"it's not that there are a lot rip off mechanics,it's the crazy over head,licencing,insurance,fees and taxes small business face today"
That only applies to the PRICES. It does not apply to the total lack of conscience of many repair shops.
I cannot find it online, but maybe 10-15 years ago I read a long article by Reader's Digest. They paid an older couple to travel around the U.S. for several months to check out random auto repair places of all types, from gas stations to dealerships. Their car was gone over completely before they left; the replaceable parts were marked (engraved?), and then they turned them loose. All they had to do was document how they had disable the car, where they took it, what was done, and collect the receipts.
When they approached a likely town during business hours, he would pull over and do something to the car, like disconnect a spark plug wire, then limp into town and pull into a place. One young guy came out and lifted the hood, and then said, "Well, here it is -- you've just got a loose wire here. I can fix that in a minute -- no charge".
But the MAJORITY of the places told them they needed something replaced at a medium price to hundreds of dollars. The articles named names, too. When the couple finally returned home, they turned over the car to the place that had done the initial inspections, repairs and marking of parts. Many of the parts that had supposedly been replaced were still in the car.
Sometimes you're lucky. I went on a 2-week road trip in the early 90s (S NV to UT to WY to NV to CA to OR) and the Dodge van that I had bought the month before broke down THREE TIMES on the trip: fuel pump was blowing gas, water pump went out, the lights went on indicating the alternator or something wasn't charging the battery as I drove.
I was shot with luck. I could smell the fuel on I-15 south of Provo, UT. I pulled off the road at a small town (sign said Pop. 700) at 5 p.m. on Friday night and pulled to the curb in a residential neighborhood. A young man came down a driveway said, "Smells like you're losing gas", and stopped to look at the fuel blowing out. He said the pump was bad. Where could I get it repaired in town? Couldn't; weekend, fishing season had just opened. He worked for a mechanic in town, and could get a replacement at the junkyard tonight and fix it tomorrow. The woman whose car he had just returned let me spend the night in her living room with my dog, and she drove him to get the used pump. He fixed it the next day, wanted $20 plus the cost of the pump (I gave him $40, he fussed, and I told him if he didn't take it, I would have to beat him up). The woman refused anything for letting me stay there (I sneaked two twenties into her sugar bowl where she would find it after I left).
Almost got into SW Wyoming when the indicator light said my battery wasn't charging. I turned everything electrical off and limped into Rock Springs, sweating. My friend there sent me to her mechanic the next day. He said it was just a loose wire, no charge to tighten the bolt, if I could go to the corner store and pick up some chew for him.
Headed back into UT, and then west through one of the most remote areas of NV on Hwy. 50, which is billed as "the loneliest road in America". I almost got to Eureka (pop. 600) when the water pump failed and the engine overheated. Waited in a pullout for 1.5 hrs, and finally a car stopped. A man and a woman, two little dogs in a packed little Pinto headed east. She got out and stayed at the van, I got in and he drove me eight miles to Eureka ("Loneliest town on the loneliest road in America") and dropped me at the largest repair place, and headed back to pick up his wife (refused payment, saying "Used to be, you wouldn't have to wait 15 minutes before someone stopped"). Repair place was too busy to do anything, they called a guy with a small repair place outside town. He came into town, picked me up, took me to the van; he gradually topped off the radiator, and he followed me into town to a mining camp RV park, where I stayed the night (attendant was drunk as a hoot owl). I drove to the tiny repair place, he replaced the water pump for $40 (gave him $50, said buy a beer).
Headed west in to CA, camped in the Redwoods. Noticed my brake lights were on, and they wouldn't turn off. Battery dead by morning, got a jump from two girls in next campsite, headed north to Springfield, OR. Parked in my friend's driveway, brake lights still on, battery dead the next morning. Jumped the battery again, took the rig to my old dependable mechanic, he quoted $85 to fix. Came back at 4:30, got a bill for $12.50... He said, "It wasn't what I thought it was".
Then I got the stomach flu, and a few days later said, to 'ell with this trip and headed home.
Lessons learned:
*Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than rich or good-looking.
* Keep cash on hand.
* Try to avoid traveling on weekends, holidays, and when fishing/hunting season opens.
* Small town repair shops seem more honest.
