Who services your vehicle?
 

Since I got into the whole "Fuel Economy" thing I would have to say that poor maintenance is the number 1 reason for poor economy and wasted fuel.

I have been turning wrenches for many years and worked at all kinds of garages. Every time I do an oil change I also do what most people just check off on the sheet and this includes checking all fluid level including diffs and transfer cases and make sure all grease fittings (if equipped) are lubed and the most important part of the service (besides a test drive) is checking the tire pressures.

I would say 90% of the hundreds of thousands of tires I serviced including tractor/trailer tires are under-inflated. I am not talking EcoModder pressure settings, but manufacturer settings. Out of that 90% of tires, 50% of those are extremely under-inflated to near half or less than half of the recommended pressure. These are mainly the cars with a fresh oil change sticker from a Quick Lube or a ............er............hm........Department Store.

This percentage has actually changed since I started working at this new garage where everyone does their job correctly and we have loyal customers that return regularly. When I started working there I was impressed with the customer loyalty and return customer base. When a regular comes in, his/her tires are usually good to go 99% of the time and we usually don't find anything wrong with the vehicle unless it's a recent failure of a component. I couldn't believe the fleet of trucks that we service regularly that have anywhere from 700,000 to over a million miles on them and still have the original kingpins, tie rods, drag links, spring bushings, U-joints, etc and even several high mileage cars with original suspension/steering parts on them.

So it all comes down to maintenance and who is doing it for you. Seems like the owners who do their own do a better job than those who go to the Quick Lube or Walmart and buy milk and baby clothes at the same place :)

There are actually very few people who do their own maintenance anymore and the shoddy shops and Flat Rate dealers that exist in our world are probably doing you more harm than good by showing you a checksheet with a list of performed duties that were not done. This gives you that false sense of security that you are good to go. You cannot charge $20.00 for an oil change and make any money unless you simply change oil and filter and fill. A Flat Rate mechanic at a dealer or shop on average has to complete the job in 20 minutes or less to break even and this includes racking up the vehicle after they test drive (or do they test drive?) your car to listen and feel for safety issues.

If you go to one of these places that have this "Checksheet" they give you, I bet if you actually took the car home and went over the sheet yourself, you would find it to be a lie. You can tell if a diff plug on a pickup has been removed for a level check and you don't even have to bend over that far to see. One trick I seen before is a customer would let 10-15 pounds of air out of one tire and then have it serviced. They would be that same customer that you see in the parking lot checking his tire pressures and looking under the hood and under the car even though you just been there. That same customer would be the guy ripping your manager a new asshole at the service desk if you did not do your job correctly.

How many shops do you go to and actually see the mechanic or service writer take the car on a short spin down the road before bringing it into the service bay? How can they say the wheel bearings or suspension components are fine if they never drove it? Sometimes a "Shakedown" on the rack does not reveal what a simple 1 minute test drive can.

Just a few things related to fuel economy that I wanted to throw out there.

I don't change my own oil because I don't have the time. However, when I do take it in I ask them not to check the tires or transmission fluid. I don't want them to change the air pressure (to 30 psi :eek:) or add the wrong type of fluid. Also, I always have to remind them to keep the oil below the high mark on the dipstick. If I don't remind them (like last time) it will be over-filled.

I check the air filter and plugs myself 60% of the time. Just depends upon the amount of time I have.

Johnny Mullet -

I was still going to the Saturn dealership when they quoted me an $1800 transmission repair at 110K+ miles. I was just about to get rid of my SW2 because I couldn't justify the repair cost. My landscape-architect friend (who drives gazillions of miles per year) told me to go to his repair dude, who did it for $1100. He has the absolute most loyal customers you can imagine. On the same day I called him, he replaced my leaky radiator in less than 4 hours. Today I drove 26 miles to his shop just for an oil change.

For the non-mechanics among us, an honest service dude is an absolute must.

CarloSW2

Yeah, my small town repair shop is the best for repairs. I love those guys.

