Brakes: Part 1 (Test drive)

The first part of a good brake job starts with a little Q&A. Your mechanic should ask you some questions to better determine what the problem may be. It helps a lot if you are already prepared to answer these questions. A few of them might be:

* What kind of noise do you hear? Squealing? Grinding? Groaning? Clicking or clacking? Humming?

* When do you hear the noise? All the time? Only when you brake? On cold mornings? In reverse? Only when you brake and turn gently to the left (sounds dumb, but believe me, this helps)?

* Do you feel anything unusual when you brake? Vibration in the front of the vehicle? Pulsation in the pedal? Side to side movement in the steering wheel? Soft pedal? Sinking pedal? No pedal?

* When is the last time you had brakes done? Has anyone looked at this yet?

What makes a good brake job?

[This post is the introduction to my series on getting a great brake job. Over the next few parts, I'll give you details, what to look for, what to expect, and when to run away.]

There are so many places these days that you can get a brake job. Like oil changes, brake services are a commodity. They are very competitively priced and can even be done by your next door neighbor for a 6-pack of his favorite brew.

However, your safety rides on your brakes. If done improperly you could end up with irritating brake noise at the very least. In addition, poor quality parts may not last as long, leaving you to foot the bill on another brake job in as little as six months. On the other end of the spectrum, however, you could actually get in an accident. The problem for most people, however, is how do you know when you are getting a good brake job? How do the common folk (like me) know what really needs to be replaced and how much it should cost? Much less, how am I supposed to know anything about product brands? How do I know if a bad job has been done?

As a commodity, most people shop for brakes based solely on price. People have no commitment to any particular shop, as long as they can get the cheapest price. Right?

What ends up happening, however, are that shops resort to the old ‘bait and switch‘ to lure you in

Mechanics as car doctors

My father-in-law (FIL) has had problems with his knee for quite some time. About a year and a half ago he got really sick and the problem was traced to a staph infection in his knee. His doctor could not be 100% sure, however, without undergoing exploratory surgery. His knee was opened up and it was determined that his knee would need to be replaced (it was in pretty bad shape already) and the infection would be cleaned out. Needless to say, he underwent several surgeries to clean out the infection, add spacers, and eventually replace the knee.

I bring this up because cars are like our bodies sometimes. My FIL’s doctor knew there was a problem,

Can you really trust a mechanic? (part 2)

I own an auto repair shop, but I really hate working on cars. I am not a mechanic by trade, nor by hobby. My first foray into auto mechanics was when I took shop in 9th grade. The school had just purchased a new 500cc motorcycle engine for the shop’s use. My partner and I were the first to tear it down and put it back together. Unfortunately, we had a handful of pieces left over when we finished. My experiences with auto repair just went downhill from there.

There were a lot of minor things I could do on my own vehicles. Most of the time, however, I had to look for a mechanic. My friends and family had just as difficult of a time as I did finding an honest shop, so I got no recommendations there. Where do I go? How will I know what I’m being told is the truth? Auto repair is such a mystery, and finding a shop I felt comfortable with was always hit or miss (mostly miss).

The problem is that I was never made to feel comfortable. No shop ever made an effort to build or develop any trust. It was about as bad as going to a doctor to diagnose a persistent cough.

Can you really trust a mechanic? (Part 1)

A short time ago a girl visited my auto repair shop because she heard a squeaking coming from her engine compartment. I thanked her for coming in and told here it was probably something simple that we could take care of right away.

“Your hamster wheel probably just needs to be lubricated,” I said non-plussed.

There was a slight quizzical look on her face, but she handed me the keys and said “okay.” Once I filled her in on the joke we shared a pretty good laugh.

But I wonder to myself: Why did she trust me?