Do It Yourself Car Advice versus Dishonest Mechanics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
District of Columbia, District of Columbia, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) October 6, 2010 --

With the economy still struggling, many people are buying older cars and searching for the cheapest way to fix their cars when they have problems. In April, CBS did an expose of thirteen different auto mechanics around the country. Their findings supported what the American people have always known. Out of the thirteen mechanics surveyed, only three of them were truly honest when it came to car problems and repair prices. Because honest mechanics are so difficult to find, many people realize that it is cheaper and often easier to simply perform their own car maintenance and even repair problems on their own.

Almost everyone has a story about their mechanic or dealer screwing them over. For me, it was when my husband and I were caring for my mother-in-law right after she had had surgery. Her Jeep Cherokee’s air conditioning wasn’t working, so we took it to a mechanic. He said there was a leak in the coolant lines and quoted us several hundred dollars to fix it. My husband decided to replace the coolant and see if that helped the problem at all. After he did that, the air conditioning worked perfectly for several years before my mother-in-law decided to sell the car.

Examples such as this one seem to be incredibly prevalent in the auto repair industry. The Consumerist recently ran a story on the common ways mechanics try to scam customers. Shady practices such as dropping a customer’s air filter on the floor or keeping a dirty air filter on hand to convince the customer it needs to be replaced or telling a customer they changed a part without doing so only enforce the stereotypical image of mechanics as crooks.

For those who have been burned by mechanics and wish to do the work themselves, there is a new site to help them in their do-it-yourself endeavors. Carchecklists.org offers everyone the opportunity to learn how to perform basic maintenance on their cars, as well as more advanced problems like installing a stereo or speakers, cleaning egg of the paint, or even buying a car. If you are concerned about taking your car to a mechanic, try Carchecklists.org first and you may be able to save yourself time and money.

To learn more please visit Car Check Lists

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