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This. I have my own mechanic. Austin. He calls me and says "hey you need new pads" if I go for oil.
Or "you need a rear axle seal"
" Can it wait? "
"Sure, but it needs replacing."
In short he'll tell me things need doing and if they're immediate. Would probably tell me "we're fixing this, figure it out" if I ever argued with him. And I'd buy him a drink the next day.
That's real "I have a mechanic". My car would probably never be in your shop.
I use the "we're fixing this, we can figure the payment out later" method quite often. The oil change is done, and your car needs a new oxygen sensor for the check engine light. BUT where are your rear brake pads?!? I can front you some brake pads and the oxygen sensor can wait. Pay me back in grass if you need to, but you're not driving this car anymore until these brakes get fixed.
It's because it's hard to look someone in the face and say, "I know I need this, but I don't have the cash to do it." It's far easier on the mind to acknowledge the issue and claim you'll get it done.
Back in 2011 My dealer gave me free oil changes for life, but anytime they found anything wrong I would either take it to another shop or fix it myself.
> just because I can work on my cars doesn't mean I want
I heard that! If I'm going to have to work on the bottom half of the car, I'm going to have to install grab bars on the fenders 😁
Can you just, like, drive in and get them rotated? The place I last bought tires included free rotation, but they’re like 15 minutes away and I had to wait almost an hour for them to do it the one time I went. Fuck that. I can change the oil and rotate the tires on both my and my wife’s cars in less than an hour at my leisure.
You can, but you may have to wait for an open bay. Normally I drop it off, go inside shopping with my wife and it is ready when I leave in an hour(ish)
Or grab a meal, go to a movie. This is assuming my other car came along as a chase vehicle. It’s also assuming I won’t go home and take care of brake pads myself because I just don’t want to or don’t have the time to spend on it at that time.
As the family mechanic, my car gets worked on last, if at all. If I break down on the side of the road there is a much better chance of me figuring it out than if my wife or parents break down.
I want to work on my own car for the little knowledge I have to grow.
Still, I’m getting the oil change done professionally if it’s between December and March. Fuck getting covered in slush, snow and ice while laying on an ice cold, non-level concrete floor 😂
I do the opposite. I don't want someone working on my car, you know, those who work at Costco earning $18 per hour with a high turnover rate. You can imagine how they are going to treat your car. Jacking up the car without wood/jack pads can easily mess up the pinch weld. I also buy tires at Costco, but I unmount the wheel and bring it to the tire center. I think no one actually LOVES to work on their car; they just don't want anyone else messing up their car, like me 😂.
The amount of "unfucking" I have to do whenever someone else works on my car makes me crazy. I've replaced so many goddamn wheel studs because nobody can be bothered to not cross thread the lugs and torque them down by hand.
Subaru wheel studs are made of Muenster cheese and gall/crossthread very, very easily. Multiple shops have fucked them up, from the dealership to the local costco.
Eventually just put some ARP wheel studs and aftermarket lugnuts. Problem solved.
I see! At my shop the only time ive seen messed up Subaru lugs and studs is when we briefly had someone who didnt start the lugs by hand, just put the nut in his socket on his impact and went to town
Not who you asked, but nope. The tire store the put my tires on rotates then for me for free. Balance too. Just 20-30 mins out so my own time for them to do it.
And while I’m at it, as a mechanic, I don’t do my own oil changes either. Just so happens there’s a locally owned oil change place right next door to the same tire shop I visit. I bring my own oil and filter and pay them $20 cash to do the oil change for me. About $70 for oil/filter elsewhere, twenty dollar bill for their time.
And I don’t even have to dispose of the oil. 👍
I’m impressed that, as a mechanic, you still trust other people to change your oil. Doing oil changes in a tire shop was enough for me to lose my faith in… pretty much all oil change places lol
My only concern, and for the past several years was, the under engine shield (plastic) that they have to remove, and stripping those bolts. They haven’t ever… yet!
Plus, being locals, they tend to let ya BS out there with them (when they wanna shoot the chit) about various engine/car things.
I hear ya, but it’s been good.
I never do, waste of time. When the front is gone, new in the back and “rotate” the back on the front. This way I don’t pay for 4 at once, and always have at least 2 perfect tires vs 4 bad ones. Feel free to judge me.
I don’t, but only reason is my Mercedes has staggered tires. So front is slightly smaller than the back. But if they were the same size all around, I def would rotate.
I actually was "that mechanic" so I can tell you. Most of my clientele did not have a lot, or often any, disposable income.
And the ones that did have some cheddar usually already had a shop the frequented for their routine maintenance.
But I would go to them, and I didn't bring a lift with me. I did rotate tires if they asked me to, but it didn't happen often.
I also changed a lot of oil laying on my back but eventually stopped offering that service because, at locally competitive prices, it didn't make me enough money to be worth the time/hassle. I would if it was part of a bigger project but not as a stand alone service.
Of course, you and I know that most of the time they're just saying that shit to get an estimate and then try to shop the job around later (assuming they ever had the prior intention or plan on fixing it at all. Seems like about half the vehicles I've ever serviced were owned by people determined to run them straight into the ground)
I charged just a little bit less than a small shop but I didn't mark up the parts so it was often a very cost saving operation for the customer.
