John, There are a lot of good Techs out there that are reasonble and good. You just have to find them.
Most "good" mechanics are "reasonable." The biggest problem is most people's idea of "good" is too high and "reasonable" too low.
My dad was diesel mechanic and I was always fascinated with mechanical things . . . it was only natural that I thought I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps. After spending a year in auto mechanics at Walker Tech, I ventured out into the world of making attempting to make a living as a mechanic. Within a few months I was back on the doorstep of the employer I had left to attend mechanic’s school begging for my low wage job back.
I still enjoy mechanicing . . . but only on my own stuff. I can’t bring myself to charge someone else what it would really be worth to work on their vehicle for a living. The average person on the street wants to take a vehicle to a mechanic when it giving problems (usually from a lack of preventive maintenance or ABUSE) and have the mechanic wave a magic wand, have their car back on the road in a matter of minutes and hand them a bill for no more than $20 - $30 for the work. When it takes them a week and the bill is $450, their mechanic is sorry, slow and a rip-off artist.
They don’t stop to consider that doing it right takes time. Getting parts can sometimes take a lot of time. There may be other jobs already in front of theirs, so it may take some time just to get started. Parts are expensive. Some are VERY expensive. Bought any good tools lately? They are REALLY expensive. In addition to the work at hand, the mechanic also has to charge for the overhead of the shop and running the business. If you think balancing a checkbook once a month and filing a 1040 EZ once a year is hard, try keeping the tax man off your back running a business! If your engine is making a loud knocking sound down in the bottom end and you haven’t changed the oil in 50,000 miles, you’re probably looking at some serious downtime and money. When you consider everything that it takes for a mechanic to pull off even the simplest jobs – Shop overhead, tools, parts, time, etc. – don’t be quick to label the mechanic sorry or a rip-off when it takes a lot of time and money to get your car back.
If you find a mechanic who will work for nearly nothing, you gotta ask yourself “Why.” If you’re not willing to pay a good mechanic a reasonable price for his services, you better be buying up some tools and manuals . . . doing it yourself is going to be your only other option. And sometimes, that’s not a “good” option. But, after you’ve screwed up a few hundred dollars worth of parts, broken your wrist, busted your head open, lost half a dozen expensive tools and set your garage on fire, you may see just how good and how reasonable that slow, sorry, rip-off mechanic really is. And like David said . . . have a smile on your face when you go to see him. :wink:
