It’s Called Currency

It started a couple of weeks ago when my husband and I were headed out together. He hopped in the passenger side of my Jeep and discovered that the floorboard was wet. Since it had been littered with half-empty water bottles, we just assumed one of them had leaked and left it at that. However, a week of 100-degree days went by and the floorboard was still wet. So, he pulled out the shop vac and sucked out the water. Two or three days later, we’re headed somewhere else together and I climb in the passenger side only to discover that the floorboard is soaked. Obviously, it hadn’t been a leaking water bottle.

On Sunday, my oh-so-mechanically-inclined hubby decides he’s going to figure out where the water is coming from. Rather quickly, he discovers an L-shaped rubber hose that has had one side of it chewed away. (I say “chewed” because the remaining half bears teeth marks and a small tuft of fur.) Obviously, the rodent that we suspected had gotten into the garage/basement had decided to go after this hose and the plastic fitting it had been attached to. Likely, it was after water since there are no water sources in our basement. Hubby was baffled as to what the hose had originally been attached to, and wasn’t inclined to spend the rest of the day trying to figure it out.

“Guess I’ll give Bill a call in the morning and see if he can take a look at it,” Hubby says. Then he comments on how only a few years ago, he would have had to take the time to figure it out himself, but now that we’ve got a budgeted amount set aside specifically for “auto repairs”, he doesn’t have to. This is an excellent place to be and one I highly recommend for everyone. And being on a first name basis with a mechanic that we trust helps tremendously also.

Our mechanic has his own little shop on a heavily traveled back road that leads to several residential areas. He may have some helpers, but I’ve never met them. The building bears his name and he’s the chief mechanic. When we met him, he told us that he used to work at a dealership and decided to strike out on his own rather than retiring. He’s very knowledgeable and doesn’t talk down to us. Since I’m one of those women who always feels that I’m likely to be taken advantage of by an auto mechanic, I really like that about him.

It seems to me that a lot of women (and perhaps some men as well) are intimidated or uncomfortable when dealing with mechanics. I think it basically comes out of the fact that they know pretty much nothing about the machinery that makes up the vehicle they drive every day. They put gas and windshield washer fluid in it, wash and vacuum it on occasion, and rely on someone else (their husband, father, brother, friend from high school, friendly neighbor) to take care of oil changes and auto repairs. They may take it to a quick change place for the oil change at the proper odometer number, but even that is uncomfortable because they can’t tell if someone’s just trying to sell them something they don’t need.

Many of us have taken a vehicle to the dealership and walked away scarred by it. We have had our bank accounts drained or have maxed out our credit cards to cover the heart-stopping total on the bill. We’ve driven the “repaired” vehicle for a week—or maybe just two days—only to have the same issue rear its ugly head again. We suspect they’ve fleeced us, but we don’t know enough to be sure. And we don’t know anyone else to turn to, so we’re stuck with the service bays at the dealership and their outrageous bills.

So back to the subject of this post: why you need to find a good mechanic. Our mechanic, wonderful man that he is, didn’t charge us $400 and spend half the day replacing the perfectly good part that the missing plastic piece that held the drain hose had been part of. No, instead, he rigged up a new drain hose and didn’t even charge us for it. Apparently, he shares our belief that having a rodent in the house (and damaging the vehicle) is bad enough without having to pay for replacing good parts.

A good mechanic won’t take advantage of you. He’ll tell you when there’s a workaround that will do and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. He’ll tell you that the squeaky brakes have no mechanical problems so you should just continue to put up with them until it’s time to change the brake pads and rotors. He’ll replace a defective spark plug with a used one and only charge you $5 for it.

A good mechanic is in business because he enjoys what he does and wants to keep your vehicle on the road and in good, safe working condition. He’s interested in keeping you as a customer for years down the road, not in taking you for as much as he can each time he sees you. He knows money doesn’t grow on trees and transportation is not optional. A good mechanic is a joy to know and a pleasure to see, and you get the added satisfaction that comes from supporting a local businessman.

Having a good mechanic means you can feel good about spending your hard earned budgeted funds on unexpected repairs as well as the regular maintenance that is needed to keep your chosen mode of transportation on the road. For my husband and I, it has virtually eliminated the “panic factor” when something goes wrong with one of our vehicles. That’s something I want everyone to experience.

So get out there, folks! Find a good mechanic this month! Don’t wait until you’re desperate. Ask your mechanically inclined friends, co-workers and family members who they trust. Have conversations with everyone about their experiences with auto repair. Every town out there likely has several good mechanics. You just need to find the one that’s near you. He’s going to maintain his business on word-of-mouth, so the only way you’ll find him is to ask around. The peace of mind that comes from this relationship is well worth the time you will invest.

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