I have noticed in my local news, there have been several stories about untrustworthy mechanics lately. It seems about every 6 months or so, there are several news stories in a row about an auto body shop committing fraud, the police closing down a chop shop, and then *surprise!* a list of approved mechanic shops and NewsGuyOnYourSide interviews someone trustworthy.
After listening to Captain Stud rant about how bad mechanics were making good technicians look disreputable, I thought, “Well, how do you avoid bad ones?” So, I sat down and interviewed him. This turned out to be much more difficult than you imagine, because apparently I am not a good interviewer and Captain Stud is not good at mind reading. However, Captain Stud is still a brilliant car guy. And it drives me crazy, because I am not a car girl.
He has a degree in Mechanical Sciences. He has been turning wrenches for 14 years and has 5 years in a shop environment. He specializes in electrical diagnostics, and he is amazing at it. He also has about a bazillion ASE qualifications and is Ford Master Tech qualified.
I have transcribed our interview which has been mostly left intact.
Interviewer (Me!): “Everyone knows that there are some car issues you can tackle yourself if you can. What are some of those easy jobs?”
Captain Stud: “Oil changes, definitely oil changes. Basically a tune up. You know, air filter, spark plugs and wires if you can handle them. Topping off your fluids.”
Interviewer: “Let’s talk about oil changes then. What if you take it to one of those quick lube shops? How do you choose which level of service to get and not get pressured into the next level?”
Captain Stud: “Well, oil changes can be ok to do yourself. But if you go to a shop, just know what your car needs beforehand. Not everyone needs synthetic premium oil at $30 a quart. Newer cars do need a synthetic blend though. If your car has over 100,000 miles on it, use high mileage oil. Change your oil every 3,000 miles. Change your oil filter every time you change your oil. And never cheap out on your oil filter. You may or may not need your air filter changed. You can do that yourself though, and save a lot of money.”
Interviewer: “I found someone that I trust to change the oil on my car. But when I went to the parts store, there was a 30’ wall of oil to choose from. Help!”
Captain Stud: “Use an API (American Petroleum Institute) certified engine oil. Every car is going to use different weight oil. It will be a number, letter, and then another number. Something like 5W-20 or 10W-30. It will be on a sticker under the hood or in the owner’s manual. It might even be printed on the oil fill cap. If it isn’t any of those places, ask the clerk and they can look it up. Look for a circle icon on the back of the bottle called the API donut. It will have the API service classification printed inside of it. Some store brand oils are actually excellent quality and they will be API Service Symbol “donut” authorized. But some expensive brand name oils are only API Certification Mark “starburst” authorized. Personally I don’t use those ones.
After listening to Captain Stud rant about how bad mechanics were making good technicians look disreputable, I thought, “Well, how do you avoid bad ones?” So, I sat down and interviewed him. This turned out to be much more difficult than you imagine, because apparently I am not a good interviewer and Captain Stud is not good at mind reading. However, Captain Stud is still a brilliant car guy. And it drives me crazy, because I am not a car girl.
He has a degree in Mechanical Sciences. He has been turning wrenches for 14 years and has 5 years in a shop environment. He specializes in electrical diagnostics, and he is amazing at it. He also has about a bazillion ASE qualifications and is Ford Master Tech qualified.
I have transcribed our interview which has been mostly left intact.
Interviewer (Me!): “Everyone knows that there are some car issues you can tackle yourself if you can. What are some of those easy jobs?”
Captain Stud: “Oil changes, definitely oil changes. Basically a tune up. You know, air filter, spark plugs and wires if you can handle them. Topping off your fluids.”
Interviewer: “Let’s talk about oil changes then. What if you take it to one of those quick lube shops? How do you choose which level of service to get and not get pressured into the next level?”
Captain Stud: “Well, oil changes can be ok to do yourself. But if you go to a shop, just know what your car needs beforehand. Not everyone needs synthetic premium oil at $30 a quart. Newer cars do need a synthetic blend though. If your car has over 100,000 miles on it, use high mileage oil. Change your oil every 3,000 miles. Change your oil filter every time you change your oil. And never cheap out on your oil filter. You may or may not need your air filter changed. You can do that yourself though, and save a lot of money.”
Interviewer: “I found someone that I trust to change the oil on my car. But when I went to the parts store, there was a 30’ wall of oil to choose from. Help!”
Captain Stud: “Use an API (American Petroleum Institute) certified engine oil. Every car is going to use different weight oil. It will be a number, letter, and then another number. Something like 5W-20 or 10W-30. It will be on a sticker under the hood or in the owner’s manual. It might even be printed on the oil fill cap. If it isn’t any of those places, ask the clerk and they can look it up. Look for a circle icon on the back of the bottle called the API donut. It will have the API service classification printed inside of it. Some store brand oils are actually excellent quality and they will be API Service Symbol “donut” authorized. But some expensive brand name oils are only API Certification Mark “starburst” authorized. Personally I don’t use those ones.
