5 things to NEVER say to your auto mechanic! CAR WIZARD knows after 20+ years! Save you tons of $$$ 

Good responsible shops book out a week to 10 days. The ones that are sitting around waiting for your phone call are typically not qualified enough to work on a bicycle - let alone a modern car. Professionals take their time to get every job right the first time - especially jobs involving brake or steering work. The last thing you want to do is hound a shop to get something done "ASAP". Do you hound your physician or surgeon to finish the job "asap"? Most jobs have an associated "book time". And most good shops will provide that in the estimate before work is done. "Hounding " anyone is a bad idea and it is more likely to result in "half-assed" work than if you demonstrated patience, I can assure you of that. Next time you go out to a fancy restaurant - try hounding the waiter to get your dinner "asap". Better yet, just march into the kitchen to ask the chef directly and see where that gets you. He'll probably spit in your food.

Facts! Always go to a highly rated independent shop and they book about 1 week out

@@cjg6364 soooo, you just verified everything that cjg6364 was saying.......got it

This is good advice

@@cjg6364 maybe you haven't had a lot of experience with body shops, vintage cars, or custom car work that's not by the numbers?

Oh no. You're one of those that think what he does is real life.

​@@MrTilbin ha ha ha ha😂😂😂

"Captain! There be whales here!"

"Ed on Vinwiki says a Ferrari with every warning light on is a great investment."

Run away!

I appreciate u learning from tube mechanics but I have noticed 2 things that truly bothered me as a highly experienced mechanic! Firstly, they rarely ever explain every detail which leaves a lot to the imagination(real bad) 2 they rarely show the tricks of the trade in other words how us experienced guys are so fast. I will also add the highly specific dealership knowledge that can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on what is done! Do LOTS of research first & BEWARE of forums!

I got ripped off by a mechanic that I taught was legit because he worked on people’s that i knew cars.When i found out what he did and how dishonest he was to people’s unbeknownst to them,long story short i went to mechanic school just to learn how to work on my car or learn how to spot a honest mechanic.I do that with everything in life that has to do with repairs because in these days and times they’re more dishonest contractors than honest ones.

This guy gets it.

One of my sayings is a fool is born everyday. And being honest and trusting usually gets you a reward of people who are selfish or more selfish than you, taking advantage of your trusting nature. Guess I don't get 'it'

It's nice to see at least one family in auto-youtube-dom is doing well.

Nice to see people period (sic) enjoying themselves in a proper way by proper means.

he rips people off

@@ILOVEBACONBOY2018 Big time

17 genders

I recently had a major operation and spent 5 days in the ICU. I remember the anesthesiologist saying IM GOING TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO RELAX YOU. boy I’ll say it did. I woke up the next afternoon. Didn’t feel a thing

Yeah, I've had my mechanic show me why it failed state inspection. Last year they told my my rear shoes were *just* in minimums and then tried to deny the sticker. Shut that down and did the job myself.

I am currently having this issue with a mechanic adding things to the inspection report that don't need to be done with a big mark up on the parts. Problem is no other mechanic will touch the car now. Could loose their license because Government insurance company has record of original inspection.

Yeah, my local shop was greedy the past few years. $30 cash for a hack job tire plug that took 90 seconds. They also put little too much markup and parts into a starter replacement, fine. But next when I asked for a coolant flush and fill / thoroughly OLF they also called me about an engine air filter I'd replaced under a thousand miles ago. A basically clean new filter that they could charge me for and not even replace, so presumably I'd never know. I said no thanks, and when I got the car back I realized they did not properly reassemble the air intake box for all their effort to rip me off on the part. My air intake duct was left open! So much for their diligence

@@j_freed I paid $100 for a tire plug once. They charge whatever they want. Not much competition. High 2s to over $300 an hour plus parts markup.

Instead of trust but verify, I would say listen but verify

@That V8 Life you can think the view is nice even if you’ve seen it before. Those two things are not mutually exclusive. Extremely weird comment.

