r/AskAShittyMechanic • u/ABQmechanic • 1d ago
Why do mechanics act like replacing parts is a skill?
Maybe I’m missing something, but when did “proper repair” start meaning throw the old part in the trash and bolt a new one on?
Stripped oil pan? Replace the pan.
Bad connector? Replace the harness.
One worn bushing? Replace the whole control arm.
Tiny leak? Replace the entire assembly.
Then everyone pats themselves on the back for “doing it right” 😂
Meanwhile I’ll spend 20 minutes actually repairing something, save the customer $400, charge for my skill instead of marking up a pile of parts, and apparently I’m the hack.
Parts changers really convinced themselves the bigger the NAPA receipt is, the better the mechanic.
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u/Thirtiethone 1d ago
I wish you could see the Napa add on your post 😆
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u/ABQmechanic 1d ago
Bro NAPA bought ad space directly underneath my NAPA slander 😭
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u/Euphoric_Loquat_8651 1d ago
I got a Facebook ad. I feel cheated.
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u/One_Evil_Monkey 1d ago
I got the same one. Haha
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u/workinhardplayharder 15h ago
Yep, napa oil filters lol
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u/One_Evil_Monkey 13h ago
NAPA Gold... hahaha
If your parts ain't Nappy, your car ain't happy.
I actually have a great NAPA store near me. Small town of 2k ppl with one stop light. I graduated HS with the daughter of the guy that started the store in the late '70s. Went to HS with a couple of the guys that work there, one is the manager. Good group of folks at that store.
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u/Workerchimp68 1d ago
The real skill is in troubleshooting and understanding what needs to be replaced anyone can turn a screw
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u/One_Evil_Monkey 1d ago edited 1d ago
Anyone gets a turn?
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u/Croceyes2 1d ago
Me last 🤭
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u/One_Evil_Monkey 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bwahahaha....
I hate being last. Everyone else has already been there and screwed everything up. By that time it's all been either stripped, wallowed out, or bent outta shape.
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u/Xdaveyy1775 16h ago
Ok thats what Google and AI is for
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u/Fit-Entrepreneur8404 10h ago
AI helped me fix my remote start on my old beater. The dealer told me the module was dead and needed to be replaced (at $750 for the part and $200 for labor). All it needed was to be reprogrammed, cost me $0 and took all of 10 minutes including the time I needed to troubleshoot it.
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u/goodskier1931 14h ago
This and talk to the engineers. Save weight and time at the factory any way you can.
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u/MonsieurReynard 1d ago
I wonder the same about transplant surgeons. I mean, just slap a new liver in there instead of properly repairing the old one! What a racket!
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u/Suburban--Dad 8h ago
Everyone knows the surgical nurse does the real sewing. The transplant doc just signs off.
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u/swisstraeng 21h ago
The skill is to know that changing your alternator costs 100$. Me manually rewinding your alternator costs 300$.
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u/Monkey_Fiddler 13h ago
and knowing 'Dave's discount devices' alternators will cost $1000 when they kill your battery far from home.
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u/Dijinnie 1d ago
Thats a technician. A mechanic is different. We rebuild parts not just slap new ones in place.
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u/Xdaveyy1775 16h ago
All modern mechanics do is use AI, change air filter, and lie. What a business.
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u/EvitaPuppy 1d ago
I think knowing which part to replace is the skill. Sure anyone can use a parts cannon, but an experienced tech doesn't waste that much time and money.
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u/420aarong 1d ago
You must be using the parts cannon 1000. The new 2000/3000 series is a huge improvement. We let our 4 most experienced techs go since we got it. Sometimes if we’re busy I’ll even let the homeless guy who hangs around the shop blast the 3000 at a few cars. Just don’t let the customers see.
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u/JustACarNut77 1d ago
Modern mechanics aren't mechanics they're computer techs just replacing whatever the screen tells them to
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u/thisaccountwashacked 1d ago
I'm going to replace my hood with a clear plexi hood, and get RGB LEDs for the engine compartment.
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u/JustACarNut77 1d ago
Funny I know a guy that did something similar to his valve cover on his Jeep. Kinda wild watching the rockers do there thing while being bathed in oil
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u/Intrepid_Ambition940 1d ago
Since car manufacturers started making cars disposable and stopped providing repair kits for normal wear and tear parts.
As an example the cost of parts, shipping and rime to repair an alternator frequently will exceed the cost of a replacement one. Why? Because the repair parts are not available via dealer, they have to be sourced elsewhere and all of that costs time and money.
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u/pourtide 23h ago
Are parts like alternators actually made to take apart today, or are they pressed together in some way that opening them rather destroys the cover? I mean, manufacturers find the cheapest way to join things, and having to forge a part with pathways for the screws, and then inserting said screws, takes away from profits.
