Mechanics Advice 30
How to Properly Read Your Car Repair Estimate
You’re taking your car over to the shop for a much-needed repair, hopefully under your own power instead of on a flatbed. Your first concerns are understandable: how much? and how long? That’s the bottom line of the potentially awkward conversation you’re about to have with the service desk. Do a little research beforehand, if […]
Creating a Library for Gear Heads: DIYAuto
These days, cars are increasingly complex — for years, many have more than 100 million lines of code — and drivers are less inclined to fiddle with them, instead opting to book service with a professional auto technician. (If that’s what you need, you know where to do it!) Some folks, however, are up for the […]
Things You Shouldn’t Say to Your Mechanic
Before you head off to your automotive technician, make sure you don’t run afoul of some basic ‘service lane etiquette.’ We spoke with some technicians (or mechanics), shop owners and managers to get their take on how to talk to a mechanic. You may be surprised by the things you should stop asking, as well […]
Which Car Maintenance Services Can be Skipped?
Happy National Car Care Month! To encourage the conversation about car maintenance, we spoke with Matt Weber, a repair shop owner, who took issue with some of the maintenance items we thought customers might be able to skip. Earlier this year, we posted an article by automotive-repair expert and Popular Mechanics veteran, Mike Allen, called “Five […]
Do You Really Need a Tune Up?
Modern cars—and that includes pretty much everything since 1996—simply don’t need a traditional tune up. It’s an obsolete term. Having said that, your vehicle still needs regular maintenance just as badly, and almost as regularly, as your parents’ cars did. It’s just that a “tune up” isn’t what’s needed.Well, you may well ask, what is needed? […]
How Often Should I Get a Tune Up? Trick Question! You Don't Need One.
Remember the old days when people would take their cars in for a “tune up” once in a while? These days, you really don’t hear that term being used much anymore. Is the reason just because the lingo is outdated, or is there more to it than that? Is there such a thing as a tune-up […]
Top Problems Women Face When Going to the Mechanic
I think almost everybody faces some element of anxiety when they visit their auto mechanic. But after talking with many female friends, coworkers, and family members of mine, it seemed like their anxiety rode a little higher. So I wanted to get it down on paper – well, internet paper – what some of their […]
How to Discuss a Repair Problem with Your Mechanic
Few people in this world relish the idea of having to approach an auto mechanic to discuss shoddily done work. It’s the kind of confrontation that some people dread so much that they’re willing to accept a bad hand and just move on. But unless you’re made of money, letting a mechanic get away with […]
How Much Should it Cost to Diagnose a Check Engine Light?
If you’re like the rest of us, you probably worry a lot about your car’s health. Maybe not enough to take it in for its regular checkups and oil changes – you can admit it, a lot of people drop the ball when it comes to keeping a strict maintenance schedule for their car – […]
3 Things You Should Never Say to a Mechanic
Ticking off the person who’s about to work on your car is one of the worst things in the world that you can do. If you’re the kind of person people don’t like going to dinner with because they’re afraid of what the waiter is going to do to their food in an attempt to […]
