24/7 Chat About Anything

[maki2]

Ask your woman mechanic if it bothers her to be thought of as one of the “guys” working there. It never occurred for it to matter to me when I was an aircraft mechanic. It was not demeaning, I was just part of a mixed gender team who all did the same work and received the same pay.

 

[vanbrat]

Unfortunately there is still a lot of not so nice mechanics that take advantage of female car owners in particular. Whenever my sons girlfriend took her car in for whatever the shop she went to really ripped her off. After he heard about some of the sh&t they pulled he took the same car in and got a whole different story about how much it would cost and what was wrong. To be truthful he has a guy friend who has the same story....
Now one of the friend services he offers is to take their cars in for them. NOT to that shop. While he is not a full on mechanic, he has done his share of time as one in both good shops and one he turned in to better business for their shady practices.
Saying guy though is to me just the same as saying person and when someone tells me I am in the good ol' boys club at doing 'stuff' out here I don't get to offended. Depending on the tone of voice!

 

[VanFan]

Now one of the friend services he offers is to take their cars in for them.

Are you saying we need to ask a guy to take it to the shop, 'cuz, you know: only a guy won't get ripped of? (Please don't take this personally. I am only playing around with the concept. It sounds like he offers his service to persons of any gender needing someone to "talk shop" at the shop. Bravo!)

 

[vanbrat]

No not just a 'a guy'. Anyone who knows enough about cars to not be taken advantage of... I have enough to almost sound like I know what I am talking about, mostly enough to know when someone is trying to BS me. If they object to me making a few phone calls while I think about it, then nope. Mostly hubby does the talking and has more than once said no I think I will go home and think about it...AKA I will not do this because you are not trustable.

One time I knew the part we needed and called 5-6 places and with the part name and number got 5-6 prices. Hubby was working long hours, so he had me call. But when he saw all the prices he flipped. Then he called the same places and asked the same questions and got different prices at MOST of the places. I sat with him and listened as he talked. It wasn't a complicated part brake drum or ??? for an older sport car or something. Way back in the 80's. I think things are better for the most part now, but there are still a few rotten apples.

 

[maki2]

These things can work both ways. Women get better service and prices at repair shops than men do. People are very much individuals so there is no reliable prediction for this situation.

 

[Happy Camper]

These things can work both ways. Women get better service and prices at repair shops than men do. People are very much individuals so there is no reliable prediction for this situation.

It's been my experience that women that aren't very knowledgeable about car repair and parts get a bad deal the majority of the time. That obviously doesn't apply to you, so your experience is probably well outside the norm.

It happens to guys as well. But not as often.

I've had many lady friends over the years get ripped off or get bad quotes. And a lot of the time they didn't want me to go back to the shop because they are embarrassed.

I had one friend get a tune-up on her car that was cost roughly 8 times the going rate for the things that were done. I had her show me the invoice. We went to her car and I showed her how they literally hasn't even touched or moved things they said we're replaced. Anne they charged her for relaxing 8 spark plugs. She had a 4 cylinder. Battery cables replaced that still has slight corrosion. I think they changed her oil, but pretty much nothing more.

One of my best friends will call me to double check before going to a mechanic. He'll describe symptoms and I'll give me best ideas of what it might be. And what night be required to fix it. He goes in and knows some of the terminology and lingo regarding the problem, and will drop a few "thoughts he has" regarding those fixes. Good service and work, because being an informed consumer is good for you.

If you can't phone a friend, or know anyone that is knowledge about your issue, post here in the mechanical section. Ask questions. Go on YouTube and learn possible fixes and what the parts and terms mean. And how they talk about it in the video. Then when you do go to the mechanic, drop a few hints that you know these things. Never mention you looked it up or got your info from anywhere else. You know this stuff. Period. Be confident and normal when speaking to them about it, as if you were talking about anything else that you might be more knowledgeable about. Hell, even sprinkle some of your real knowledge about something you know so they realize they're dealing with someone who "knows things".

Its not as involved as it seems reading the above. But it is effective. And not just for mechanical work.

 

[maki2]

I suppose if you go through life

 

[Morgana]

You need a lot of the same shopping/vetting skills that you need in any other part of life.
"Eternal vigilance" is kinda "the price of getting through the d@mn day" any more.
Personally I've seen a fair amount of similarity between what I've had to do to get my car taken care of and what I've had to do to get decent medical care.

I even had one excellent shop, which I researched the cr@p out of before using and then happily patronized for seven years, have one $h|tty employee try to rip me off for a couple thousand dollars when I was in a very vulnerable place. The guy was like a caricature of bad 1950s car mechanic, and they knew it, but for whatever reason couldn't/wouldn't get rid of him -- so they made him a floater, which from the customer's POV just meant that you couldn't avoid him by going to a different branch, he could crop up anywhere bwaaaaa.

But I got through it, because I was paying attention and took care of myself. (I mean, there's always also luck involved -- if the @$$hole parade is long enough, you might lose out, but usually if you keep pushing you'll get to a decent solution. Decent car mechanics are my heros.)

Among other things, ask a lot of questions and pay attention to HOW people answer. If they try to frighten you or make you feel stupid -- or if their answers are too vague or too arcane to understand -- that's all the red flag you need to walk away. (Note: arcane language does NOT mean that someone is a big-*** expert; it just means that they've failed to communicate with you; there's nothing impressive about that.) I look at reviews (with a big grain of salt), and whether they have, for example, ASE certification or NAPA affiliation or a good BBB rating. ... None of these is a silver bullet, but in combination they can improve your chances of success a lot.

