Can You Trust Your Mechanic?

I came across this video on You Tube.  It documents a California TV station that sent an Investigative Reporter to 9 different Jiffy Lube shops in different towns in the area:

Can You Trust Your Mechanic?

While this appears to be a problem tied in with one individual, problems with mechanics isn't isolated. Most are honest, but there are enough bad actors there that you have to be careful. Even if they are honest, some do sloppy work. My own experience with the local WalMart here in Layton, Utah is another example.

I used to go to WalMart's Tire & Lube Express for oil changes... it was pretty cheap, and could be done while I shopped.

However, over the course of a couple years, I had numerous problems with their work:

1. Mechanic didn't check rear differential (drive axle) in my truck even though it's a part of the service and I had specifically asked them to check it. I was working under the truck a few days later and looked at the square recessed plug that is removed to check and fill the differential. It was covered with a thick layer of oily dirt, and obviously hadn't been touched in a while.  This was a major concern of mine since I had a leak in the differential and didn't want it to run out of lube.

2. Mechanic didn't check differential in my Toyota Camry. The Camry is a front wheel drive car like most cars today. Many of them combine the differential and transmission so they use the same oil.  This isn't the case with the Toyota. Although it uses transmission fluid for the differential, it doesn't share oil with the transmission and has to be checked separately.

  When I asked the mechanic if he'd checked the differential, he said that the car didn't have a differential because it was a front wheel drive!!  He even argued with me about it until I told him I would show him the fill plug... FWIW, All cars have a differential--it used to be called the "rear end" when most cars were rear wheel drive, but every car has one or the tires would scrub as the car turns a corner because the tires on the inside of the turn turn less than than those on the outside.

3. Mechanic didn't grease my upper ball joints on my truck. In this case at least the mechanic did tell me he didn't grease the joints saying he didn't have the tool to do so.  Problem is, my truck is a 1990 Chevy 1/2 ton 4-wheel drive--an extremely popular model with many still on the road.  It has the same suspension as General Motors trucks built from 1989 to about 1995--in other words, tens of millions of trucks.  If the mechanic couldn't grease my truck, he couldn't grease similar trucks of other customers. 

 4. When I got an oil change on my Nissan Altima, they checked the tires as a normal part of the service.  I had replaced the tires a few months earlier, and the newer ones had a higher air pressure rating--this helps increase fuel economy, though the ride is a little bit stiffer.

  I left instructions with the service writer that the tires needed to be inflated to 44 psi, as shown on the tire.  When I picked up the car, the tires looked a little low, so I asked the mechanic what pressure he had put in them.  He said, "32 pounds" which is normal for many tires.  I showed him where the order said to put in 44 lbs and that the tires were rated for it.  He argued with me, saying that he had went off the pressure shown on the door sticker on the car. He seemed dumbfounded when I told him that since my car had over 100,000 miles on it that it probably had a different set of tires on it than came from the factory.

5. You may ask why I continued to go back.  Convenience and price mostly. But each time I was more specific with the mechanic about what needed to be done to avoid the previous problem.

  The clincher came when I got the oil changed--again on my Nissan, and something told me to check the oil before I left the store parking lot.  I opened the hood, pulled the dipstick and noticed that the oil seemed pretty dark for new oil. I asked the mechanic about it, and he said that it was caused by some of the old oil that remains in the engine after an oil change. I was aware if that, but wasn't convinced that was the reason it was so dark. 

  I took the car to my local tire shop, and had them put it on the hoist.  I then took pictures of the oil filter with my phone.  I went back to WalMart the next day and spoke with the Service Manager.  I've dealt with him before, and he had always been helpful.  When I showed him the picture, he went and checked all the filter brands his shop used, but none matched the filter in my car (The oil had been changed at a different shop prior to this oil change). He talked to the mechanic, who finally came clean about it--he hadn't bothered to change the filter, even though I had paid for it, and for 4 quarts of new oil.

  The service manager had another mechanic do another oil and filter change on the spot. He apologized and asked what he could do to keep my business. I thanked him, but due to the other problems I'd had with his mechanics doing sloppy work (most of which he was already aware of), I said I would not use them again.  And, I haven't.

The best advice I can give on this is to talk to your friends and neighbors and get a recommendation on a good shop, then stick with them. Most mechanics aren't dishonest, and honest mistakes will occur, but they will be quickly taken care of instead of trying to hide the problem.

So, chime in with any experiences you have--good or bad, so we all can avoid the bad operators...

Smitty