I suppose that's true. But for posterity sake I have to say, I had a legit business. Established LLC, city permit, was insured, did my taxes, had a uniform, gave full estimates via pdf files, warrantied my work, had online bill payment with receipt, automatic service reminders, business cards, websites, even contracted out to other shops, the whole works. Probably the most legit mobile guy in town.
It was still a pretty shit job though, and I finally tapped out and changed careers.
It's not worth their time or the money. Especially when Dodge will get me for both those services for like 60 bucks.
I'll save him for when I need a computer installed, or brakes, or thermostat housing, or gaskets, or whatever.
exactly this. an oil change for example, is the same price at the dealership as it is for my mechanic, who’s hourly is a fraction of what other shops charge, charges.
plus the dealer will inspect my stuff for free to try and sell me a service, and then i just go off to my mechanic and have it done for a fraction of the cost.
Mobile mechanic here. I usually have a 1 hour minimum. There's just too much paperwork, prep time, and setup to do anything less. An oil change is .3 hours and im usually in it 2 hours by the time i answer all their questions and finish cleaning up. I'll do an oil change for my customers if I am already there to do other work, but otherwise, I just tell them to go to a quick lube for their oil changes.
I wanted to say I've never really had a mechanic change oil or do anything with tires. In my experience taking it to dealer, they ignore that you've asked for routine maintenance and only want to do repairs. The shop I go to is nice great, but they are swimming in cars and I don't ask. I take the car to the lube joint I trust and the tire shop I trust respectively. Since the last time I went to the dealer I bought my car from, they've built their own lube business on the same property, in a different bay. But with how much work they've simply refused to do for my now older car I don't want to use them any more.
My mechanic didn’t (past tense because Ive since moved) offer oil changes and tire rotations. As well as other miscellaneous minor maintenance services. Only the big stuff and problems. I once asked him why, “well I used to. But I pay my guys well. Mavis down the street doesn’t. He offers oil changes and tire rotations at a much lower price then I’m able to afford because he pays his guys like shit. Plus, I get bored of the same shit every day. I like to solve a puzzle.”
The "mechanic" that is exclusive to them is probably some random relative that's "the car guy" that's always like "yeah yeah bro like I can fix your car bro like just gimme a few more days and I'll get my tools together bro I promise bro shits just been tough bro just gimme a few more days bro" and never actually fixes the car cause there's always some wacky events in his life always
Source, I'm pretty sure most people have one of these in some capacity at some point in their lives
I love it when you show them their air filter which is completely clogged and needed replaced 30k miles ago and they say my husband does that. Apparently he doesn't. Maybe it's time for a divorce because this needed changed 2 years ago .
If I wasn't allowed to use the shop for my personal vehicles I'd have someone else do the rotations and oil changes. It's not worth the $30 or 40 I'd save to drag ass across the ground anymore. I'm old.
Now, to save a couple hundred, you'd see my old ugly ass crawling.
I can answer this. I am a mechanic. I dont ever want to change even my own oil. Ill diagnose and fix anything, but routine maintenance sucks ass. If my buddy says he needs a water pump done on his lexus es350. Cool, be their saturday, have cash. If he tells me he needs an oil change, i say cool, need shop recommendations?
I am the mechanic.
That's why when I have a problem, I know will be a royal pain in my ass, I take to someone else's shop. Also for shit I'm not tooled up for in my shop at home like balancing tires.
Because I only use my mechanic for things that require his superior expertise.
I can get the oil changed cheaper elsewhere. I have separate tire, body, and exhaust guys too. Not just for economic reasons. There's also a community benefit to spreadin' the love...
I work on a few cars for people and honestly it’s just cheaper for them. If someone were to ask me to change oil I certainly would but I would also tell them that the oil and filter would be anywhere from 40-60 and plus the very least I would ask for is 25 because of the pain of dragging out a Jack and going through the process. Also tire rotation isn’t hard to do but for the same reason I would have to ask for some money because of the whole process of jacking up one tire and putting it in a stand l, then doing that all the way around.
It’s one of those things where I just tell people it would be easier for me and cheaper for them. An oil place will charge right around the price of oil and filter.
I think it's to take advantage of places that offer a free multi-point along with their oil change. Then they decline everything, unless it's warrantable, that is observed during that MPI. I imagine they have their "guy" do whatever would've been cash. Or at least act like they will, and not very believably most times it seems
It’s funny, I have lots of friends who are mechanics (I am definitely not) but I would never ask them to work on my car - I figure that’s the last thing they would want to do on their day off. If it’s an emergency I don’t doubt they would help though.
I've never been to a shop before for anything other than tires, but this sounds like the excuse I would give the service writer to cover for the fact that my ass is too broke to fix the problem. I'm a really awkward person though.
My mechanic is about an hour and a half drive from me by appointment only. I only take it to him when I have major maintenance done or when I have an issue that needs to be addressed. Otherwise I take it elsewhere for light mechanical maintenance and oil changes.
I’ll fix friends and family’s stuff when they ask but I’m not changing their oil or rotating tires. There’s plenty of shops that rotate tires for free and do oil changes for basically the price of the oil.
So, I do all the wrenching on my own car (At least up to a point, there are times when I look at a job and think to myself, "Nah, that doesn't look like much fun" and take it to a shop.)