Agreed. Parts prices are (generally) much much cheaper on Amazon and elsewhere, without the mechanics / auto shops marking parts up by literally 300% or even more.

I always get my Honda OEM parts online from a dealer in Seattle and they are way cheaper (Online) than what the shop is charging me.

I won’t put Amazon parts on. OEM or equivalent only You bring a Dorman part you immediately get thrown out 🤣

That's because the Wizard is an honest mechanic. Most dealers aren't honest. When I worked at Honda, they would sell an entire can of brake cleaner with every brake job. Of course when doing the work they'd spritz the brakes 2-3 times and when the job is done, they put the can back on the shelf and sell it again.

@@nandor690 Is Nandor your real name? I know a guy named Nandor. He’s from Hungary.

car enthusiasts can be either the best customers or the worst customers because sometimes they are a knowitall that dont know their ass from their head, or sometimes they are a gear head and can talk shop and brainstorm the problem with the mechanic.

I have had good and bad interactions. Bad ones include getting ripped off on diagnostics. I told them that the timing belt had snapped and needed replacement, along with the tensioner. The shop then billed for diagnostics...3 hours! including a set price. I told them 'Did it take you 3 hours to open the bonnet? The timing belt was hanging out from the cover btw.' Ofc they couldn't know that I'm a mechanic that didn't have the time to fix the problem and sent the customer to the dealer for that brand. They retracted the bill after I went and talked to them along with my customer. But unfortunately this isn't uncommon.

maybe.....but the right thing to do would be to let the mechanic do their job, and if they need help with custom work, only THEN should you be in the garage "helping" them out. if you dont trust said mechanic to know what they are doing, then you shouldnt be taking your car to them

If you know how to fix it then why would you pay someone else to do it?

@@kellykorte2981i think they were saying that for situations where you've done modifications or some crap. its a stupid idea no matter; if the mechanic comes across something where they need more info, they can then contact the customer to get it. you dont need to be in the garage with them, and quite frankly, most businesses would not allow it due to the liability factor.

I do this as well, works great. I check stuff out myself and follow the FSMs for complicated diagnoses, figure out the problem, then tell the mechanic the general problem I’m having and see what they say. It’s helped me avoid a few dishonest mechanics and helped me find some great honest and experienced ones.

Sounds like the kids asking "are we there yet?" The first time they did this, I replied "Yep, we're there, I'm sitting by the pool and drinking a beer !!!" They never asked again.

Reminds me of project managers asking for engineering updates continually.

I 've been guilty of this one myself. But in one instint something had to be done when I didn't hear from the shop for 3 days for a simple tune up job.

I worked in analytical chemistry and when folks tried to bug me "is it done yet?" I replied: "do you want the wrong answers now or wait for the right answers?" Guess what they chose....

That's countered by the "It'll be ready in 3 days...", and every time you call it's still a day or two, etc.

Agreed. One thing I learned about being a mechanic, sometimes it's worth it to take the L and move on. Wether its loosing money to make a customer happy, or losing a customer because of non-payment. That one guy who didn't pay the other 100$? Might be worth the 100$ to never have to work on their crap again.

Yeah something that family/friends don’t realize about work like that is that there’s no insurance warranties or guarantees, because you’re not doing it in your capacity as a professional, you’re doing it as a friend. So if or when shit goes sideways, it’s going to be a big problem. There’s a reason for the cost to have a professional do it

I took my car in for some electrical issues I couldn't figure out once, and they changed the brake pads without even asking me! I was so pissed as I had a new set of pads at home waiting to go in as I knew the pads were getting low - I made them remove the pads and refit the old ones and refused to pay that part of the bill. They did at least fix the electrical issue, which was a alternator with failing windings that was intermittently not charging the battery - but the sheer fucking balls to do work that I didn't ask for! I wonder how often they got away with stuff like that. Needless to say I found another place to go for auto electrical work after that.

