Are all shop auto repair shop owners crooks?

A shop owner in Utah believes that my site has a "us-them" attitude and that I think a lot of them are crooks. My take is that there are some crooks out there but there are many more "mechanics" who never do any diagnostics but rather start tossing parts at a problem until they get lucky enough to find the fix. I hear about them a dozen times a week from my readers who come to my website for information that they can take back to the shop so that they can get their problem fixed without going broke in the process. The problem is real. There are a lot of competent auto repair shops out there with honest, hard working owners and employees. They purchase thousands of dollars of diagnostic equipment and will diagnose the problems and listen to their customers. I am constantly on the lookout for this kind of shop owner so please send their names to me and I will add them to the list http://www.MisterFixit.com/thelist.htm that I started last year and which is steadily growing on my web site.

The letter follows exactly as written.

I am a shop owner and technician in Salt Lake City. I think it's great that you're helping consumers learn more about their cars and some of the lingo involved in the industry. I would like to take issue with the us-them attitude that prevails through out the site.

Many of the mechanics I know in the industry are just like you. They like to fix things. And they like computers! Seems like the same problem solving brain training that they use for a living carries over to computers. There is very little "ripping off" in our industry today. There is some incompetence, as in any industry. And there is a lot more diagnostic time repairing cars than 5 or 10 years ago. But it is my opinion there is very little, "hey let's soak this sap" in the 160,000 independent repair facilities that cross the country.

I like it when a customer is educated, or asks questions. I partner with my customers to keep their machine running. I do, however, have a problem with customers that come in with a chip on their shoulder. Fixing the car is hard enough without having to deal with ATTITUDE.

How about adding a section to your site listing all of the ways the public burdens and rips of repair facilities? Bounced checks, towing a clunker in and abandoning it, abusive driving habits that cause repair failures, hiding important problem symptom information thinking this will keep the bill lower, 5 family members calling every hour about one vehicle, etc.

Keep up the good work.

John Peake

Peak Performance Inc

Salt Lake City, Utah 84115

Message me at BobHewitt@Misterfixit.com

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