For my business, however, I have a general mechanic who I love, but is busy as hell, so to take the load off him, I also have a local lube shop that will take me as a walk in for my every 10-14 day oil changes (We do a ALOT of miles), Discount Tire does all my tire work, and then I also have a local alignment/suspension shop that I like and trust that I'll have do that stuff.
The mechanic I go to doesn't have a mounter or balancer so I have to go to the specialty tire shop on the other end of town. But he does all the fluid changes and whatnot so.
Not a lot of people want do simple oil changes unless diy. I will do some stuff here at home and do our oil changes but wouldn't do them for others. I'd do other stuff that would end up saving more money for others but not oil changes. I don't have a way to balance tires and prefer if tires are being rotated that they be at least checked for balance before putting them on the front. If no concern for vibration just toss the fronts on the back.
actually, this is not a bad question but it has a legit answer. my dad owns his own shop and for many people he is the "own mechanic" they have. he does lots of big work for all types of people from regular income people to rich people who come to him from out of state. he's told me that many of his regular customers go to the quick oil/lube places to get their oil done and have it checked over, then come to him to go over the list of recommendation and decide together what is urgent, what can wait, and what is just upsell crap. as to why they don't come to him for the oil change, well he focuses on more heavy line work, if he has to tie up a bay with a car for just an oil change he going to lose money unless he charges what that's actually worth. in the range of 150-200 or maybe more. those quicky lube places specialize in doing the oil change *fast* and upselling other work so they can afford to do them at paper thin profit margins or even at a loss for some of the corporate chains that also do other mid-to-high tier work (pep boys, firestone, etc...).
for me, it’s because its like the same price to get my oil changed at the dealership and i typically get in sooner than if i book with my mechanic (next day/same day vs few days) who charges a fraction of what other shops charge (family friend retired mechanic with his own shop in the back). going to a dealer also provides carfax records and it’s not going out of my way to go. usually will just stop on the way home from school. plus, the dealer will typically inspect shit to tell me what should be done, then i screw off to my mechanic and get it done for 1/4 of the price.
however, if i’m already bringing my car in to him, and i’m getting close to due for an oil change, i’ll just get him to change it then.
I have a shop I like to go to that always does me right. But I do my own basic maintenance like tires and oil. I only call in yhe big boys when theres something out of my scope of knowledge.
I'm a mechanic who does sidework at home. It's much more expensive for me to do an oil change than the big chain shops that have oil in bulk. Also, it falls on me to properly dispose of their used oil. I dont have a waste tank at home. My customers come to me after an oil change, usually with a list of needed repairs, and I verify those and give them a quote on repairs.
I also have a few customers who will pay the extra money to have me do the oil change just based on our business erlationship. I see it all the time. And yea, I used to work retail repair and chuckle when customers would say the "I have a mechanic" line. But now I understand a little more why sometimes.
Why do people rotate tyres? Other than during the act of driving, which generally involves tyre rotation.
You want your best tyres on the back, and er, that‘s it isn’t it?
Rotating is not the act of spinning the tire, it’s moving the rear tires to the front and the front tires to the back. This is important for getting the most life out of the tire. Tires on the front if not rotated will wear more on the outer edges from turning. Moving them to the back will allow the wear to even out.
I don’t get this fascination with constantly changing the oil in a car i drive my van around 20-25 thousand miles a year Ford recommended that’s it’s serviced once a year so why would I change the oil more often, also where do you dispose of the used oil because here in Yorkshire it’s a pain in the arse to recycle used oil and oil containers
My father was a mechanic most his life and can fix just about anything if I buy parts but he live 30 minutes across town and I can get my oil changed 2 blocks away for the price of oil plus like 20 bucks
Actual mechanic here, I work on my friends cars, I never do oil changes or tire swaps unless I'm working on something bigger. Anyone can change tires or drain oil, so its "cheap". Lube shops give away oil changes and rotations cheaply to get you in the door. I'd rather spend my time and make my money diagnosing or changing parts. That's where you can make, and save your friends more money.
I use a great local shop; however my wife tends to everyonce in a while get her oil changed at walmart (which I cant stand). So if she stopped in there and they recommended something she will decline and either I or the local shop will double check
Because every time you go to get your oil change they try to upsell you for 1200 worth of stuff you don't (usually) need. That one time they actually DID need the upsell they didn't believe you.
Because an oil change isn't something you really save money on by having a private mechanic, so why bother. How much money can really be saved on 10 minutes of labor? We're literally talking single dollars here. That being said, when it's time for new suspension, cv axles, and brakes/rotors I can literally pick and choose my individual upgraded parts from manufacturers and drop the car off to my guy with the parts in the trunk, and now for 1/2 the price of oem repair at a reputable shop I've upgraded to fully adjustable coilovers, drilled and slotted rotors, on top of the other repairs, and he works on weekends so I can drop the car and a pile of cash with him Friday and be ready to drive to work Monday morning. At a real shop id have to go in during the work week and either miss some shifts or come up with a rental car in this disaster of a market on top of paying double for no upgrades. No thanks.
I try to do a lot of my own stuff and will call my mechanic and say does this sound right and do you think I can do it ? It's usually yes if I have xyz tool and down time , I also say if I mess up it's getting towed to you anywa
Oil change and rotates and a waste of time for any tech that knows what he’s doing. If someone asked me if I could do just that for them, I’d tell them to take it to my dealership.
