Why do mechanics charge for diagnosis of my cars problems?

Frequently people ask why I charge to figure out what’s wrong with their car when they are going to pay to have it fixed anyway. As a veteran mechanic with over 30 years of experience repairing cars, this question still takes me by surprise. Have you ever taken a good look under the hood of your car? Today’s auto’s are amazingly complex machines. Ask any old time shade tree mechanic how often he works on his car these days and you’re likely to see a slow shaking of the head and a look of dismay.

Sure, he may be able to change the oil, perhaps the spark plugs or breaks. But solving the mystery of a slight miss, or a strange noise or oil leak is out of the question. Even for a well trained mechanic, trouble shooting your cars problem is a time consuming challenge. Like every other professional you deal with, time is money for a good mechanic. Also consider that less experienced mechanics will simply start switching out parts in the hope of finding a cure for your car’s woes. Car parts are not cheap!

So you have a choice, you can throw money at the problem with an inexperienced mechanic, never really knowing if the problem with you car is solved or what you bought that you didn’t need. Or you can pay someone who is knowledgeable to do the trouble shooting and figure out exactly what’s wrong and repair it!