Yep. One you trust and is good to work with is essential. I had a vibration when driving a Grand Cherokee right underneath the drivers side floor board. We both thought it was the CV joint on the prop shaft because the boot was torn. He did a rebuild kit on the prop shaft but the vibration remained. He told me it he didn't have the proper tools to diagnose and didn't charge me for parts or labor. Fast forward 2 years and the front diff went out. New front diff and no vibration.

​@@Beer_Dad1975 That's what it is nowadays they upsell and overcharge for parts and labor ,finding a honest reasonable mechanic today is like finding a good woman they don't exist

@@randymcmanus8691 Rare but not non-existent.

@@Beer_Dad1975 - low pads is one area where I'd give my garage an easy pass, since the garage are keeping you out of trouble and they would rather piss off a customer than the work be refused and see the worst happen to you and feel liable. They had no idea you are a tiny percentage of people that wants to service your own brakes to save a few dollars. Failing brake systems, suspension and tires are not acceptable risks.

Had some one tell me he needs 450€ in parts for an oil leak. It was the valve cover gasket of my 4efe. Ive never worked on cars before, i ordered the gasket for 12€ + shipping, installed the gasket in 20min and it hasnt leaked a drop of oil since. Also theres 4efe engines with decent milage for 500€ out there and the entire car cost me 1500€

Why didn't you just do the job yourself?

​@@joshuagibson2520 Actually seems he would have saved time,money and headache.

hope you didn't pay these clowns what they were asking

A good mechanic is hard to find.

@@joshuagibson2520 reason why, at the time I had much less technical knowledge and wanted the timing set correctly.

What? Can you hear yourself?

I think he's speaking generally, not if your cozy with your mechanic. If your mechanic knows about it, or TELLS YOU to buy specific parts, then yeah, buy the parts. If they don't tell you or they sat nothing, then don't buy or arrive with parts.

I own a repair shop in Akron Ohio, and I would not have a problem installing your parts as long as you have a good reason, some cheap internet parts are just junk, I will not go there, wish you the best

@@jimsix9929 Oh yea no, for me I only buy reputable stuff. For example, I really liked EBC Brakes for my last car, so I would just buy those instead of the OEM GM pads and rotors. IMO the EBC Red Stuff were so much better. Or like I would choose an upgraded spark plug and gap them myself before dropping it off. The key is to have a good relationship and communication, customer and shop owner/mechanic.

Not a bad idea and can save some money, however realize by doing so your mechanic is absolved of offering you any warranty, at least here in the NY Metro area.

He's an honest guy it seems. When you live in a small town and there's only one 'good' one around, if they don't give me jobber cost on the parts I supplied EVERYTHING myself. I'm not paying a mechanic to mark my parts up, I'm paying him for the labour Thanks to that mechanic I do 95% of my work myself now. My tools have paid for themselves many times over already and I haven't had to deal more than once with one shop in years.

Hear hear 👏

I had a similar thing happen to me. The brakes suddenly went out on my truck. I did a cursory examination and took it the shop down the street and told the mechanic what the symptoms were and said it was the brake booster. They replaced the master cylinder. I didn't even get the 3 blocks home before the brakes went again. Took it back, bitched a little, they replaced the brake booster and everything was fine. Thing was, the brake booster was literally rusted through. Someone with zero experience with cars could have seen that wasn't good.

things like this happen often especially with original dealerships. Most of the things he said only work if the shop is trustworthy which most shops arent.

Yea he is wrong IF you know 100 maybe even 99% what's wrong. I saved a lot of money getting wheel bearing and hub replaced because I told them that was what was wrong because I KNEW it was...and it got done for a good price because of that.