I'm trying to do everything I can by myself without having to buy too many specialty tools. Tire rotations I get done for free from Discount Tires since I bought new tires from them about 5 months ago. I only have just over 32,000 miles on my car so not a lot has needed to be done.

Changing the transmission fluid and gasket was interesting, going to get a B&M transmission fluid cooler soon though and flush out all the old crap. Changing the oil/filter, cabin air filter, cleaning the engine air filter (K&N), checking tire PSI and tread level is all really easy though. I think I might need to bleed my brakes soon though, and see how my pads are doing, braking doesn't feel as quick as it used to not sure if it's just brake wear or air in the lines.

Other than that everything is in top shape, just the way I intend to keep it.:thumbup:

Anymore, I've done all of my own work on the cars. The TSX is still under warranty, so the dealer takes care of that (except routine maint -- oil, etc.), but with Teggy, I've been getting bolder with doing it myself.

The most complicated (for me) repairs have been a radiator replacement and valve cover gasket replace. I'm considering the next timing belt/water pump/pulleys myself -- but I may go back to the dealer. I know it's expensive, but they know the car vs. a random local mechanic (especially for a vital system for an interference engine). I'll have to see here in a year or so...

I'm not an expert or novice -- somewhere in the middle. Enough to get into trouble :o

RH77

Only thing I took my Cavalier in for was the clutch. I simply can't do it as fast as a reputable shop can. For a daily driver, keeping downtime to a minimum is critical. Everything else I do myself.

Unlike you lucky fellers, Our local mechanics seem to be all hacks. I had my Tercel brought in for an oil change a few years back, and when I got home, I saw a puddle under the car. I was able to unscrew the oil plug with my fingers! the guy offered me more free oil changes...HA! That is when I decided if I wanted it done right, do it myself! Also had an AC unit replaced by another local hack (compressor lock) but still had cold air. When he was done, I had no cold air, a leaky new compressor, AND told me I needed a new evaporator(which I didn't) AND wanted 400 more dollars! I told him where to go and since had myself certified in auto A/C. Found out the only problem was loose compressor casing bolts!

I do most of my own maintenance. I have to admit, I'm not as thorough as a good mechanic.

Agree 10000% about the oil change ripoff places, they've overfilled, underfilled, told me that my K&N needed to be replaced, etc. I only used them when I didn't have time to DIY, but now I think it's better for the car to go an extra 500-1000 miles on the old oil rather than to take it to those hacks.

I have, in the past, tried repairs that I've later regretted, so I've learned to take it to a mechanic in those cases. I have botched one engine swap (hint: don't try to install the engine solo), and a head (stripped plug threads, tried to vac all the bits out, but I missed apparently).

Last time I took one of my cars to be wrenched on by someone else I saw them drop it off the lift, then they denied it, time before that I saw a mechanic doing a 30~45 second burn out in my car.

Now the closest I come is dropping off a rim to get a tire mounted. Much less problems now.

That is too bad that the "Splash & Dash" oil change places and other shops give all the garages a bad rep. If anyone here is a career mechanic or knows one, most workers in this field last an average of 3 years at a location before moving on to a better offer. The usual reason besides money is management differences. I know a lot of good techs like myself who have quit a job because of certain practices management uses to "upsell" un-needed items.

I worked at a dealer where every car that comes into the shop must have at least one service recommendation even if you have to recommend mud flaps on a 3,000 mile new car during it's first oil change. This turned off a huge amount of customers and business got slow for some time so they decided to raise the labor rate! I quit one job where a Service Manager upsold a set of struts on an old lady's car I was inspecting. She was a regular and and when the repair order came back for a strut replacement, I found out the manager lied to her and told her I said they were needed for inspection.

I want one of those tire changer dealies from China Freight. :thumbup:

I have family that used to work for a dealer in NE Ohio and found the same (this was in the 80's). I'm sure nothing has changed.

The average person has no clue how this "Car" thing actually works (and won't spend the time to get a basic understanding). "Just fix it and let me have my car back." Luckily, places like this site have educated me to hopefully spot this sort of thing.