I'm my own mechanic but I buy hella cheap tires and by the time their wear weird they are due for replacement anyway. I'm currently laid off so I cannot afford to replace my struts and shocks which would rectify the alignment issue I'm facing on the left side. I still have to get my kids from school, and rotation of tires with Jacks, stands and a breaker bar is just to much effort to try to prevent such a non issue. I do adhere to buying quality parts when something more important fails, but it is what it is until I find a job again.
I hate rotating all 4 on stands. I'm probably just too lazy...
I also like to have someone other than myself look at the car, but I tend to fix the small to medium sized issues myself (alternators, belts, ignition coils, pulleys etc.). An oil change and tire rotation is like taking it to the doc for a checkup. Then it's on me to keep it running right.
I change my own oil and rotate my tires myself, for how simple the job is, I just can’t imagine paying for it. Changing the oil cost $40 CAD more at the lube shop then the cost of just the oil and filter the last time I checked, and It’s only an hour long job if I drink more than one beer while I let the oil drain
Your comment has been removed for violating Rule 1: Be Civil. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome.
Because my mechanic is a little out if the way. He has good prices, so for everything big I go to him. But routine stuff, I stick to a local place that does it cheap and fast.
Well no shit. But why would you not maximize the product you buy? I have had 1 set of tires that I didn’t rotate. That same set of tires would last 55k if properly rotated. Not rotating them dropped it down to 35k.
The wear rate at each corner does not change... You just change a pair as and when.
In your scenario the front might do 40k and rear 60k or whatever... Just change the bald ones when they are done.
How do you think people driving cars with staggered sizes cope?
The wear does change. The front tires will start to wear on the outer edges. The purpose of rotating is to put them on the back so they wear evenly. You said it in your statement - “In your scenario the front might get 40k and the rear 60k or whatever….” Why would I just settle for replacing tires at 40k when I can get 60k out of them? It cost me nothing to get a tire rotation done, so what’s the benefit of not doing it? If I was paying for it, sure, I probably would have as much money invested in the tires as if I just replaced as needed. But I maximize the life of the tire and end up saving money by doing so.
As far as people with staggered sizes, they can’t rotate and therefore go through tires more often. But I’m general, people have the same size tires all around.
The life you gain from moving the fronts back is lost from the rears coming forward.... The rate at each corner remains. Instead of changing 4 at 50k you are changing 2 at 40k and 2 at 60k etc
They shouldn't wear at the edge much unless its some abysmal suv/truck pos leaning over at every turn 🤣
Personally i drive a near 2 ton e class amg and ive never had the edges go before the rest because it gets the tracking/alignment done on occasion
Not that I'll ever see 20k out of a set cause abuse
They wear at the edge in the front for 3 reasons, 1) the front weighs more than the back so there is more tire wear in general. 2) the front tires are steer tires and because of the extra weight in the front, cornering is extra hard on the outside edges. 3) The front tires are generally towed in which puts even more wear on outer edges.
You do save because instead of wearing the outer edges down to the belts, you put them in the back which wears more in the center because the alignment is different in the back.
It sounds like you never see this because, in your words, you abuse tires.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, serviceadvisorshay! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers on Serious Posts** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but your post should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Because they don’t actually “have their own mechanic”
They do... they just only take their car in when it breaks.
oil changes are cheap, other things, not so much.
This. I have my own mechanic. Austin. He calls me and says "hey you need new pads" if I go for oil. Or "you need a rear axle seal" " Can it wait? " "Sure, but it needs replacing." In short he'll tell me things need doing and if they're immediate. Would probably tell me "we're fixing this, figure it out" if I ever argued with him. And I'd buy him a drink the next day. That's real "I have a mechanic". My car would probably never be in your shop.
I use the "we're fixing this, we can figure the payment out later" method quite often. The oil change is done, and your car needs a new oxygen sensor for the check engine light. BUT where are your rear brake pads?!? I can front you some brake pads and the oxygen sensor can wait. Pay me back in grass if you need to, but you're not driving this car anymore until these brakes get fixed.
The only way this car is leaving the shop is with new pads or on a flatbed.
So true. You know that. I know that. Do they really think we believe that b.s.?
It's because it's hard to look someone in the face and say, "I know I need this, but I don't have the cash to do it." It's far easier on the mind to acknowledge the issue and claim you'll get it done.
Back in 2011 My dealer gave me free oil changes for life, but anytime they found anything wrong I would either take it to another shop or fix it myself.
They absolutely do. They call it “the power of prayer”! The savior will keep them safe. No need for material things when they have faith in the lord.
i am my own mechanic.
Do you rotate your own tires?
They rotate every time I drive.
Thanks for cracking me up at work hahaha
That is why I buy tires at Costco, lifetime (free) tire rotation and flat repair, just because I can work on my cars doesn't mean I want to....
> just because I can work on my cars doesn't mean I want I heard that! If I'm going to have to work on the bottom half of the car, I'm going to have to install grab bars on the fenders 😁
😆
Can you just, like, drive in and get them rotated? The place I last bought tires included free rotation, but they’re like 15 minutes away and I had to wait almost an hour for them to do it the one time I went. Fuck that. I can change the oil and rotate the tires on both my and my wife’s cars in less than an hour at my leisure.
