What Could Go Wrong When You Hire The Wrong Mechanic
When you do not have a personal mechanic, you should be very careful who you let work on your car. Like anyone, mechanics can claim to be an expert in their field. I once let someone work on my corvette. After interviewing said mechanic, I felt absolutely confident that this mechanic had the know how to fix my little red corvette. After all, he said, “I know everything there is to know about corvettes”. Three weeks later, after many attempts to get the mechanic on the phone, I decided to pay him a visit.
When I arrived at his lot, I noticed my baby was sitting in the same place where I left her. I walked into the office and said hello. Immediately the mechanic started to say he had a little problem with the ignition and he would have the car put back together by tomorrow. He proceeded to take me to my corvette. What I seen was horrific. There in front of me, sitting in the driver’s side seat, was about a few hundred parts. The mechanic pointed out that the key had gotten stuck in the ignition and he had to take the steering wheel off to get the key out.
I started to get a little peeved off. The key is locked in the key whole on purpose. You have to put this corvette in reverse to take the key out. There was nothing wrong with the key. The key was not locked into the steering wheel. . . I did not know what to do because I was in a pickle. I could not find anyone within 50 miles to work on my corvette. The corvette was an older corvette, so it was easy to work on. I could have fixed it myself if I had enough time. So, I crossed my fingers, told the mechanic I had complete trust in him, and I left the scene.
On the way home, I keep telling myself, this guy can’t be a complete idiot. I am sure he can fix the little things that had to be fixed after he puts my steering wheel back together. Sure enough, about three months later, and close to $1500 worth of work, I got my corvette back. The cap on my steering wheel kept falling off when I was driving, the horn did not work, the back wheel locked up thirty minutes after I left his shop. So, what is the moral of this story? Make sure you know your mechanic and know them well. My back wheel locking up could have killed me in the wrong situation.
Here is what you need to know when you need your car worked on
- Make sure you know your mechanics certifications. If the mechanic is any good at all, they should have several kinds of certifications. If he or she doesn’t produce for you some kind of certifications, walk away. If the wrong person works on your vehicle, they can do more harm than you can ever imagine. I know of a First Sergeant when I was in the military. I used to operate a M1A1 main battle tank. This person put the hydraulic fuel in where the oil was supposed to go. The tank, which cost millions of dollars, had to be pulled away. Don’t let just anyone work on your vehicle.
- Go online, check with your friends and family, ask strangers, but do what you have to do to make sure that a mechanic knows what he or she is doing before they ever touch your vehicle. No days you can go online and find out the darnedest things. Try googling their name, their company name, and whatever you can think of, and you might be surprised what you find out. There is a really cool website called yelp.com. I would check on yelp first thing. If the mechanic messed up someone’s car, then I can bet you they are on yelp.com.
- If the mechanic works for someone, or own’s a shop, then they should have some kind of affiliations. If they are not associated with other mechanics, chances are they do not know as much as they are pretending to know, and you could be walking into a trap.
- Look for a mechanic that is willing to show you what the problem is. Some back yard mechanics will tell you that they know what they are doing, but what they are hoping is you will leave your vehicle with them, so they can spend the day trying to figure out your problem. A real good mechanic will know what the problem is before ever offering you a solution. The will walk you through what they are about to do to your vehicle and explain parts and labor to you.
- Go with your gut. If you gut tells that this mechanic is bad news, then trust your feelings. Some people crafty when it comes to getting you to fork over money, they know how to manipulate your feelings. Do not get emotional. Always take time to think over your decisions. If you rushed into a buying situation, you could regret it later.
Make Sure You Know Who You Are Dealing With
The short of it all is this: Don’t let anyone work on your vehicle. Go with a trusted mechanic. A mechanic that can show you happy customers, certifications, positive reviews, and etc. This is the kind of mechanic you want to work for you.
Beckley Services dot com is a register that is brand new to the area. Our goal is to present people from Beckley with trusted service people. If you know a trusted mechanic, lawyer, etc. have them contact us. In the following months, we will be filling up the slots of all the major services in Beckley with top notch service technicians. Bookmark our page because you will want to come back here and get the right person to work for you.