I do have a good story -- I get my tires from a local, family-owned operation. It's a pretty big shop with one location. On a previous car, the tire tech noted a clunking sound on gear engagement from Park. It turns out that most of the motor mounts were broken! This place just does tires and alignment -- with no real "alliances" to any shop for this kind of work. I am very grateful that they spotted this problem (they actually showed us the cracked mounts so it was for real). We got rid of the car pronto -- 1 motor mount can't be good! I go there anytime I need tires or alignment -- and it's across town. I'll recommend the same to anyone.

As far as other work, the dealer has generally been the destination. I need to find a good local place for difficult items that doesn't cost a fortune. I did find an honest exhaust shop that made some patch repairs free of charge. Stuff like that goes a long way...

RH77

I do most of my own work. If not I have my friend/trusted mechanic work on it. I also help him when I bring it in for service.

It does seem to stem from too many chains that hire young, inexperienced kids who are just there for the money, and not the car maintenance itself. True, some of them are sharp and catch things with their ears and eyes, but it seems that unless you are truly wrench savvy, or do it because it's YOUR business and your livelyhood, lots gets looked over and/or mis-sold. I too, have found a local "garage" mechanic that's good, and doesn't rape me for work that I can't perform, or don't have the tools for

LOL that made me laugh so hard! :D

I do everything myself unless it involves re-wiring the Jeep. I know I can do it, but not in one day! I try to learn everything I can, I've changed my transmission fluid filter, installed a block heater, changed my fuel filter, I always change my oil myself, changed my shocks, valve cover gasket, transmission fluid pan gasket, changed the tranny fluid, and I check all the fluids myself, including differential.

I've done all this so far as a sophomore in high school. It's pretty sad when people can't even do it right when they do it as a career!!! That's why I always do it myself. In the time it takes to check your spark plug gaps you could have already drained and changed the oil filter. Changing oil is one of the easiest things to do. Drain the oil into a pan, drain the filter oil into a pan, replace the oil filter, screw the oil pan plug back in place, and fill with oil. Pretty simple. But some say it's too hard and complex.

I do all my own maintenance ... as well as the minor repairs such as brakes. I have a local shop I trust for the larger items such as timing belts, replaced head gaskets, etc ...

Time spent on my car is time well spent. :)

Times I've gotten "free" oil changes, etc ... from a dealer? I've marked my oil filter with a nail right before it was changed to made sure they did it. ;)

I do my own regular maintance and failed part replacements etc.. depending on the fix I may take it in ,only done that 2 times and to a reputable shop.

My wife needed a oil changed once and I was out of town and she took it in to a shop, and the next oil change I had to spear the oil filter with a screw driver to get it off as they wrenched the think on there so fricken hard.. I told her next time let it go over on miles , it will be fine.. never again even for a simple oil change.. That and the places that mount wheels never lube your wheel nuts etc so you get rusted on nuts and broken wheel bolts.. I hate that!!

Now tire shops wont put on different sized tires than the stock tire specs .. they refuse to so I bring in my rims off the car and tell them what size i want on them , if they ask its for a small home made boat trailer :) I went so far to buy a hand tire mounter and buy tires then bring them home, mount them and then bring them in on the rims for a balance and then bring then mount them on the car.. saves the mounting fee and I can mount any size I want... however its kind of a pain in the butt to DIY.. But I can do it now if i need to.

I always do my own maintance when I can.

I do a bit of my own work, I don't mount tires and have not had a problem with tires stores not wanting to sell me non stock size tires (165/70 R13 are impossible to buy around here) and I do not do alignments, any other work that is done is mostly dependent on how I feel about doing the work, how much time/money I have and if the work is going to be really hard to do without a lift or cherry picker, I swapped two transmissions my self but paid for an engine swap on my crx hf and a timing belt change on my vx, when I do take my car in to have work done I normally take it to a shop where all the work is done by the owner, he always test drives the car, gives free advice and gives a cash discount.
I tend to check over my car a few times a year, rotate tires, change spark plugs, check brakes, check exhaust mounts, set timing, check compression, change fluids.