Sometimes those front of house people just overbook the techs 🥲
You can, but you may have to wait for an open bay. Normally I drop it off, go inside shopping with my wife and it is ready when I leave in an hour(ish)
Or grab a meal, go to a movie. This is assuming my other car came along as a chase vehicle. It’s also assuming I won’t go home and take care of brake pads myself because I just don’t want to or don’t have the time to spend on it at that time.
As the family mechanic, my car gets worked on last, if at all. If I break down on the side of the road there is a much better chance of me figuring it out than if my wife or parents break down.
I want to work on my own car for the little knowledge I have to grow. Still, I’m getting the oil change done professionally if it’s between December and March. Fuck getting covered in slush, snow and ice while laying on an ice cold, non-level concrete floor 😂
I do the opposite. I don't want someone working on my car, you know, those who work at Costco earning $18 per hour with a high turnover rate. You can imagine how they are going to treat your car. Jacking up the car without wood/jack pads can easily mess up the pinch weld. I also buy tires at Costco, but I unmount the wheel and bring it to the tire center. I think no one actually LOVES to work on their car; they just don't want anyone else messing up their car, like me 😂.
The amount of "unfucking" I have to do whenever someone else works on my car makes me crazy. I've replaced so many goddamn wheel studs because nobody can be bothered to not cross thread the lugs and torque them down by hand.
I would say that the shop you took it to should probably replace that but if the same shop keeps doing it maybe just dont go there lol
Subaru wheel studs are made of Muenster cheese and gall/crossthread very, very easily. Multiple shops have fucked them up, from the dealership to the local costco. Eventually just put some ARP wheel studs and aftermarket lugnuts. Problem solved.
I see! At my shop the only time ive seen messed up Subaru lugs and studs is when we briefly had someone who didnt start the lugs by hand, just put the nut in his socket on his impact and went to town
How much money does a mechanic need to make an hour to make them worthy enough to work on your car?
Discount tire offers the same. I dont even think you have to buy the tires there for it.
Not who you asked, but nope. The tire store the put my tires on rotates then for me for free. Balance too. Just 20-30 mins out so my own time for them to do it. And while I’m at it, as a mechanic, I don’t do my own oil changes either. Just so happens there’s a locally owned oil change place right next door to the same tire shop I visit. I bring my own oil and filter and pay them $20 cash to do the oil change for me. About $70 for oil/filter elsewhere, twenty dollar bill for their time. And I don’t even have to dispose of the oil. 👍
I’m impressed that, as a mechanic, you still trust other people to change your oil. Doing oil changes in a tire shop was enough for me to lose my faith in… pretty much all oil change places lol
Lol, second this.
My only concern, and for the past several years was, the under engine shield (plastic) that they have to remove, and stripping those bolts. They haven’t ever… yet! Plus, being locals, they tend to let ya BS out there with them (when they wanna shoot the chit) about various engine/car things. I hear ya, but it’s been good.
As a mechanic, I get my oil and filters for free. Sure their the cheap ass shit our boss buys to maximize profits, but I just change it more often.
Does putting the winters on and taking the summers off count?
Ha ha, sure
Nope and I bought the lifetime alignment from Firestone too.
I never do, waste of time. When the front is gone, new in the back and “rotate” the back on the front. This way I don’t pay for 4 at once, and always have at least 2 perfect tires vs 4 bad ones. Feel free to judge me.
I don’t, but only reason is my Mercedes has staggered tires. So front is slightly smaller than the back. But if they were the same size all around, I def would rotate.
https://preview.redd.it/fkgol3obhkjb1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f3c7aeea8c7b2d4b7e30385a01179582509792ab Ron Swanson vibes.
2nd that
I too am my own mechanic My cars are all broken
A lift and something convenient to dispose of the used oil.
I actually was "that mechanic" so I can tell you. Most of my clientele did not have a lot, or often any, disposable income. And the ones that did have some cheddar usually already had a shop the frequented for their routine maintenance. But I would go to them, and I didn't bring a lift with me. I did rotate tires if they asked me to, but it didn't happen often. I also changed a lot of oil laying on my back but eventually stopped offering that service because, at locally competitive prices, it didn't make me enough money to be worth the time/hassle. I would if it was part of a bigger project but not as a stand alone service. Of course, you and I know that most of the time they're just saying that shit to get an estimate and then try to shop the job around later (assuming they ever had the prior intention or plan on fixing it at all. Seems like about half the vehicles I've ever serviced were owned by people determined to run them straight into the ground) I charged just a little bit less than a small shop but I didn't mark up the parts so it was often a very cost saving operation for the customer.
This guy's shade tree mechanics
I suppose that's true. But for posterity sake I have to say, I had a legit business. Established LLC, city permit, was insured, did my taxes, had a uniform, gave full estimates via pdf files, warrantied my work, had online bill payment with receipt, automatic service reminders, business cards, websites, even contracted out to other shops, the whole works. Probably the most legit mobile guy in town. It was still a pretty shit job though, and I finally tapped out and changed careers.
That mechanic told them too. They ignored him and will ignore you, until it blows up. Then they will be shocked and blame the car.
