's running alright, i said "yep, pretty good. but sometimes a bit rough at idle, maybe its the plugs or something" he replies "we won't do that on a minor service..."

i found this to be a bit annoying...

aren't these the things that are meant to be diagnosed at a service?

i can change the oil and filter myself for $30, so why would i pay someone a couple of hundred to just do the same thing?
the reason i take it in is because i expect a workshop to have tools/equipment/more experience than i do.

we've been taking the car there for a couple of years and spent a bit of cash in there, i don't have any prob's with paying for what needs to be done, i just want to keep the car in good condition.

also in the past, this mechanic has highlighted this and that needs doing when i pick the car up at the end of the day, and said to bring it back when i want it done. mechanics i've been to in the past normally call and say "this needs doing and the cost will be $$$, do u want us to do it?".... yep get it done.
its a bit of a pain in the *** as then i have to book the car in again, find time to drop off/pick up and be without the car for another day.

should i be looking for another mechanic or am i expecting a bit much?

[ratter]

your mechanic should do what ever you are prepared to pay for.

N normally tuning work is not done in a minor service, but they should be prepared to look as long as you are prepared to pay for their time

[Legit290]

I expect my mechanic to fix things that are broken I tell him about
If he finds things I don't know about I expect a phone call before he goes ahead and hits me with a big bill at the end I am not ready for.

[revcore]

Originally Posted by clarkey117

I expect my mechanic to fix things that are broken I tell him about
If he finds things I don't know about I expect a phone call before he goes ahead and hits me with a big bill at the end I am not ready for.

Bang!!! Right on the money Clarkey. Luckily I have a mechanic that does just that.

[sikford]

i expect whatever job it is, to be done properly, but i have gotten sick and tired taking it to ppl that are suppose to know what they are doing and when the car comes back, they have stuffed something else on the car, i came up with a simple solution for this exact thing. I recently purchased a hoist and am in the process of buying a fair bit of stuff(tool wise) to set up my garage as though it was a workshop as so there is more or less nothing i will have to get done by anyone else, i normally do everything myself unless its a specialized thing such as the new gearbox i had built for the car in which i still did 90% of the work anyway. the reason alot of people take their cars to someone, whether it be a mechanic or something else. Is purely because they just dont have the time to do it themselves.

[ben131185]

Originally Posted by sikford

i expect whatever job it is, to be done properly, but i have gotten sick and tired taking it to ppl that are suppose to know what they are doing and when the car comes back, they have stuffed something else on the car, i came up with a simple solution for this exact thing. I recently purchased a hoist and am in the process of buying a fair bit of stuff(tool wise) to set up my garage as though it was a workshop as so there is more or less nothing i will have to get done by anyone else, i normally do everything myself unless its a specialized thing such as the new gearbox i had built for the car in which i still did 90% of the work anyway. the reason alot of people take their cars to someone, whether it be a mechanic or something else. Is purely because they just dont have the time to do it themselves.

it would be awesome to have a hoist at home that's for sure, but i'm not going to be in a position to get my own hoist in the foreseeable future. i also don't have the time to always do all the work myself. and i don't really have all the mechanical knowledge i'd like to be doing all my own work.

[sikford]

Originally Posted by ben131185

it would be awesome to have a hoist at home that's for sure, but i'm not going to be in a position to get my own hoist in the foreseeable future. i also don't have the time to always do all the work myself. and i don't really have all the mechanical knowledge i'd like to be doing all my own work.

Was just a food for thought kind of thing. I know there are a few of the other boys on here that have done the same thing and it takes time to get into the position to take that road.

Cheers
Dan

[Papa Smurf]

I don't have a mechanic to work on my car as I would like to know it is done first time RIGHT. I do my OWN work and that suits me fine.

[Maka]

Hi there ben, a service is not troubleshooting, just replacement of consumables. It might be the mechanics policy not to ring about work needed not sure why, though the mechanic maybe realises things are tough atm for everyone, have chat with him & give him instructions on what to do if he finds a problem. Communication is key when taking a car to the mechanics for any work.

cheers, Maka

[Gassy]

I recently took my BA to an Ultra tune in Western Sydney (not sure if i should name). My car is in great nick with only 60,000kms on it - paintwork is superb. This particular franshise is family owned, when i dropped the car off their 12 year old ish boy was muck assing around in the workshop and his father chipped him over it.

After picking up my car, which was parked pecularily for pickup. After driving home, i got out and immediatly noticed a nice sharp dent on the front passenger quarter panel, (which is why i didn't notice it on pickup - I was filthy.

Rang up and the owner asked me to bring it in for a look, he then agreed to have the dent fixed, (which he did), but in the meantime his wife came out and abused me saying we're not paying for it we didn't do it - I said but your husband has agreed to - she patted him on the back and said in a nasty tone - well then good luck with that!

Now up until now they have been superb - I really want to take my new 2013 SZ to him, his work and care in the past have been A1 - but honestly i don't trust his missus, nor like the idea of kids in the workshop.

I suppose what i am trying to say in relation to this thread is i expect my car to be looked after whilst in the care of my mechanic.

At the end of the day i felt like i had done something wrong - by them suggesting in a round about way that i was bullshitting them. - I reckon the husband knew it was done in the shop - i could just sense it.

[4ford]

Well . . . "well then good luck with that!" How did you go?

When I returned a little early for my newish car in a large workshop a few years ago, I found two mechanics sitting in it and eating their lunch!
Both front doors open with the stereo going flat-out, (One had his foot up on the dash!)
I literally hit the roof, and physically removed them from the car personally!

I had them vacuum the mess out and never, ever went back there, and best of all, I 'asked' them in a 'dark' tone to post me the account, as I was not able to bring myself to pay right there and then, but only got a letter apologizing for the conduct of the staff, and they didn't charge me, pity it wasn't a major service!

The bottom line is that I expect a level of ethics from my mechanic that is in tune with him working on a very expensive piece of equipment I own, and, in all things to do with that I expect honesty and integrity.

[ben131185]

i used to go to an ultra tune, i found this one quite good. a mate of a mate used to work there so maybe that had something to do with it.
anyway he no longer works there and i don't live in the area any more so i stopped going there.

[Maka]

Gassy, have a chat with the bloke & nicely tell him your thoughts (feedback) about your experience. He will be happy to know where to impove his business.

4ford, i would've done the same mate lol! When it comes to integrity & ethics i'm sure the majority is with you. You would think those guys would know better, imagine if those guys were doctors - no thanks umm, scary lol!

I guess i'm lucky to be able to do alot of work on motor cars & bikes, been doing it for years, but the best move though was joining here @ AFF, learnt a hell of a lot about my AU (& still learning), met some great like minded people & saved a lot of hassle, time & money also!.

cheers, Maka

[SantoAU]

I expect my mechanic to know what he's doing. Sadly, I am my mechanic

[peterljohnson55]

I expect my mechanic to solve my problems, not create them.

I have also learned over the years that never request a mechanic to do this and that, rather ask for work that is performance-based. He is the professional so let him decide what has to be done. That doesn't mean you don't discuss the job but make it clear that if he determines what the problem is and choses a method or procedure or certain parts and 'his' job doesn't address the requested level of performance then it will be his loss, not mine.