Not only that, but if they really do have to diagnose something that isn't obvious, they'll charge you a ton of money to try to diagnose it, and will often get it wrong anyway. I took my car into a Ford dealership and asked what it would cost to diagnose why my RPM gauge was intermittently failing. They said $350. I got the battery tested instead, replaced the battery myself, and the issue went away. I had a different car brought to a mechanic, and due to a timing issue I didn't have a chance to mention that I was 99% sure the head gasket had failed. He replaced the coolant overflow tank, even though I had replaced that part a few months prior (which was very obvious). The tank was broken, but it was broken because the head gasket issue was over-pressurizing the tank. Another example: I had rear brakes replaced on my vehicle, and shortly thereafter it began to shimmy when braking at highway speeds. The mechanic said he couldn't get it to make that shimmy, but it turned out he only broke hard, and it didn't have that issue when braking hard - I told him to brake normally, and he took it out again, and of course he felt the shimmy when braking normally. He said the front rotors were warped (which is true), and then replaced ONE of the rear brakes for no apparent reason (under warranty). With most mechanics, I have to micro-manage them, or they'll do something stupid, and never diagnose the problem. I didn't realize that when the mechanic said "the rear brakes are fine," I had to tell him, "OK, then don't replace them, and definitely don't replace just one of them." The last mechanic I had work on my car screwed up everything he did, including the oil change. I gave him a 5 quart jug of oil, and he just poured the whole thing in, which overfilled it by a quart. I guess I should have dumped out a quart so that it would be the proper amount in the 5 quart jug, and just said "put all of this in - no more, and no less." I had the front brake pads changed, and he advised me to change the rotors too, since there was a small scratch on one of them. I declined, and the only thing that works flawlessly after the repair are the rotors and pads (although he did manage to screw up a caliper pin bushing by greasing it improperly/not greasing it). I brought in a car to have a heating issue diagnosed, and the mechanic said the water pump is leaking. He was just flat-out wrong, or lying, and on that car it's a $1,200 repair. Coolant may have come out of the water pump, but this was due to a faulty fan that caused the vehicle to overheat. Sorry for the long comment, but the short story is that I agree with you. Mechanics are good at diagnosing obvious issues, but very few can diagnose complex issues, and they'll be more than happy to replace a billion non-broken parts to chase the problem.

thats SUCH a rare story .....

That’s fine. But there won’t be a warranty on that part. You’ll pay for “me” to replace it again

@@nandor690 Most parts have their own warranty when you buy them from the parts store.

@@nandor690 I did a simple brake job on my truck earlier this summer. Front and rear Power stop “heavy duty” Pads and rotors from rock auto - I asked a local shop if they would install them for me as I had back surgery earlier in the year. They said no. I asked what kind of parts they bought “oh we bought top of the line blah blah blah” asked for part numbers looked them up and I was floored at the mark up. 300% mark up on pads and rotors. Yeah, I’m all set. I bought top of the line front and rear and it was still cheaper than what they would charged me for just the front. Shops make their money on product mark up. Good friend of mine owned a shop for 30 years and even he says this.

Yeah, the markup on parts is especially bothersome when they usually get a discount on parts

@@Crazywaffle5150 does the parts store pay for labor?

He's out to lunch here saying that he can get parts less then a customer. If that's true why do the parts double or triple when the bill comes? I recently had a mechanic charge me 700 for an oxygen sensor that was 280 FROM THE HONDA DEALER.

​@@taylorc2542buttwipes exist

@@taylorc2542 There are ways shops can get parts cheaper. I've managed to get shop prices now and then from dealership parts counters or distributors that sold to the public. Not all shops bother, many just get the parts from the dealer or parts store at full retail and mark up from there. Depends on the shop, the car, what relationships he has with the sellers, etc.

​@@taylorc2542 I hear you man I recently wanted both lower control arms , I got a quote from the place I bought tires from $350 parts $490 labor (2hr job) total $840 total I went to Rock Auto and bought parts for less than $100 and did it myself don't do stealerships or Box stores they will rob you

@@taylorc2542 I've experienced that same kind of thing. Also, for some things you should go OEM and for others it's a waste of money, especially on an older car that isn't worth all that much. I'm fine with them not giving a warrantee on customer supplied parts, but just do the job and don't try to overcharge me. They have relationships with their suppliers and obviously the more they buy from them the better the relationship, so don't act like you are not profiting from parts just because you charge me what they charged you.

