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Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Put down that dipstick and help me out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I took my car in to the mechanic this morning to have a 30,000-mile service check.
I dropped my car off at a shop close to work. I have had them do some work on my cars in the past, so I felt pretty good about having them service my car now. I haven’t had to do anything with this car since I bought it four years ago, so we’ll see what kind of work needs to be done.
It got me thinking: Does anyone know a good mechanic? Years ago, I used to know a guy named Jimmy Morgan. Jimmy was the bee’s knees. He could diagnose a problem, fix it right, and charge a reasonable price. He was a nice guy, he was honest, and he always took time to explain how cars work. Jimmy used to have a shop off Buford Highway near the package store, not too far from Duluth Haircutters.
I lost touch with Jimmy. I don’t know what happened to him, but I miss him terribly. I went to a different garage shortly after I lost touch with them, and it was culture shock. I had to replace a steering rod, or something like that. The garage was nice and neat. However, they kept trying to sell me a bunch of different services that I knew nothing about. They charged me $300, but it turned out that they never replaced the rod. I found that out when I had to service a similar problem a couple of months later.
Back to the present. The dealer from whom I brought my is under investigation for trying to cheat its customers, both actual and potential. Other places that I have been to try to sell me services that I did not ask for. I don’t know about cars. Most people don’t.
My point is that, as with a doctor, you need to find a mechanic you can trust. Automotive repairs can be expensive. However, if you trust the guy doing the work, more likely than not it’s money well spent.
Do you know someone like that in Duluth?
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