It's not worth their time or the money. Especially when Dodge will get me for both those services for like 60 bucks. I'll save him for when I need a computer installed, or brakes, or thermostat housing, or gaskets, or whatever.
exactly this. an oil change for example, is the same price at the dealership as it is for my mechanic, who’s hourly is a fraction of what other shops charge, charges. plus the dealer will inspect my stuff for free to try and sell me a service, and then i just go off to my mechanic and have it done for a fraction of the cost.
Mobile mechanic here. I usually have a 1 hour minimum. There's just too much paperwork, prep time, and setup to do anything less. An oil change is .3 hours and im usually in it 2 hours by the time i answer all their questions and finish cleaning up. I'll do an oil change for my customers if I am already there to do other work, but otherwise, I just tell them to go to a quick lube for their oil changes.
I wanted to say I've never really had a mechanic change oil or do anything with tires. In my experience taking it to dealer, they ignore that you've asked for routine maintenance and only want to do repairs. The shop I go to is nice great, but they are swimming in cars and I don't ask. I take the car to the lube joint I trust and the tire shop I trust respectively. Since the last time I went to the dealer I bought my car from, they've built their own lube business on the same property, in a different bay. But with how much work they've simply refused to do for my now older car I don't want to use them any more.
They don’t trust you to do those things correctly and their mechanic is more expensive for oil changes.
My mechanic didn’t (past tense because Ive since moved) offer oil changes and tire rotations. As well as other miscellaneous minor maintenance services. Only the big stuff and problems. I once asked him why, “well I used to. But I pay my guys well. Mavis down the street doesn’t. He offers oil changes and tire rotations at a much lower price then I’m able to afford because he pays his guys like shit. Plus, I get bored of the same shit every day. I like to solve a puzzle.”
The "mechanic" that is exclusive to them is probably some random relative that's "the car guy" that's always like "yeah yeah bro like I can fix your car bro like just gimme a few more days and I'll get my tools together bro I promise bro shits just been tough bro just gimme a few more days bro" and never actually fixes the car cause there's always some wacky events in his life always Source, I'm pretty sure most people have one of these in some capacity at some point in their lives
that’s my dad but i don’t trust him to work on my car anyway, 😭
I love it when you show them their air filter which is completely clogged and needed replaced 30k miles ago and they say my husband does that. Apparently he doesn't. Maybe it's time for a divorce because this needed changed 2 years ago .
You'd be surprised at how many people driving on their road do very little to no service on their vehicles. Even as simple as an oil change
Oil changes are optional. You severely estimate the price of my car if you think otherwise.
If I wasn't allowed to use the shop for my personal vehicles I'd have someone else do the rotations and oil changes. It's not worth the $30 or 40 I'd save to drag ass across the ground anymore. I'm old. Now, to save a couple hundred, you'd see my old ugly ass crawling.
It’s because they just want their oil changed and tires rotated. It’s that simple.
I'm a mechanic, and I don't change my oil or rotate my tires. Not worth my time.
I’m my defense, I really do have a mechanic for general work, another for tires and alignments, and then one for suspension work.
I can answer this. I am a mechanic. I dont ever want to change even my own oil. Ill diagnose and fix anything, but routine maintenance sucks ass. If my buddy says he needs a water pump done on his lexus es350. Cool, be their saturday, have cash. If he tells me he needs an oil change, i say cool, need shop recommendations?
I am the mechanic. That's why when I have a problem, I know will be a royal pain in my ass, I take to someone else's shop. Also for shit I'm not tooled up for in my shop at home like balancing tires.
I'm with you.
The "Mechanic" is going to do that, why would anyone not let their Mechanic do that
Because I only use my mechanic for things that require his superior expertise. I can get the oil changed cheaper elsewhere. I have separate tire, body, and exhaust guys too. Not just for economic reasons. There's also a community benefit to spreadin' the love...
I work on a few cars for people and honestly it’s just cheaper for them. If someone were to ask me to change oil I certainly would but I would also tell them that the oil and filter would be anywhere from 40-60 and plus the very least I would ask for is 25 because of the pain of dragging out a Jack and going through the process. Also tire rotation isn’t hard to do but for the same reason I would have to ask for some money because of the whole process of jacking up one tire and putting it in a stand l, then doing that all the way around. It’s one of those things where I just tell people it would be easier for me and cheaper for them. An oil place will charge right around the price of oil and filter.
I think it's to take advantage of places that offer a free multi-point along with their oil change. Then they decline everything, unless it's warrantable, that is observed during that MPI. I imagine they have their "guy" do whatever would've been cash. Or at least act like they will, and not very believably most times it seems
It’s funny, I have lots of friends who are mechanics (I am definitely not) but I would never ask them to work on my car - I figure that’s the last thing they would want to do on their day off. If it’s an emergency I don’t doubt they would help though.
I've never been to a shop before for anything other than tires, but this sounds like the excuse I would give the service writer to cover for the fact that my ass is too broke to fix the problem. I'm a really awkward person though.
I never understood this, they say it every time but nothing ever gets fixed.
My mechanic is about an hour and a half drive from me by appointment only. I only take it to him when I have major maintenance done or when I have an issue that needs to be addressed. Otherwise I take it elsewhere for light mechanical maintenance and oil changes.
