The value of a good mechanic

[Questor]

I love our auto mechanic. He's such a great guy. I'm a retired motorcycle mechanic myself and can appreciate a good technician.

I just take the car in and tell them to do what is called for given mileage and any defects found, and I can count on him to give me an honest assessment of what should be done, and what can wait.

I just had the car in for routine service and he found that one of the rear axles had gone bad. They got a serviceable used axle at less than 1/3 the cost of a new one. Very good outcome for me.

These folks are not part of a dealer, and their diagnostic charges are much less than any dealer, often the diagnosis is done at no charge.

I have never had an issue with the quality of the work.

[williamlayton]

You ARE most fortunate. Most of those guys have gone away, the diagnostic equipment being so expensive, and i don't trust most of the old diagnostics on the new computer driven cars.
I used too have one, and, as you, I could just leave it and he would fix it.
I have given in too taking mine too the dealership. Yes it is a bit more expensive. It is also worth the money as I can be assured, to a large part, of it being taken care of.
I have a good relationship with the Ford dealer that I bought the Ford from and, too this point have been well satisfied. I treat them as my old mechanic, they have earned my trust.
Now I recently had a problem with the ABS break system, it showed up on my consol as a problem. Took it in and they could't make it do the same things it did when I took it in. Murphy's law I guess.
Blessings

[clodbuster]

The word "diagnostic" is just a catchword for "we're charging you double" (our normal ridiculous shop rate).
When my GMC pickup died in the street the chevy dealer replaced the ignition module and managed to "justify" (at least to themselves) a $300 charge.  The part at NAPA is around $40 and takes 15 minutes to change.  No wonder I've found a new mechanic.
Second whine:  The a-c quit, mechanic says it will be $900.  Got a refill kit, put it in; been running cold air since 2004, cost $35.  These were both "reputable shops"

[rockbilly]

A good, reliable, honest auto mechanic...........a rare breed indeed!

[rex6666]

mostly you don't find mechanics anymore honest or reliable, mostly all you find
is parts changers, just keep putting on parts until it runs, then tell you, you also needed the other parts.

[Brett]

I'm very fortunate that I too have found a very good reputable mechanic.  His work is top notch and his prices very reasonable.  Often times he won't even charge me for my oil changes if I have other major service work performed at the same time such as brakes, timing belt replacement, clutch replacement, etc.