This sticky post is an attempt to slow the flow of repeated similar questions.

Please post your questions as a new post rather than as a reply to this post to receive answers.

Did my mechanic just rip me off?

Unfortunately, there are shady people in every industry. From my own experience these shady workshops don’t last long; one, maybe two years at most. To avoid a bad workshop, check reviews and get recommendations from people you trust. Good workshops have been doing business for years, have a long line of happy customers, have a waiting list, and they are never the cheapest.

Your area may have a Mechanic business association, good shops will be a member of that association. A good workshop will have whatever licenses and permits required to operate and be compliant.

I took my car to the shop and they wanted to up-sell me all this other stuff

The best way for a good shop to make money from you is to have you as a life long customer. A good shop doesn’t need to force customers to come back or to overcharge you, since they have customers lined up down the street.

What a good shop will do for you is give you long term value, and sometimes that is to have extra work done while the opportunity is there. For example, when a timing belt is replaced, several other parts have to be removed and it can be the perfect time to either inspect or replace water pumps, power steering pumps, pulleys, idlers, radiators or hoses while doing that work. Although it is extra cost right now, it would be significantly more costly to have those components replaced later as individual jobs.

I took my car to that ‘Qwikkie loob’ place and…

These types of places often hire unqualified workers and have fixed cost pricing. The only way to make profit on a fixed cost is to cut corners. They are not using trained or experienced staff. Not changing filters, re-using parts, low quality fluids and parts, impact driving the bolts back on. These shops are not mechanic workshops but exist in a legal loophole that allow them to do some mechanic work. Avoid these places at all cost.

Whatever damage has been done now has to be repaired by an actual mechanic. Take this is a learning experience and find a good shop from now on.

It’s Summer in my area and my AC doesn’t work. I got a bottle of...

I’m all for DIY and highly encourage it for everything except AC. It requires skills and specialist tooling that does not make it viable.

If your refrigerant is low or empty, it didn’t just magically get used up. It went somewhere, and so will the next batch and the next batch… until it is actually correctly repaired. Fix it correctly and it will last decades.

This will also be the time that sensors fail, compressors fail and problems occur.

It’s Winter in my area and my car won’t start.

When the temperature turns cold, the chemical reaction that creates current flow slows down and the battery is no longer able to handle the load. Replace the battery with a new battery that has been recharged. Do not assume it came to you fully charged.

Batteries have a finite life depending on how they are treated and the quality. Cheap ones you are lucky to get two years, good ones you would be disappointed if you got less than eight.

Why don’t the mods do…

There are currently three actual human moderators who all moderate for free in their spare time. The user count means we no longer are able to read every comment or post. Reddit is also very buggy behind the curtains and difficult to navigate. If there is a genuine concern, flag the post or comment and we are much more likely to be able to see it.