BLOG IN YOUR FACE

Lets face it…I know about as much about cars as Hitler knew about compassion. I would probably have a tough time differentiating between a monster truck and a Gremlin let alone an oil filter and an air filter. My Dad never taught me a single thing about cars growing up. In fact, he rented three garages out to a race car driver for free as long as he(his name was Bill) would work on my Dad’s car when it needed it. My Dad never got his hands dirty, or replaced a single Jimmy-Rod-Do-Hickey on any of his cars and certainly didn’t teach me how to.

So, needless to say I am a sucker for unnecessary work that “needs” to be done on my car. In fact, not only am I a sucker, I have at times been a downright VICTIM!

For the longest time I would take my car to a franchise place called “BrakeMasters” when it needed an oil change, inspection and what-not. The last time I went there in January they told me (like so many times before) that I needed a whole bunch of things done to my truck in order for it to be ready for the Spring:

Oil Change: $20
Brake Fluid Flush??? $39
Brake Pad Cleaning??? $20
Exhaust Inspection??? $39
I was also informed that I would need new brake pads by the end of the year.

I will finish this part of the story in a second.

Now, my girlfriend’s “Low Coolant” light had been coming on periodically around the same time. So, she took her car to BrakeMasters with me then. They informed her that the cause was…

At this point they started using some technical jargon that I am convinced was meant to confuse and scare us into thinking there was a major problem…the only word I recognized was “Manifold” and I think the rest might as well have been in Russian. I almost immediately lost interest in what they were talking about and began thinking about how bad I wanted to go to Sonic and get a cheeseburger and a Cherry-LimeAid…

Anyway, it was something that was going to cost Jaci 650 dollars to fix. My truck was going to cost me $118 plus tax. We decided to check out a few more places for estimates and I darted for the door of BrakeMasters before they could get another word in. After we hightailed it out of that joint, Jaci told me about a tiny little garage on a crappy little service road behind her apartment. We decided it couldn’t hurt to check them out since they were so close to her place at the time. Come to find out it was owned by a couple of young guys named Ted and Jason and they were the only two that worked on cars there, unlike BrakeMasters who have like a buh-GILLION employees and really pushy managers and sales people.

Long story short, Jason and Ted fixed Jaci’s car for like 100 bucks less than BrakeMasters was going to charge and he explained to Jaci in clear terms that she could understand just WHAT the exact problem was with her car. He even used a visual aid, if you count a visual aid as him interlocking his greasy fingers to represent the engine and manifold or whatever it was. Once again I wasn’t really listening because I was thinking about the scene in the movie Wayne’s World when Garth accidentally scratches the entire side of some guy’s car with a rivet gun while messing around in Phil’s Auto Body Shop.

Anyway, Ted and Jason were great to us. So, needless to say I decided to take my truck in there for an oil change on a Thursday morning. I dropped it off and walked about a mile to the Border’s bookstore down the road. Jason called soon after and told me imy truck was done. I told him I would be there in about 20 minutes because I needed to walk back his way. He actually said “No” and insisted on coming to pick me up in his truck….and he did.

On the ride back to the shop the conversation went something like this:

Me: So how much do you charge for a brake fluid flush? BrakeMasters says I need one.

Jason: My truck has almost 300,000 miles on it. I have never-EVER flushed the brake fluid. It is not necessary.

Me: OK…well they told me I need the brake pads cleaned, too.

Jason: Just get some tire and rim cleaner and clean the brake dust off the inside of your rims if it bugs you. If it doesn’t bug you, DON’T! Cleaning your brake pads is not necessary. They will just get dirty again. They are right behind your tire and only a foot above the road. Plus, they grind against metal all day. They are suppose to get dirty.

Me: So do I need an exhaust inspection, then?

Jason: Looked OK to me from what I saw while I was under there.

Me: And will I need new brakes soon? That’s what…

Jason: That’s what BrakeMasters told you? No, you have 50 percent or more of your brake pad left. You are not even close to needing new brakes. See, BrakeMasters works on commission. They will try to sell you services you don’t need in order to make money. Ted and I work for reputation. We aren’t a franchise so we don’t have much to back us up but our work.  What I am telling you is that all you need today is a 24 dollar oil change and I hope you appreciate that enough to come back next time and maybe tell a friend or two.

So there you have it. My story ends there, but it has just begun. I am never going back to the Chevrolet dealer, or any large auto-care franchises like BrakeMasters or JiffyLube. I’m sticking with two greasy, dirty mechanics that own a shabby and somewhat run down auto shop. Why? Its simple…TRUST. Plus, I think its good for America. I think that Americans SHOULD spend their money at locations and retailers that they can honestly say that they know and trust. I think that wherever possible, we should try to do business with a handshake and on a first name basis.

Some people argue that America is built on capitalism. They might say that we wouldn’t be where we are today without Wal-Mart, Home Depot, McDonalds and Starbuck’s. But to me, what I think is the heart and soul of America…the bread and butter of our country…is the honesty and integrity that you get out of places like Ted and Jason’s Complete Auto Repair in Papillion, NE. Or that Ma and Pa grocery store that refuses to go out of business despite the big box stores sprouting up around it. Or the pharmacy down the street that still has the same cash register that they had in 1960.

It isn’t the suit and ties that make America strong. Its the grease under people like Jason and Ted’s fingernails. I encourage you to spend your economic stimulus money locally in your community. Gonna buy a new lawn mower? Why not buy it and Joe Blow’s hardware store instead of Home Depot this time? Why not go to Sally’s Bakery on the corner and buy your office two dozen doughnuts. Need some work done on your car? Why not go check out your local grease monkey auto shop. I did…it saved me money and everything about it felt great.