Interviewer: “Which is worse, using cheap oil for 3,000 miles or using expensive oil for 6,000 miles?”
Captain Stud: “Neither. Why are you asking me this!?”
Interviewer: “Well, what if money is tight that month? Can you skip your oil change?”
Captain Stud: “That is not a good question. No, you can’t skip your oil change. You better put that I don’t recommend either.”
Interviewer: “Ok I will. I promise.”
Captain Stud:” I recommend changing your oil and oil filter every 3,000 miles using the correct API oil for the vehicle. However, it is better to change your oil more often using cheaper oil instead of trying to stretch another thousand miles out of your old expensive oil.”
Interviewer: “So I took my car into a quick lube place. How do I know they changed my oil?”
Captain Stud: “If you don’t trust your mechanic, don’t go to them. But you can verify that they did change your oil with a paper towel. Open the hood. Most automatic cars have two dip sticks. The one for oil is a black or yellow loop. Pull it out and wipe it on the paper towel. Stick it back in, pull it out, and wipe it on a clean section of paper towel. Look at the second swipe. Old oil is dirty and black. New oil is brown and almost translucent. You can also do a web search for the location of your car’s oil filter. It will always be on the bottom side of your engine, but the specific location is different on each vehicle. Once you get your vehicle returned to you, get down on the ground and look underneath. If the oil filter is still covered in dirt and road grime, ask to speak with a manager. Maybe you are looking in the wrong location or maybe they really didn’t replace it. But if there is a shiny new part staring back at you from the bottom of your engine, you know the technician did what you asked them to do.”
Interviewer: “You mentioned that if I don’t trust my mechanic, I shouldn’t go to him. But how do I pick a shop to begin with?”
Captain Stud: “Talk to people. Read online reviews, the recent ones. Employees come and go, so recent reviews are more reliable. Use the shop with the best service rating with the most people rating them. Any shop worth their bricks will have an ASE mechanic there. Not every problem needs to be handled by a dealership, and dealerships charge a premium for their knowledge. Some problems do need to go to the dealership though, so be aware of that. AAA rates mechanic shops, and so does the BBB.”
Interviewer: “Thank you for your time, Captain Stud. My readers certainly appreciate your level of expertise.”
Captain Stud: “You’re welcome, babe. I love you.”
Interviewer: “You can’t say that. I’m still recording. Let me turn it off first.”
Captain Stud: “But I do. I’m sorry, is it still going?”
End of interview.
Captain Stud: “Neither. Why are you asking me this!?”
Interviewer: “Well, what if money is tight that month? Can you skip your oil change?”
Captain Stud: “That is not a good question. No, you can’t skip your oil change. You better put that I don’t recommend either.”
Interviewer: “Ok I will. I promise.”
Captain Stud:” I recommend changing your oil and oil filter every 3,000 miles using the correct API oil for the vehicle. However, it is better to change your oil more often using cheaper oil instead of trying to stretch another thousand miles out of your old expensive oil.”
Interviewer: “So I took my car into a quick lube place. How do I know they changed my oil?”
Captain Stud: “If you don’t trust your mechanic, don’t go to them. But you can verify that they did change your oil with a paper towel. Open the hood. Most automatic cars have two dip sticks. The one for oil is a black or yellow loop. Pull it out and wipe it on the paper towel. Stick it back in, pull it out, and wipe it on a clean section of paper towel. Look at the second swipe. Old oil is dirty and black. New oil is brown and almost translucent. You can also do a web search for the location of your car’s oil filter. It will always be on the bottom side of your engine, but the specific location is different on each vehicle. Once you get your vehicle returned to you, get down on the ground and look underneath. If the oil filter is still covered in dirt and road grime, ask to speak with a manager. Maybe you are looking in the wrong location or maybe they really didn’t replace it. But if there is a shiny new part staring back at you from the bottom of your engine, you know the technician did what you asked them to do.”
Interviewer: “You mentioned that if I don’t trust my mechanic, I shouldn’t go to him. But how do I pick a shop to begin with?”
Captain Stud: “Talk to people. Read online reviews, the recent ones. Employees come and go, so recent reviews are more reliable. Use the shop with the best service rating with the most people rating them. Any shop worth their bricks will have an ASE mechanic there. Not every problem needs to be handled by a dealership, and dealerships charge a premium for their knowledge. Some problems do need to go to the dealership though, so be aware of that. AAA rates mechanic shops, and so does the BBB.”
Interviewer: “Thank you for your time, Captain Stud. My readers certainly appreciate your level of expertise.”
Captain Stud: “You’re welcome, babe. I love you.”
Interviewer: “You can’t say that. I’m still recording. Let me turn it off first.”
Captain Stud: “But I do. I’m sorry, is it still going?”
End of interview.