How do you guys find a good mechanic?

[Eddymel1998]

Dad was a mechanic most his life, pretty good one too, now he happily drives big rigs but he's always told me to never trust a mechanic and 98% of the time I've had to bring my car to the shop, he's been right, everything from up selling to poor and lazy worsmanship. I know there are good people out there because I used to do parts delivery and as far as body shops I've met enough people to know exactly where my car would go for that kind of work.

I still do all the work I can myself but there are things that I just can't do without tools, like wheel balancing or proper alignment, and seeing how many people here trust others to do jobs big and small has me wondering, how do you personally find "the good one"?

I've tried scrolling through online reviews but they seem inconsistent and after the highest reviewed place completely butchered my wheel mounting and balancing (took me months to figure it all out afterwards) I don't know how much I trust them. I've been trying to visit places in person instead of phone calls but a smile and good attitude only means so much. I've also been told to visit smaller mechanics because they're more personal, but then on flip side I've been told to visit bigger shops because they have more overhead to fix any of their mistakes free of charge. I just don't know anymore and very interested to hear from others.

[gtstorey]

Prayer

[ariZona28]

Go to a local track, autocross or drag strip and talk to some of the racers. True, most guys do the majority of thier own work but alignment, tire mounting etc. usually gets outsourced. If you get 3 or 4 guys referring you to a particular shop then you'll at least have a starting point.

[shaffe]

For me basically it was talk to neighbors, look online read reviews all that stuff. I also look for places that have been in business a long time, that don't have many locations(IE avoid franchises).

Found a local mechanic in my neighborhood, they have 3 locations and been in business since 1958 as a family owned shop. They are great, extremely honest and helpful.