So, it seems there are some "old school" guys still out there.
After reading lots of threads on this forum, and others, it just looks like most car owners just have no idea how to properly maintain their vehicles.
Must be a lot of very rich people out there that can pay for something as simple as a basic service on their vehicles.
Or, are they poor, because they can't do it themselves?��

 

I probably could pay people to do my preventative maintenance but bad experiences at the local lube shop (mixed green antifreeze with my Dexcool) and at the local dealer (to fix my parking brake that came back worse), I went back to doing most all things myself. As long as I still get some satisfaction of doing the work, I'll keep on doing it. I am about 2x slower than a shop (at least) but at least I know the job is being done with care. The only major work I have had a shop do in the last 8 years was to replace a clutch in my 82 Honda Prelude and rebuild the transmission in my Blazer.

 

Yes, the trust element is always there, can these guys actually do the job correctly?
My wife's Subaru WRX had a 36k service which involved a brake fluid change, main Subaru dealership.
When she collected it, she phoned me to say the brakes don't feel right. I took it out when she got home, the damn car was LETHAL to drive. Told the dealer to pick it up on a trailer.

If you want the job doing correctly, do it yourself!!!!!!

 

I'm lucky in that the main shop I trust my Blazer to, the owner is a perfectionist. I've had him not allow me to collect the vehicle before because he spotted an imperfection in the job and demanded he be allowed to fix it, at no extra charge, before turning it back over to me. You cannot buy that kind of dedication and trust.

 

For myself, I do any work myself, until I get fed up or dont want to deal with the head ache, I send it up the street to a guy I found that does work out of his garage, for cheaper then any shop I find, and hes done a few extra things he ran into for nothing extra.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, is this guy certified/insured to do work on your car?

Yes we can all do maintenance on our own cars, but, if someone is charging you money for said work, that is a whole new ball game.

 

I DO TAKE OFFENSE to your comment - There is a lot of us out there that are not certified or insured anymore that do quality work.
I have worked as a mechanic in professional shops, worked out of my garage and have my large shop now.
Even tho I'm semi retired I happen to have repeat clients that would not take their vehicle to anyone else.
I do quality guaranteed work and don't charge a arm and a leg for it either ........

 

I am quite sure that there are many mechanics out there that do good quality work, and you appear to be one, or you would not have bit.
However, if you needed work doing at any of your buildings that required electrical work, gas work and general contracting, that would require permits, and to get those permits all those contractors MUST have insurance in case ANYTHING goes wrong.
Right?

 

This is simply not true in at all. In some locations it may be but in others as a homeowner I can walk right in to my city hall and pull building permits for whatever I need. That being said I'm not at all sure what that has to do with anyone doing work on someone else's vehicle for them? I work on other people's vehicles way more than I care but sometimes I'm a good friend helping out a friend in need and sometimes that friends friend needs someone they can trust so they call me and I make a few dollars while they save a few dollars. Most people that pay someone else to work on their vehicle aren't rich by the way, they either simply don't have the tools and/or knowledge or the space to do it themselves and news flash those people are the overwhelming majority and that's just fine because it allows all those mechanics to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads!

 

That is a great idea that I am going to do. I like the fact of cleaning out the debris, I also do that and around door hinges, and greasing them often. I have a lot of wind here and park outside under iron wood trees that have needles like pine.
L