Can I just ask how it came to happen that anyone and everyone associated with any aspect of the automotive universe is a crook, a thief, a liar, or just an all-around scumbag? Car salesmen, mechanics, insurance companies, body shops, the “Big Three” automakers, people who sell their cars on Craig’s List…each and every last one a total no-goodnik. It just seems like anytime the word “car” gets mentioned, there is someone who will be more than glad to fuck you over just waiting around the corner.
There’s no long sob-story involved here, it’s just more of a general observation I’ve made that has been reinforced over the last several months as we’ve had to engage with many and varied individuals over issues related to automobiles. There have been some repair issues — my car needed a new radiator back in December, Bridget’s car has a laundry list of wear-and-tear items to get maintained, and we’ve both needed tires recently — and so my particular focus has been on the people who fix cars, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that ALL aspects of the automobile world are dominated by people looking to separate you from as much money as possible in as many different ways as they possibly can.
Is there any other sphere of life in this country where the baseline expectation is that you are going to be cheated by whomever you encounter? Real estate? Financial advisers? Lawyers? (Boy, you know you’re among the lowest of the low when lawyers have a better reputation than you do.)
I don’t have any great answers or insights here. I’m hoping this is more of a “conversation starter” among the regular visitors.
It’s one of the few industries that still maintains the aura of never *really* knowing what anything costs. They are still able to call the shots and decide the numbers because the industry is large enough to lobby for the no-reveal. I will confess to being a Daddy’s girl in one thing only. Auto purchase and auto repair. I always defer to those he has deemed okay to deal with. I would never, EVER, walk in a dealership cold and buy anything.
PS…can I just tell you how *tiny* your comments font is…really.
Sorry about the teeny font. It’s built into the CSS for the template, and I don’t know if I can make it bigger.
my father-in-law… ZOMG THAT FONT IS TINY!!!
where was i?
my father-in-law was a mechanic, and he is honest. he worked for the military, though,which i understand is a non-profit organization here, so maybe that disqualifies him. also, the guy who replaced my last windshield charged me less than all the other glass shops, and it took a record four weeks to develop a new crack, and the crack is tiny!!!
the others, though: i suspected my fiat mechanics of sabotage.
I do know that here in Olympia there are the go-to-mechanics who are fair and do good work for reasonable charges and the others that only those who don’t seem to care what they spend on a repair. For example, our Honda dealership wanted to charge me $50 for a brake inspection and the locally owned tire place did it for free with no accompanying hard sell to getting any work done.
BTW…the font looks fine to me.
My point is, though, that it’s not just mechanics, it’s all car-related businesses. I think Jo’s comment is especially on the mark WRT the people who sell cars. There is no other transaction that an American consumer engages in that is so cryptic and opaque, and that’s by design. But why? Would people stop buying cars if they were given an honest and transparent transaction? Are the automakers ripping people off THAT much?
I was sort of backhanding an agreement with you…but the truth is that I suspect that most of the business that is run from a corporate interstate level is run below our radar. The payoff for them is not only huge profits but our eternal distrust.
Looks like I am not the only one with this question on my mind