How to pre-qualify your mechanic/dealer

[jacobnbr1]

So you take your pride and joy into the local dealer/mechanic because it has a problem but your unsure of the final cause or maybe unsure about the competence of the mechanic?

Here is what you do to determine both:

1. Ask them what evidence they have that determines the failure.

2. Ask to see it.

Here is the deal; In the real world of professional mechanics we use (rather most) certain resources that aid in the diagnostics of your vehicle and part of that resource is a “Flow of diagnostics” sheet based on codes,symptoms etc. so if you had a p0174 you will see a flow sheet that says check this,that, blah blah blah. Any failures in that testing points to a correction path and should be real easy to articulate by your mechanic or dealer.

Now I have to give you a little warnings here that most guys have NEVER been asked this question and are likely not going to have it. What I have found is that most independent shops don’t require the evidence and just sell what the mechanic recommends and the dealers usually do the flow sheet but normally based off some remote field engineers desk from far far away and likely that engineer has a few suspects and recommends the replacement of all those related components.

Now keep in mind you authorized $$ for diagnostics for them to even start so why wouldn’t you at least want this information to verify that those services where performed and not a collection of suspect opinions based from a group of guys that may be a little lacking on their training

Also be advised that almost always when your vehicle breaks down there is a cause and reaction to the failure meaning there are likely more than one failure to this breakdown.
Heres a recent example from my shop. It was a 07 dodge ram 6.7 cummins engine with the a/c compressor discharge lines blown apart.(the customer complained that everything from the firewall out had been replaced and the truck had been to the dealer on several occasions) After replacement of the line set we discovered the head pressure in excess of 450psi because the vicious fan was not coming on when the pcm commanded the fan on. This truck went through three local dealers and two shops without anyone ever finding the head pressures for the failures of the a/c components. A new fan was installed with a new program software flash and the customer was totally satisfied not to mention the truck was fixed with a repair that will last.

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[mckrishes]

It also helps to have some knowledge how your car works. I bought a haynes manual and did some reading just to get an idea of how components work and the signs and symptoms of typical component failures. It helps a lot when trying to diagnose a problem. And when your at the dealer/shop you can understand a little bit of what’s going on when the mechanic is explaining what the problem is. Your less likely to be had.

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