Then watch RU-vid

As a mechanic with 10 plus years experience, yes, I hate it when customers stare. It makes me tense. So tense that I have to take my time and double and triple check everything I do. So a one hour job turns into an hour and a half job.

Old saying: "Work fascinates me; I can watch it for hours."

And...gorgeous "B" roll at the end to boot!

@Lord Garth... Yeah, they'll push your vehicle to the back of the line. Then work on the more costly jobs. Caddy dealership in my town used to do that. They went out of business.

Except for my current mechanic, I've never seen a shop charge less than what I could pay for the parts (and of at least decent quality). One guy would charge about the same but he retired. Most have been significantly over, especially stealerships.

Keep in mind the markup covers him warranting those parts. Even new parts are bad a lot of times.

It wasn't this way in the past, but nowadays they justify it with the thing about everything made in China is crap quality and is, so they give you a 1-year warranty and if it fails they warranty the replacement part and change it without it costing you more. Your still screwed either way in my opinion. They also tell expect it to fail in about 2 years.

@@timthefosterdad Yeah I've got a good shop now that just charges me cost for parts and I pay him I think $80 an hour for labor, but he's also a friend.

@@timthefosterdad I routinely discount parts 50-60 % off of what the dealer charges and frequently 15-20% off what Autozone charges for their cheap aftermarket garbage. I can still make a modest profit to help cover my shop's overhead. I realize this is rare. Most shops charge what the dealer is charging or slightly less. In many instances, Autozone or Advance prices are above the dealer list price. And sadly, there are dealers in our area that literally double the price over the manufacturer's suggested retail. As with any industry, there are good and bad actors. The good ones tend to be very busy year round - you generally can't get an appointment inside of a week to 10 days. The ones that can take you right in typically will take you in and take you on a ride....

He can't put the ship on the lift

@@desnick2316 Dry dock... in KS.😂

"Welcome to the Wizard's... Drydock"

I'd be hoping Mrs. Wizard would out on the deck showing us the fine tan she was getting!

You would be the Wizards customer from hell

@@mrlafayette1964 Nah...cause I know he knows his stuff. I might talk parts with him, and see if he's cool installing something specific where it matters. Which by the wat he himself has talked about having constant issues with parts quality. Other than that, he's good to go. The hangong out part I can take or leave...if it's a really good shop.

We spent something like $2K on two different places - one of them the dealer - and the AC still doesn't work. Both places just replaced the fan clutch - dealer claimed an OEM fan clutch would fix it. Turns out the PCM is supposed to be upgraded but the TSB went out of date so the dealer mechanic claimed it wasn't needed. hahaha. So I quit my job since I needed an AC to deliver fruit for my job. oops.

Always have the right equipment to do the job use oem parts

@@topfell8277 Sure the dealer put in the OEM fan clutch and it was the SAME problem. It blows cold air for a few minutes then switches to hot air. very annoying. I discussed this on internet - and a former Dealer mechanic said they ALWAYS reset the PCM for updates. My receipt clearly said that the TSB was outdated and it was not done.

@@topfell8277 I use OEM if it touches the engine, or if it's electrical. For everything else, it's due diligence, and experimentation.

Having to remove a motor mount to change a timing belt is insane.

German?

@@common_c3nts As a matter of fact, I can tell you that about 75 to 80% of the time the motor mount has to come out to do a timing belt. I'm saying this as a mechanic who's done countless timing belt jobs, by the way...

​@@common_c3ntson transverse engines it's usually necessary my friend, longitudinal engines are usually a lot less cluttered in front of the timing belt

I had a car where the shop tried to pull that one. I am pretty savvy mechanically so I asked them to show me why. The belt was about an inch wide and there was about a quarter inch gap so it would not fit. I showed them you could just turn the belt sideways to squeeze through and they tried to say the book calls for the mount to be removed so they wouldn't warranty the belt if I twisted it. I took the chance and did it in one minute

:)

For a second I thought your name was Bill Clinton 🤪

Ask for the boxes/bags of the new parts, and also ask for your old parts back.

