Am I getting ripped off? (Mechanic Tips Thread)

[pirateboy]

[ QUOTE ]
You're right. We should all strive to be men of morals beyond reproach, like you are. I have learned my lesson, thank you.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm more worried why you'd spend the time to find a way to get $1 batting cage tokens for $.17. And you have [censored] MacGyver in your avatar. If you were 1/100th of the man he is, you'd be able to rig a hanger up with a piece of soap and a shoelace and have unlimited sessions in the batting cage.

A BATTING CAGE?! How old are you? Are you jumping on the bumper boats next?

[Hopey]

[ QUOTE ]
Not too hijack, but what about transmission fluid?

On my last oil change, I was told I need to get this changed because it is black and dirty or something.

How often does this need to be done? How much should it cost?

[/ QUOTE ]

I had a Jiffy Lube guy tell me that my transmission fluid needed changing. He showed it to me and told me that it was the wrong colour. He said that if I didn't get it changed, my transmission wouldn't last more than a few months. It was going to cost me a fortune to have them change it. I told him that I would get a second opinion. He got angry with me, and basically acted like I was calling him a liar (ie "Why do you need a second opinion? I showed you the colour of the fluid, what more do you want?") and he was trying to pressure me into giving in. I stood my ground and told him to finish changing my oil and I'd be leaving. He acted like a dick for the rest of my visit there.

A few weeks later something unrelated went wrong with my car, so I brought it into a local mechanic. I told him to check the transmission fluid and to let me know if it needed to be changed. He called me later that day and was puzzled over why I thought the transmission fluid needed changing -- he told me it was like new.

Ever since, he's been the only mechanic I've used. And I've been sure to tell this story to every last person who asks about "honest mechanics". I'm sure I've cost Jiffy Lube quite a bit of business over the years and gained the honest mechanic tons of repeat business.

[Sooga]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You're right. We should all strive to be men of morals beyond reproach, like you are. I have learned my lesson, thank you.

[/ QUOTE ]

A BATTING CAGE?! How old are you? Are you jumping on the bumper boats next?

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you implying that only small children play in batting cages? If so, then you're an idiot. If not, then your statement makes no sense and you're still an idiot.

[Sooga]

Getting this thread back on topic, what's the deal with those '50k miles performance tune-up' or whatever that mechanics are always trying to push on you? How often should you get one of these things done?

[pirateboy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You're right. We should all strive to be men of morals beyond reproach, like you are. I have learned my lesson, thank you.

[/ QUOTE ]

A BATTING CAGE?! How old are you? Are you jumping on the bumper boats next?

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you implying that only small children play in batting cages? If so, then you're an idiot. If not, then your statement makes no sense and you're still an idiot.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can assure you I am not an idiot, at least not because of this conversation.

People who pay for batting cage sessions are any of the following: kids, skanks, old fat guys who think they still "have it," or mentally handicapped people

Which do you fall into?

And the FACT that you spent more than ... a nanosecond trying to find a way to scam a batting cage is pathetic. Almost as pathetic as us arguing over this. Try to brag to someone in real life about it.

"Hey dude, guess what? I figured out a way to hit in that batting cage for seventeen cents. Awesome, right?"

[Sooga]

[ QUOTE ]

I can assure you I am not an idiot, at least not because of this conversation.

People who pay for batting cage sessions are any of the following: kids, skanks, old fat guys who think they still "have it," or mentally handicapped people

Which do you fall into?

And the FACT that you spent more than ... a nanosecond trying to find a way to scam a batting cage is pathetic. Almost as pathetic as us arguing over this. Try to brag to someone in real life about it.

"Hey dude, guess what? I figured out a way to hit in that batting cage for seventeen cents. Awesome, right?"

[/ QUOTE ]

I can assure you that yes, based just on this conversation alone, you truly are an idiot. Have you ever actually BEEN to a batting cage? Do you actually go outside and do things? If you did, then it would be immediately obvious to you that people of all ages go to batting cages to take a few swings. The fact that you think that only 'kids, skanks, and old fat guys' go to batting cages makes me think that either a) you don't know what a batting cage is, or b) you're simply just an idiot. My vote is c) both a and b.

