Still, it can be hard convincing a mechanic that I have a problem, especially with my limited garage vocabulary: "Well, it growls for a while, and then there's a little ping."
That's what I said to my mechanic in Liberty, Missouri. Almost immediately, I felt a dislike for him--the way he raised his eyebrows, the sarcasm in his voice as he repeated "little ping" and grabbed my keys. Before he even got into my car, I could tell he thought I was dingy. Which is probably why he drove around the block only once before he determined the car was fine. "I don't hear nothing," he said.
I don't like feeling unsure of myself. As I drove away, I played with all of the buttons on my dashboard, trying to see if the noise was just the air-conditioning or a bad stereo connection. By the time I got home, I'd let that guy convince me that I was, in fact, hearing things.
Of course, the ping got louder over the next few days, so I took my car back to the shop, only to get a repeat performance of our prior meeting: "Nope," the mechanic said. "I don't hear nothing."
Eventually, the ping got so loud I could hardly hear the rumble. I knew I was going to regret it, but I took my car back to the mechanic once again. After another five-minute drive around the block, he had the nerve to tell me, "Look, there's no ping. There's no noise. There's nothing wrong with your car. Stop coming here."
That was a Wednesday.
On Sunday, my car broke down while I was taking a friend to the airport. I barely made it to a service station. I spent more than $400 on a problem that my new, really great mechanic said could have been diagnosed "by any idiot."
You better believe I never gave that first mechanic any more business, but I did stop by to show him my new engine parts and my expensive receipt. I was steamed and I let him know it. I made sure none of my friends went to him, either. Since that incident, I've come up with a set of guidelines for choosing my mechanics.
1. I must be taken seriously.
How could that mechanic not take me seriously when I was spending more than an hour each day in my car? Now, when I say words like "hiss" and "gurgle," the mechanic better say, "Where's this hiss coming from?" or "How loud is the gurgle?" If they laugh or joke about my description in any way, I have no problem walking out the door. And if I hear anyone back in the garage using words like "bitch" or "blonde," well, that's all the more reason to leave.
2. The shop should be independently owned, not part of a chain.
Okay, so this requirement has more to do with my politics than my ability to detect a woman-friendly mechanic. Nevertheless, it's no secret that independently owned businesses live and die by their reputations. If an independent shop owner wants to survive, he has to treat all his customers respectfully. Plus, I've found that mechanics at independent garages are sometimes so grateful that I didn't go to the Jiffy Lube down the street, they'll throw in little bonuses--like filling up my fluids for free.
3. The mechanic must be honest.
Above all, my mechanic must be honest and never try to take advantage of me. I look for the following traits when trying to determine whether I'm dealing with a trustworthy repair shop or a gang of sleaze-balls:
- They ask my permission before fixing any problem.
When I go in for routine maintenance, they don't try to sell me any additional, unnecessary services. - If they do find additional problems with my car, they let me know how long I can expect to safely drive the car instead of urging me to get the problems fixed immediately.
- Other women get their cars serviced by the same mechanic.
There are great mechanics out there. It's true--I've got one here in Cincinnati. He doesn't talk much and he's pretty greasy, but he knows my name. And most importantly, he knows that I know my car.
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