I tell people this all the time, but there is no such thing as a trust worthy mechanic.

The ones you trust are the ones that without fail are ripping you off the worst. I say this as a former mechanic....

Jake, you've made it this far in life by treating people decent and trusting your instincts. No need to change your path, you did right.

I trust my guy & shop...
as a P virgin...
& not Pelican..well I was just plain dumb about P's..
no start..had her 3 weeks..
called to ask for an appt.
over the phone diagnosis..
pop off valve..
I had never been there..

yesterday I stopped by to BS..
mention she's acting a bit squirrly..
fuel mixture was not quite right..
it is now..
and he did it for free..
JONES Autowerks in SA..
none better..

Rika

I resent the hell out of that. I have been in business for 17 years, and I can honestly say, I have never "ripped any one off" Never. I have never charged for a single part that I did not install, nor did I ever over bill someone for work done.
Before I was self employed, I held a couple of different jobs, and I will admit, there sure are some scheisters out there. But, I worked for quite a few good honest people as well. I worked for a transmission shop, and the owner was as straight as the day was long, always treated people fairly, and charged accordingly. I kind of modeled my business after him. But I can also tell some serious horror stories from some of the crooks that I have worked for as well.
Jakes situation sure does sound a little fishy though. I would be thinking that maybe an employee of the shop came back at night, and helped himself .

TKX in Huntington NY.

Tasso is a stand up guy.

Once doing my 1st valve adjustment on the car.

Screwed it up. I posted here for advice then went out of town on business for two weeks.

He saw the post, replied that he was having a valve adjustment clinic that weekend and to stop by. Obviously I missed it since I was out of town.

Popped into the shop shortly after returning and he told me about it then walked me over to a motor he had on the stand and gave me a private clinic on the spot.

Another time, doing my oil pressure switch, called and asked him how do you get a wrench under that thing? He told me to come over and then lent me his custom shaved crows foot.

Needed to store my Benz somewhere for a couple of weeks. Turned into nearly a year. He kept it covered, battery maintained and ran it regularly. When I did pick it up I gave him a big handful of cash cause I know he was not going to ask for a dime.

Whenever my car needed to go into the shop they would always come pick it up and drop it off or ferry me back and forth.

Possibly someone who worked at the shop? Would explain the "rash of thefts". BTDT.

agreed it seems too coincidental that they warned you they would get stolen and they were then they were bought by a deceased husband at a local tire shop.

YOU may not be trustworthy, as an alleged apparently former "mechanic" and member of the human race, but many, and more than likely an overwhelming majority of us, on this forum who are in the automotive or any other business can sleep soundly at night knowing we are.

"there is no such thing as a trust worthy mechanic"

I've been out of that field a long time but can still remember can still the boss's comment that there's so much repair work the typical car needs that you don't need to do unnecessary stuff. Can remember lots of horror stories of some rip-off shops also. I can imagine the difficulty the average motorist has finding a mechanic they can trust.
Jim

When someone says something like:
It sounds like:
And when I hear that, I think... geeze, why do these people keep doing business with people they don't trust?

Because you know what? If you find you're always being "ripped off", it's guaranteed to be one of two things:
1) You're actually not, you're just paranoid and cynical
2) You keep doing business with untrustworthy people, because you're either too cheap or lazy to seek out GOOD folks

I'm not saying that to be harsh, but it strikes a nerve. There are good, honest people in every profession who work hard to make a living. Take the time to find them, and help keep them in business. And then stop complaining.

Consider the source on pt1. Well stated on pt2. Agreed on both. ;)

a lot of wisdom in there Jake. It's is many times a case of "you get what you pay for." Few people value quality work and a fair price for that work, especially mechanics. They don't bat an eye when a lawyer charges them $250/hour. But a mechanic charging $65, $85, or $100 an hour like my friend who has his own Porsche independent repair shop, everyone can't believe "it costs that much" or "you must be rich" charging those prices. it bothers me that because mechanics -- who require a great amount of intelligence, skill, and business knowledge to be successful -- didn't go to a 4 year college and get a degree, people feel they can challenge fair prices for quality work. My friend often charges a lot less than the actual work required because of this, and he does high quality work.

Of course the worst for him is, "it costs that much? but I saw on Pelican..." and many times those guys end up bringing their car back on a flatbed. Everyone wants something for nothing these days and then they're surprised when they get ripped off going to the lowest common denominator.

Bingo... and lots of times it's not that someone intentionally ripped them off, it's that they hired a generalist to do a specialist's work... and didn't get the same results


Back to my wheels: seriously, it wasn't my shop's fault. Their employees are great folks and it just isn't even on the radar. In fact, one of the employee's car got jacked up and had wheels stolen a few days after my wheels got pinched. $hit happens. It was my fault, they warned me.

The only reason I posted was because it was so odd to find them a year later and not have any real recourse.. at least any that I felt decent about pursuing. One of those situations where things are best left as-is.

My new wheels are pretty fkin cool, actually... from an e420. Like this:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1270779213.jpg

Car looks great with them. I'd been kicking around the idea of upgrading my e300 for something newer, but cripes it looks sharp. I think I'll have the car painted and squeeze another couple years out of it.

what a dick!

Where's that damn popcorn smiley?

There are trust-worthy mechanics, you just have to find 'em. Mine is great, charges a very reasonable rate and I'm pretty sure under-bills, always has time to fit in work same day on the DD, enjoys showing everything he did and explaining why and is always glad to fix little, 2-minute-fix crap for all of his customers FOC. Probably why most of the F cars, RR's and antiques on the island go to him.

Jake,
Any chance of figuring out a reason or excuse to sweet talk the sweet, little old lady into searching for a receipt, since you've kept in touch with her? Some people are real receipt hoarders. That is if you are interested.

I didn't think you'd thank me for sharing that view. ;)

Once your mechanic knows you trust him, it is a license to steal. As if 95% of you would know the difference anyway.

I used to have problems keeping customers because my prices were too low (seriously). I was just starting out, i'm really not greedy, and i thought undercutting everyone would have me flowing in business. Not.

So one day i said the fk with it, and I literally doubled my prices. I had more work than i could keep up with. Seriously. That is a true story.

What i'm saying, is that people are stupid.

Nah, she was a sweet old lady, and she lost her husband a couple months ago. She's got enough stress and heartbreak to deal with, I don't want to get her worked up about a set of wheels.

That's a tough way to live. The problem with being cynical is it leaves you walking around finding problems with everything, and everybody. If you think everyone is out to get you, then you'll be watching for it, and finding it in the smallest innocent actions.

If you always have a bitter taste in your mouth, you have to ask YOURSELF why

I think the sweet old lady's husband did it. Who would suspect him? He needed wheels!! Thats what they do. They lull you to sleep with their oldness and then WHAM!!!! :)

He comes home and tells his old lady he bought some wheels - then pockets the money for the strip club. :)