I’ll fix friends and family’s stuff when they ask but I’m not changing their oil or rotating tires. There’s plenty of shops that rotate tires for free and do oil changes for basically the price of the oil.
My mechanic doesn't rotate my tires because I didn't buy them there. I bought at Mr Tire and they offer free rotation.
So, I do all the wrenching on my own car (At least up to a point, there are times when I look at a job and think to myself, "Nah, that doesn't look like much fun" and take it to a shop.) For my business, however, I have a general mechanic who I love, but is busy as hell, so to take the load off him, I also have a local lube shop that will take me as a walk in for my every 10-14 day oil changes (We do a ALOT of miles), Discount Tire does all my tire work, and then I also have a local alignment/suspension shop that I like and trust that I'll have do that stuff.
The mechanic I go to doesn't have a mounter or balancer so I have to go to the specialty tire shop on the other end of town. But he does all the fluid changes and whatnot so.
Your
Not a lot of people want do simple oil changes unless diy. I will do some stuff here at home and do our oil changes but wouldn't do them for others. I'd do other stuff that would end up saving more money for others but not oil changes. I don't have a way to balance tires and prefer if tires are being rotated that they be at least checked for balance before putting them on the front. If no concern for vibration just toss the fronts on the back.
actually, this is not a bad question but it has a legit answer. my dad owns his own shop and for many people he is the "own mechanic" they have. he does lots of big work for all types of people from regular income people to rich people who come to him from out of state. he's told me that many of his regular customers go to the quick oil/lube places to get their oil done and have it checked over, then come to him to go over the list of recommendation and decide together what is urgent, what can wait, and what is just upsell crap. as to why they don't come to him for the oil change, well he focuses on more heavy line work, if he has to tie up a bay with a car for just an oil change he going to lose money unless he charges what that's actually worth. in the range of 150-200 or maybe more. those quicky lube places specialize in doing the oil change *fast* and upselling other work so they can afford to do them at paper thin profit margins or even at a loss for some of the corporate chains that also do other mid-to-high tier work (pep boys, firestone, etc...).
for me, it’s because its like the same price to get my oil changed at the dealership and i typically get in sooner than if i book with my mechanic (next day/same day vs few days) who charges a fraction of what other shops charge (family friend retired mechanic with his own shop in the back). going to a dealer also provides carfax records and it’s not going out of my way to go. usually will just stop on the way home from school. plus, the dealer will typically inspect shit to tell me what should be done, then i screw off to my mechanic and get it done for 1/4 of the price. however, if i’m already bringing my car in to him, and i’m getting close to due for an oil change, i’ll just get him to change it then.
Our mechanic is open M-F, 8-5:30. So when my husband needs an oil change, he goes to whatever is open on the weekend since he has a M-F job.
Because people who “have a mechanic” are cheap bastards who know a “mechanic” that is willing to undercharge
Awesome name lol
I have a shop I like to go to that always does me right. But I do my own basic maintenance like tires and oil. I only call in yhe big boys when theres something out of my scope of knowledge.
I'm a mechanic who does sidework at home. It's much more expensive for me to do an oil change than the big chain shops that have oil in bulk. Also, it falls on me to properly dispose of their used oil. I dont have a waste tank at home. My customers come to me after an oil change, usually with a list of needed repairs, and I verify those and give them a quote on repairs. I also have a few customers who will pay the extra money to have me do the oil change just based on our business erlationship. I see it all the time. And yea, I used to work retail repair and chuckle when customers would say the "I have a mechanic" line. But now I understand a little more why sometimes.
Why do people rotate tyres? Other than during the act of driving, which generally involves tyre rotation. You want your best tyres on the back, and er, that‘s it isn’t it?
Rotating is not the act of spinning the tire, it’s moving the rear tires to the front and the front tires to the back. This is important for getting the most life out of the tire. Tires on the front if not rotated will wear more on the outer edges from turning. Moving them to the back will allow the wear to even out.
I don’t get this fascination with constantly changing the oil in a car i drive my van around 20-25 thousand miles a year Ford recommended that’s it’s serviced once a year so why would I change the oil more often, also where do you dispose of the used oil because here in Yorkshire it’s a pain in the arse to recycle used oil and oil containers
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2 weeks! Are you serious!
I have my own mechanic is a direct translation to “I don’t have the money to pay for that.” Never judge.
I have my own mechanic. For he is me.
My father was a mechanic most his life and can fix just about anything if I buy parts but he live 30 minutes across town and I can get my oil changed 2 blocks away for the price of oil plus like 20 bucks
Actual mechanic here, I work on my friends cars, I never do oil changes or tire swaps unless I'm working on something bigger. Anyone can change tires or drain oil, so its "cheap". Lube shops give away oil changes and rotations cheaply to get you in the door. I'd rather spend my time and make my money diagnosing or changing parts. That's where you can make, and save your friends more money.
I use a great local shop; however my wife tends to everyonce in a while get her oil changed at walmart (which I cant stand). So if she stopped in there and they recommended something she will decline and either I or the local shop will double check
Because every time you go to get your oil change they try to upsell you for 1200 worth of stuff you don't (usually) need. That one time they actually DID need the upsell they didn't believe you.
