Comments on: Local Mechanics Slowly Disappearing

By: AndyGF

AndyGF — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:45:01 +0000

I agree with you and Alborz, the automotive world is going the ‘specialist’ route… Good thing if you ask me.

By: MattP

MattP — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 04:35:45 +0000

Alborz and others are correct, find a good independent mechanic who knows your brand and they will treat your car as it deserves for the right price.

The best way to find one is to get in touch with your local car club for your brand, their members are not backwards in recommending mechanics who treat their pride and joy correctly.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:02:27 +0000

If I owned a dealer service work shop and had to buy the latest and up to date diagnostic equipment and pay for my workers to have specialized training I would charge a premium too.

Q,I there a change a mistake will made.
A, Yes. But no more and probably less than a general mechanic.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:35:40 +0000

Dealerships are ruthless. charging large amounts for simple jobs with unexperienced workers that get paid peanuts. I have been in the industry for 30 years and have some horror stories to tell. Dealerships make huge proffits and you can see it in the frontages. Big show off offices fancy lighting and all the things to make you feel welcome so they can suck you dry so the fat cat that owns the joint can drive some fancy car and say look at me.

By: rachid

rachid — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:39 +0000

hello actualy i’m a special worker on wheels cars and i work at a garage of Balance wheels in the same place i work as a mechanic as well ,i have been worked and i learned and experienced very good for a long time as i’m sure i don’t find any problem on what i do i can repair any kind of wheels ( normal car and pick up and truck ) by machine or even by my hands too as i know everything about the car’s pieces i try only to tell you that i good worker i have found this site accidently but before i was really looking for a job so but i have not found a place to work yet i think i’m so far away and as i’m wondering that i have a big problem to get there to work with you because it is a long distance between here and there anyway all i what i have is e’mails
rachid_yasini2@hotmail.com , rachid_yasini@yahoo.com
hometown is ,,neighbourhood is Lalla lyakout , N° 261 . TOWN IS Khemisset in Morocco
home , phone is ,, +21237550502

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Hi Ern, my husband just purchased 18 Bend Pak hoists for his dealership in Melbourne. Great hoists with loads of safety features. Are you sure this was a Bend Pak? They are made in USA. We even saw the factory over there last year when we went to SEMA.

By: Ern

Ern — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 05:47:38 +0000

All the small workshops who have purchased Chinese Hoists will soon be dead anyway! How in hell do these tin cans get passed adr, and how did they get all those quality certifications.
They are dangerous crap. I have just seen an “American Bendpak” made in China rated at 4 tonne that struggled to pick up a Commodore sedan. It had safety issues all over it, and I would not stand under it for any money.
Wake up, this is not engineering, this is design by price. Within 3 years you will have to pay people to take these piles of crap away!

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:07:55 +0000

Excellent suggestion, local mechanics moving into specialising can offer customers an alternative to manufacturers franchised service departments. Not sure that warranty work could be carried out and reimbursed by the manufacturer I would suggest that the vehicle would have to then go back to the dealer so that it was approved. Here’s a suggestion. If you prefer to service with your local mechanic, perhaps you should ask him or her if they are capable of carrying out diagnostics and or repairs on the model you will be buying. Also ask the dealer how your warranty could be affected by choosing not to service your vehicle with them (even so much as the incorrect additives and lubricants used can result in the maufacturer declining a warranty approval). I do hope that local mechanics can continue to survive. Techicians must evolve at the same rate as new models are developed and manufacturers will always have the advantage with they’re franchised service outlets due to they’re latest tooling and technology. Does this make Dealers thieves ..?

By: Bavarian Missile /

Bavarian Missile / — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 11:43:34 +0000

Axe,not sure if its bashing but dealers command top prices to service your vehicle. One would expect them to not leave bolts undone,install parts correctly,to diagnose problems correctly and not just throw parts at it,not to get lip from smart arse service managers.Also to have the most up to date diagnostic equipment available . Yes we have changed dealers when we were not happy with the warrenty service from one ,but had another and another . Last one refused to work on the car again after we posted their stuff up on Ford Forums. Yes small mechanic workshops will fix cars under manufacturers warranty,but the manufacturers wont pay the small mechanics normal hourly rate .There are only so many dealers you can use,then you run out! Only thing we found dealer trained mechanics were good for in our workshop was changing wiper fluid,tyre black the tyres and waisting bloody time!

By: Axe

Axe — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:46:39 +0000

Yep as usual more dealer bashing.

If one dealer is a “rip-off”, then don’t use them any more. Dealership service centres are far better now then they have ever been. Yes they do also make mistakes, but don’t we all in our own jobs?
We the consumers demand more safety, more gadgets, better economy, more power, so what else should we expect? There is no way the local mechanic will be able to keep up. We ourselves drive the technology and complexity in cars, not dealers.