How to Spot a Mechanic That Just Might Hustle You!

Our favorite mechanic Scotty Kilmer is back with another helpful video, this time helping you know what to look for when choosing a mechanic to work on your ride, or more appropriately, how to decide who you shouldn’t let work on your car. There is some great info in here that anybody can use when choosing a shop, whether you’re a young car owner just learning the ropes or if you’ve been driving for decades.

The first tip Kilmer offers is pretty easy to follow, but as he points out, there’s more than meets the eye to this one. Make sure your prospective mechanic has the right tools to do the job. With most modern cars, many of the issues are in the computer, so it’s harder to know by looking around if he or she knows what they’re doing, but this is one area I’ve always personally felt it best to follow your gut. Ask a lot of questions and pay attention to not only the answer, but how confident they are. It’s especially helpful if you’re able to detect when somebody is “blowing smoke”, tossing elaborate answers at you because they think you’re too ignorant about your car to know if what they’re saying is true or not. If it feels like they’re trying to out-talk you, it could definitely be a red flag that they’re just trying to get your money and don’t know exactly what they’re doing.

As Scotty points out at the end of this video, there’s one method of choosing a mechanic that’s almost always foolproof, and that’s word of mouth recommendations from people you know and trust. If somebody whose cars are always in tip-top shape and never seem to be down for more than a day or 2 at a time has a suggestion, that would be worth listening to. If another buddy just got his car back after weeks of waiting, even if it’s fixed correctly. Most importantly, use your common sense, and if you are unsure, get a buddy with some more experience to help you choose!