Every driver knows the importance of having a trusted mechanic. But the sad reality is that most people don’t have the slightest clue if their mechanic is performing good work or if they’re just doing the bare minimum. The car works when you get it back, but that doesn’t mean it was good service.
There are small things that set an average mechanic apart from a great one, but they aren’t always clear. It’s not only about the work they’re doing (although that’s important) but the communication skills they have, what they’re telling you and their level of engagement with what’s wrong versus what’s working in the engine or under the hood at that moment.
They Tell You What’s Wrong in Layman’s Terms
To give the proper explanation for what is wrong, a mechanic must have good communication skills and make sure you don’t feel stupid for not knowing what needs to be fixed. They will not tell you something’s broken with crazy jargon or wave their hands like a crazy person, noting “the thingamajig is broken.” No. They will say what’s wrong, why it’s wrong and what will happen if you leave it alone.
But they won’t oversimplify it either; the point is to translate from mechanic speak to something a common, average human would understand. If you need to fix your brakes, they’ll tell you what part of the system is gone, what that part does, and how it will break your ability to brake on the road. They might even show you what part is worn down.
On the other hand, those who give vague answers or roll their eyes when you ask questions are either insecure about why they think they know what’s wrong, or they really want you to avoid asking too many questions about the insane bill.
Your Service History Improves Over Time
This is something that people often overlook: when you have a go-to mechanic and your bills remain upwards of $2,000 every other month, something is wrong. If a reliable mechanic is checking your fluids and belts before they become massive catastrophes months down the line, then all is well.
Reliability and repeat business with a car service provider means things are small nip and tucks here and there, yes, the belt needs to be changed in 5 months and yes the windshield wipers need something sooner rather than later, but there should not be $2,000 surprise repairs after every service visit (or worse, every few months).
Things should be moving in a preventative direction. They shouldn’t disintegrate. If you’re routinely going to the same place and you’ve got $2,000 repairs regarding the same systems happening too frequently, there’s either bad work being done or worse, someone who’s only addressing symptoms, but not necessarily the cause.
They Show You What They Found (As Opposed to Just Tell You)
Another big red flag is one who’s not comfortable bringing you back to your car or showing you the findings. Real professionals aren’t afraid to show you why you’re paying for work. They bring you back to your car to show you what’s happening. They show you the tread on a tire that needs to be repaired. Lastly, they let you see how dirty your oil is on the dipstick. Real honest mechanics want transparency for everyone involved.
Some will take photos during inspections and send them to your phone. Others will keep parts that they replaced and show them to you when you’re picking the car up. They’re not trying to convince you of fraud; they’re trying to show you how hard their work speaks for itself.
On the other hand, those establishments that never seem to have time to show you what’s going on or give fuzzy explanations to vague problems and make you feel like you’re wasting their time because you’re asking them where the problem is, huge red flags waving right in front of your face.
They Tell You What Does Not Need Fixing
One of the best qualities in a mechanic is when they talk you out of repairs because it’s not worth your time and money yet. They’ll assess something that you think needs attention now and they’ll say “yeah, it’s worn down, but you’ve got about 10,000 miles before it’s an issue.” Or they’ll suggest that this repair is really an issue down the road and buy you time until you’ve got enough money saved to get a more critical part put in.
You might think this is weird, aren’t they supposed to get my money, but no. Good mechanics know that one customer who comes back for years for their reliability and skilled expertise will get them more business than one customer who’ve they milked for everything they’ve got today? Bad mechanics always say everything’s an emergency. Everything’s a safety issue. They’ll find things that you didn’t know were broken and somehow it’s all essential and they must be fixed, now.
They Don’t Hold Up.
This should be a no-brainer, but it’s not: if something doesn’t work after one visit, that’s a problem. It shouldn’t take repeated visits to fix the same thing. This is misdiagnosis at best and cheap workmanship and parts at worst.
Good shops stand behind their work with warranties because they’re confident about what they do, they will not fear having you come back because their repairs don’t become complaints. They’re good; they’re reliable; it happens less than often.
They’re Not Trying to Relate with You by Being Charming
This might shock people, they’re mechanics, not people-persons. Some of the best mechanics might come off as cold, gruff and bland, they just don’t know how to translate their honest good work into niceties, and that’s ok.
But even still, they’re not going to badger you with unwanted small talk or passive-aggressive complaints if you’ve been coming back there for six months for a windshield wiper fluid refill to imply you’re taking advantage of their generosity.
At the same time, as an aside, some of the shadiest operations are talkative smiley people who seem so nice until it’s revealed they’ve convinced you to pay $800 for something you didn’t need done. This does not mean they’re allowed to be rude, but don’t conflate personality with competence and quality work provided, just because they’re friendly.
What Actually Should Matter
Assessing a good mechanic boils down to taking a leap of faith with each assessment over time, one good assessment won’t seal in stone any real decision, but it’s important that after three or four calls, someone recognizes your car’s wellbeing as something that matters, because it does matter, to you.
A great mechanic is honest when things could be better; when things could be better, they admit it. Any respectable person providing car service will communicate effectively, let you know what’s going on and hold up what’s gone on; major bulletins are seldom shot in one visit; it’s almost like they’ve forged a relationship by being honest along the way.
It’s less adversarial and more like hey, believe me. Don’t question my abilities based on my work. But don’t concern yourself second-guessing everything I’m saying while hoping there are no bumps in the road, this isn’t practical. That’s how you can tell you’re with a good mechanic. You’ll know.