I don't know why so many people on OOT are so determined to hijack threads on random tangents, but whatever. If you had actually taken the time to read the thread, you'll notice that someone ELSE brought this whole thing up, and I only replied. I don't brag about this to random people, but I'm not ashamed of it either.

[pirateboy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I can assure you I am not an idiot, at least not because of this conversation.

People who pay for batting cage sessions are any of the following: kids, skanks, old fat guys who think they still "have it," or mentally handicapped people

Which do you fall into?

And the FACT that you spent more than ... a nanosecond trying to find a way to scam a batting cage is pathetic. Almost as pathetic as us arguing over this. Try to brag to someone in real life about it.

"Hey dude, guess what? I figured out a way to hit in that batting cage for seventeen cents. Awesome, right?"

[/ QUOTE ]

I can assure you that yes, based just on this conversation alone, you truly are an idiot. Have you ever actually BEEN to a batting cage? Do you actually go outside and do things? If you did, then it would be immediately obvious to you that people of all ages go to batting cages to take a few swings. The fact that you think that only 'kids, skanks, and old fat guys' go to batting cages makes me think that either a) you don't know what a batting cage is, or b) you're simply just an idiot. My vote is c) both a and b.

I don't know why so many people on OOT are so determined to hijack threads on random tangents, but whatever. If you had actually taken the time to read the thread, you'll notice that someone ELSE brought this whole thing up, and I only replied. I don't brag about this to random people, but I'm not ashamed of it either.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have probably been near a batting cage far more than you ever will. While in high school and college, I worked at an amusement park that had batting cages. I worked there for 4 years. Most, but not all, of the people who took some swings fell into the 5 groups I mentioned earlier. The last group: tourists. I can safely assume you aren't one of those, considering you took the time to scam the place.

As for me not being outside: that's always the insult a nerd says when, in fact, he probably gets out less than the person he's insulting.

Anyway, I am also curious about the 50k tune up crap. I never believe it.

[Harris]

[ QUOTE ]
Most mechanics at these places strive to get much more than 8 hours of work in an 8 hour shift if they want to make any real money. What this means is they won't invent fake work to be done, but they rush through jobs and don't take the time do it properly or to investigate any real issues that may come up while doing it.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't true. Having worked flat-rate as a mechanic before, I can say that most shops are pretty big on upselling jobs and creating more work on every vehicle. Most of the work they attempt to sell is what's known as "gravy work," or very quick, small jobs (like air filters, fuel filters, etc.). This works well for the mechanic, who can pick up several tenths of an hour in a very short amount of time, and the shop generates extra revenue.

You are correct about them rushing work out, and it does result in more errors than necessary. However, much of the work is very routine to these guys, and the mistakes tend to be limited to less experienced/competent guys.

[dfwben]

I have worked on Hondas for 7 years and we never charged this much. This mechanic is bsing you. A fuel filter for an Accord costs $39 and takes 5 minutes to replace and only needs to be changed every 20-30k miles. An easy way to test the battery is to just goto an auto parts store like Pep Boys and they will test it for free. As for the brake fluid, you rarely need to change it and it is definitely not $65 to do it. My best advice to you is to be up front with this guy and tell him he is being shady and tell him you will be sure you will let everyone else know that they really aren't getting that "10%" discount like they think.

[basco]

hey milliondollaz and Hopey, you two don't live near the twin cities do ya? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

It sounds like I should now begin the hunt for an honest mechanic around here, and invest in some kind of workbook for fixing common/easy to fix problems myself. I'll also be checking out a firestone type of place to see about my wheel alignment and check on my battery. My car has 75K miles, so the fuel filter should be replaced, I'll do that myself too.

From the responses in this thread it looks like dishonest mechanics are in every single type of garage out there, from dealerships to nationwide chains, to um... mom and pop garages, and the trick is just to keep looking till I find one that doesn't overcharge me. I'm definitely going to scope out the BBB to see if they have info on this.

And yes, no more going back to that place, even for oil changes. Thanks for the help.