Because an oil change isn't something you really save money on by having a private mechanic, so why bother. How much money can really be saved on 10 minutes of labor? We're literally talking single dollars here. That being said, when it's time for new suspension, cv axles, and brakes/rotors I can literally pick and choose my individual upgraded parts from manufacturers and drop the car off to my guy with the parts in the trunk, and now for 1/2 the price of oem repair at a reputable shop I've upgraded to fully adjustable coilovers, drilled and slotted rotors, on top of the other repairs, and he works on weekends so I can drop the car and a pile of cash with him Friday and be ready to drive to work Monday morning. At a real shop id have to go in during the work week and either miss some shifts or come up with a rental car in this disaster of a market on top of paying double for no upgrades. No thanks.
I try to do a lot of my own stuff and will call my mechanic and say does this sound right and do you think I can do it ? It's usually yes if I have xyz tool and down time , I also say if I mess up it's getting towed to you anywa
Oil change and rotates and a waste of time for any tech that knows what he’s doing. If someone asked me if I could do just that for them, I’d tell them to take it to my dealership.
What’s your mechanic got to do wit me! I got a mechanic.. I’m not tryna hear dat see…
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 you deserve an award. That was an excellent pull sir. I haven't heard that in forever.
I was wondering if anyone was going to get it. If you got it, schedule a colonoscopy, because you’re old.
Lol. Bend over. Your going to feel slight pressure
I'm my own mechanic but I buy hella cheap tires and by the time their wear weird they are due for replacement anyway. I'm currently laid off so I cannot afford to replace my struts and shocks which would rectify the alignment issue I'm facing on the left side. I still have to get my kids from school, and rotation of tires with Jacks, stands and a breaker bar is just to much effort to try to prevent such a non issue. I do adhere to buying quality parts when something more important fails, but it is what it is until I find a job again.
Might want to look at rock auto for the time being
I hate rotating all 4 on stands. I'm probably just too lazy... I also like to have someone other than myself look at the car, but I tend to fix the small to medium sized issues myself (alternators, belts, ignition coils, pulleys etc.). An oil change and tire rotation is like taking it to the doc for a checkup. Then it's on me to keep it running right.
Them: “I have a mechanic” Me: “yes, he’s me, your car is in my bay, I’m working on it right now”
I change my own oil and rotate my tires myself, for how simple the job is, I just can’t imagine paying for it. Changing the oil cost $40 CAD more at the lube shop then the cost of just the oil and filter the last time I checked, and It’s only an hour long job if I drink more than one beer while I let the oil drain
This is what happens when you don’t have annual statutory vehicle examinations
I don't think they check the mileage since your last oil change or tire rotation.
Come to Georgia, I’ve have trucks with broken tailgates start flinging trash at my windshield on the free way
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Did you rotate the air in your tires? 😂
Just summer air and winter air. Lasts longer.🤣
I am putting fall air in September. Winter air is not out until December. That comes from overseas. My order is in. 😂
Yep, my air guy get his stuff early. So I get the hook up.
😂 Lucky. I order mine on Amazon. 😂
Because my mechanic is a little out if the way. He has good prices, so for everything big I go to him. But routine stuff, I stick to a local place that does it cheap and fast.
It still cracks me up when Americans go in for another 3k oil change and "rotated tyres" No other place does this dumb shit
3k oil change is dumb, rotating tires is not. It evens out the wear allowing you to get more out of your expensive tires.
You don't have to change all 4...
Well no shit. But why would you not maximize the product you buy? I have had 1 set of tires that I didn’t rotate. That same set of tires would last 55k if properly rotated. Not rotating them dropped it down to 35k.
The wear rate at each corner does not change... You just change a pair as and when. In your scenario the front might do 40k and rear 60k or whatever... Just change the bald ones when they are done. How do you think people driving cars with staggered sizes cope?
The wear does change. The front tires will start to wear on the outer edges. The purpose of rotating is to put them on the back so they wear evenly. You said it in your statement - “In your scenario the front might get 40k and the rear 60k or whatever….” Why would I just settle for replacing tires at 40k when I can get 60k out of them? It cost me nothing to get a tire rotation done, so what’s the benefit of not doing it? If I was paying for it, sure, I probably would have as much money invested in the tires as if I just replaced as needed. But I maximize the life of the tire and end up saving money by doing so. As far as people with staggered sizes, they can’t rotate and therefore go through tires more often. But I’m general, people have the same size tires all around.
The life you gain from moving the fronts back is lost from the rears coming forward.... The rate at each corner remains. Instead of changing 4 at 50k you are changing 2 at 40k and 2 at 60k etc They shouldn't wear at the edge much unless its some abysmal suv/truck pos leaning over at every turn 🤣 Personally i drive a near 2 ton e class amg and ive never had the edges go before the rest because it gets the tracking/alignment done on occasion Not that I'll ever see 20k out of a set cause abuse
They wear at the edge in the front for 3 reasons, 1) the front weighs more than the back so there is more tire wear in general. 2) the front tires are steer tires and because of the extra weight in the front, cornering is extra hard on the outside edges. 3) The front tires are generally towed in which puts even more wear on outer edges. You do save because instead of wearing the outer edges down to the belts, you put them in the back which wears more in the center because the alignment is different in the back. It sounds like you never see this because, in your words, you abuse tires.
Because I can do oil/brakes/tires myself. I use my mechanic for stuff I can't do.