In the early 2000s I had a book titled something like The Women's Guide to Car Buying, but by now I'm sure there's a million resources like that online. (And it's not like guys don't have to learn this stuff too.)

It's an S-ton of work and stress with no guarantees. If you want to and can get someone else to do it for you,
\_(**)_/ ... but it shouldn't come down to your genitalia. (And if "it's a sexist field" was a good reason to "get a guy to do it for you," then half the people on this forum would still be barefoot in a kitchen somewhere -- the worse the problem is, the more women should be learning to cope with it.)

Here's to all the independent people on this forum, and all the skilled people who share their knowledge so generously.

 

[maki2]

My parents raised all 5 of us, boys and girls as equals who were capable of learning anything. Self confidence begins in childhood as does learning about mechanical stuff. There was no this is for girls and this is for boys chores or activities in my family.

 

[user 36441]

My parents raised all 5 of us, boys and girls as equals who were capable of learning anything. Self confidence begins in childhood as does learning about mechanical stuff. There was no this is for girls and this is for boys chores or activities in my family.

 

[user 36441]

You guys have all misunderstood me. Morgana was going to have to get under the dash and check the back of the radio to make sure it was bolted in properly. I have had to do that a couple of times and I had to contort my body in a very painful way. I suggested she find a guy to do it because I would have liked to see her spared from that. I can see now that it was a mistake and am very sorry. F*ck me for feeling chivalrous, ha.

 

[BelgianPup]

I have had the same mechanic for about 15 years, here in WA. When I was transporting RR crews, my current mechanic did the work on the RR's road vehicles and high-rail rigs (they run on the RR tracks AND the streets), and he also serviced the Postal Service rigs. I figured if both those operations trusted him, I could, too. I was right.

If I was van living in southern NV, I would STILL come back here for periodic checks. And repairs, if possible. Still cheaper (including gas) than dealing with crooks.

 

[maki2]

After putting in time this last month cutting more inventory for my Etsy shop I was down to being out of stock on just a couple of kits in the color black which typically only sells at Halloween. But of course Murphy’s law came into play and that is exactly what someone ordered this morning after I had already packed up my work stuff! Oh well, guess I will just have to get busy and unpack things again and put in another two mornings of work. Then pack up and leave for the Coconino NFS on Monday to stay for several weeks. Time to resupply a few things at the stores in Flagstaff, get mail forwarded, order in a few items from Amazon etc. I will miss this peaceful campsite in the Kaibab Forest but I will look forward to returning again.

 

[vanbrat]

My parents raised all 5 of us, boys and girls as equals who were capable of learning anything. Self confidence begins in childhood as does learning about mechanical stuff. There was no this is for girls and this is for boys chores or activities in my family.

You were lucky, my folks told me and my sister that girls did not need to go to college because girls don't need that. There are girl things and there are boy things. PERIOD. Girls could work outside the home, but only at girl things. Boys should make more money then the girl.
My boys were taught to sew, work on cars, how to cook, how to make their own beds and do their own laundry ETC ETC. They got their make it, fix it, re do it attitude from their dad. They got the 'make a mess it's fun' from me.
I was told, after I left home, that I should have been a mechanic as I love mechanical puzzles. But I don't like greasy hands. So nope.

 

[Happy Camper]

I was told, after I left home, that I should have been a mechanic as I love mechanical puzzles. But I don't like greasy hands. So nope.

Maybe you should design mechanical puzzles, whatever that might look like. All fun. Maybe profit. No grease.

 

[maki2]

Or maybe design some automata kits. Those are good sellers.

This is not a kit but Keith Newstead this brilliant artist designed many kits that are still being sold. Sadly though he died a few years ago. But there are videos on various websites where he teaches the principle of creating the mechanics of the motions. There are now a lot of companies designing kits that teach the basics of mechanics in kit form for the STEAM and STEM classes that are now part of the K-12 curriculums. So it is an actual career that could be worked at in a nomadic vehicle with software and prototypes and the occasional time camped at or near a Makerspace where more advanced prototypes can be created. There is a good maker space in Salt Lake City where there is room to park a campervan. Another well equipped Makerspace is in Flagstaff as well. Plus several more
in the Pacific Northwest and California. .

 

[vanbrat]

Very cool stuff.

 

[maki2]

This Etsy shop owner is designing, making and selling charming and engaging small automata kits that would be suitable for a nomadic business. Click on the images of the products in the shop as they have posted videos that show it in motion. The materials are not expensive or bulky and the tools to fabricate the kits are not large either. Just showing it as an example of a creative business that can be done while traveling for some extra income by a person with a mechanical inclination and an eye for artistic proportions.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Thatandstuff

 

[BelgianPup]

This Etsy shop owner is designing, making and selling charming and engaging small automata kits that would be suitable for a nomadic business.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Thatandstuff

Those are clever! Imagine life-sized, on a post with a windmill rotor!

 

[txmnjim]

Unfortunately there is still a lot of not so nice mechanics that take advantage of female car owners in particular.

for sure, i always say some mechanics have two different price books for male and females. i won't let my
wife call about servicing her car...and most of the time she listens to me