On the other hand, if the shop uses OEM parts, they will mark them up well beyond the "normal" high price mainly because the parts guy has to travel to get the parts.

@@TheOzthewiz Most chain shops/aftermarket shops already do that with aftermarket parts. I used to work at Midas and they would mark up parts from NAPA as high as 60 percent.

That’s my issue as well. There are so many fake Toyota OEM parts out there. I’d rather be responsible for buying Toyota OEM parts from a source I trust and bear responsibility for the part. I went to the trouble to buy a Toyota because of the quality parts.

Do you NEED to have automakers name on the box? Or is an OE supplier not good enough? E.g. If it's a VW along with many Euros then Conti-Tech IS the OE supplier but the package doesn't say "VW" on it. There's a big difference between top tier suppliers like Gates or Conti-Tech and some Cheng-fu junk at Autozone or Amazon.

as a mechanic with 43 years under the lift I can feel your pain, I am almost retired but want to keep my shop a few more years, still need to do a few jobs to pay the bills, what I do now is I ask for the title to the car before any repairs are started, the deal is after repairs are done you buy your car back for the cost of parts and labor, should have done it that way 30 years ago, it takes away all the stress of dealing with unreasonable customers, and if they can not pay or do not want to, it is your car, sell it, drive it scrap it, think about it, as long as you are good and honest people will do it that way the cost is the same but it gives you all the control

Where would you have gotten the motor from??

​@@warrenlewis3977depending what's wrong (probably a cracked block), he would probably be able to buy a short block from Honda (they had a 10 year extended warranty on those engines for that reason, so likely they would have been available), or from a salvage yard. Difference being, even if it was a salvage engine it would have been on the mechanic to make sure it's got a good oil pain. However, because the customer supplied the engine and the mechanic had no control over what parts he had to work with, it's not his problem at that point.

You bring beer to the bar too don't you?

Shops make money on markup. If they didn’t mark up parts, the labor would cost more. You’d still be paying the same bill, shop needs to be profitable wither way

@@chrisbaudoux9879 i disagree - I’ve always been quoted the same labor $/hr whether I bring my own parts or not.

@@Docholliday1106 terrible analogy.

@@dannyoh8542 depends on the shop

Yeah, trades love that. Maybe next time, just put your gold bars and "private things" somewhere else.

Did Mr. Wizard ask the ship's captain if he could see if the engine rooms were all tidy and that the gazillion horsepower Wartsila marine diesels down there were being taken care of?

@@johnstuartsmith 😂😂

Yes people like you are the most annoying part of being a mechanic they want to watch yet they have no clue what they are even looking at….. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

+ 1000 on the lug nuts - I do all my own tire changes now

"But my ratchet is set to the proper torque." Yet somehow I break off two studs requiring a new hub.

I imagine people often bring parts that aren’t brok on the car or wrong parts, but if I want to get a specific cam or aftermarket suspension, is this something I can discuss with a mechanic first? For example, if I want to have a dod/afm delete on my L77, and go with a certain aftermarket company, but need a trained expert to install the kit, I would think that would be something I could discuss.

@@pops55650 yes, you could absolutely talk with a mechanic and ask on something like that. We would have to order it specifically to ensure correct parts, otherwise my shop will not touch it.

So many of my jobs are fixing problems that other, cheaper mechanics created. Welcome to "A" level.

@@bobw7018 hey bob I have a question about my 2004 lexus

@@beanteam2217 sure, what's the question?

Yeah. Mechanics absolutely use parts as profit centers. They will upcharge you 20 -30% easily. I can usually beat their prices by a mile with quality parts.

I think that approach works with old or rare vehicles (he touches on that around 9:45). However, I think he’s referring to someone with a 2014 Accord 4 cylinder bringing him an O2 sensor that fits a V6. Common vehicle with parts easily available.

I had a 83" S10 with the 2.8L, 5-speed manual. Drove that truck for over 10 years, and it had over 150K on it. Bulletproof engine! Just change the oil every 3K, and tune ups.