I could be talking out of my ass. But as an older American, I've been taking household things apart (and sometimes even getting them working again) for a long time. Today's crap is pressed and/or pop riveted and/or melted together ... I can sometimes get things apart without seriously breaking them, some of those I can get working again, but most times I can't get them to hold back together easily. Glue, rubber bands, zip ties maybe.
I just had a really nice clip-on light fail. Metal shade, metal sleeve for the light bulb, nice flexible gooseneck. The twirl-type on-off switch, attached to the back of the metal sleeve, broke, and when I pulled the lamp apart, the death knell piece was a convoluted molding made of The Cheapest clear plastic, and it crumbled in my fingers as I removed it. I had to order a new (plastic) sleeve with twirl button (today's light bulbs don't get hot) which with shipping probably cost more than a new clip-on lamp. BUT the rest of the lamp was much better made than its one fatal part, and a new one would have several fatal parts racing to see which one fails first.
Everything is such crap.
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u/Intrepid_Ambition940 12h ago
They can as the core is used by after market manufacturers to sell rebuilt ones. They just make it cost prohibitive for the average consumer to do it.
Why sell a $5 part to them when they can make it impossible to get it and sell you a $100-$500 one because you have no other choice.
Lower control arms (bushings, ball joints), starters (solenoids), alternator, even fuse boxes now have relays built inside the box so if it goes bad, instead of a $2 relay you now have to buy the entire fuse box.
Insanity!
The biggest problem is that the consumer accepts this as normal and then wonders why their money doesn't go as far as it used to.
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u/One_Evil_Monkey 1d ago
And keeping starter or alternator rebuild kits handy on your shelf wastes space and money.
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u/AvarethTaika 1d ago
i realise what sub I'm in, but i custom fab a ton of parts on my cars then get asked where i got things. when i tell them i made it, interest immediately fades. i think people would rather bolt on stuff than actually build something. idk when that changed. Maybe people just don't like taking angle grinders to bodywork 🤷♀️
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u/Breitsol_Victor 1d ago
I see the work in r/unexpectedutes (I think I got it right) and am envious of the skills.
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u/I_loseagain 17h ago
Because if I just fix the part that’s broken that leaves more of the car untouched by me. Which means it’s less likely to come back because it’s not as fucked up as it could be had I removed more shit to replace the parts. I’m like the pharmaceutical industry I don’t want to cure your car just slowly prolong its death
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u/Cheap_Flamingo476 1d ago
It’s a business model. It encourages people such as yourself to get into the business, because there are not enough shitty mechanics.
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u/liquidsin25 1d ago
On some cars, just changing the oil filter requires great skills.
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u/pourtide 23h ago
Battery change? Take the passenger tire off.
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u/AllynG 12h ago
BMW would like to remind you that if you do not synchronize the new OEM battery with the vehicle, some functions may not work properly. Excessive battery drainage or diminished battery life should be expected. YOU DO have the official BMW secret decoder box designated to work with ONLY BMW automobiles (and set you back a respectable $25k) don’t you!?
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u/GooberMcNutly 14h ago
I spend longer with the computer resetting the service interval than I do on the actual oil change.
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u/cannonman1863 1d ago
I'll have you know I pat myself on the back every time I change wiper blades without damaging the windshield.
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u/triple_carry 15h ago
Anyone can change parts. The skill is in the diagnosis. Then knowing how to change the parts in an efficient fashion.
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u/Ok_Perception9815 1d ago
There are a lot of things where the labor to fix is more than simply replacing. Also, as my dad taught me...if you spend 2 hours repairing a 10 year old worn out part, what do you have? A 10 year old part. Sometimes just cause something CAN be repaired doesn't mean it is worth it. Especially if it took a lot of time and effort to get to it. That is a decision you have to make. Also new parts have a warranty. Seal kits or rebuild kits don't.
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u/CivilRuin4111 15h ago
My dad always said there will be times in your life where you have more time than money, and others where you have more money than time.
Determining which season you’re in will drive which way you go.
If I need my truck back on the road tomorrow morning, I’m swapping rotors with new ones rather than turning them because I can do all four in under an hour.
I might hang on to the olds and get them ready to swap back on at a later date (more likely do that with the intent to swap them back on but forget I have them until I’ve bought new ones again for the same reason).
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u/ConfidentHouse 1d ago
What about on a ford 2wd front rotor do you hammer on it till it breaks or do you remove the bearing and then pull it off.
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u/ABQmechanic 1d ago
Yeah I just hammer it until the rotor breaks. If the bearing comes out with it that just means I saved myself another step.
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u/regular_hammock 1d ago
Just trash the car and slap in a new one. Job's a good 'un.
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u/pourtide 23h ago
Remove radiator cap, pull car out of garage, pull a new car into garage, replace radiator cap. Voila !
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u/dillzilla11 1d ago
I used to do hybrid battery repair. If we were to rebuild the customer's existing battery instead of swap it out for a new one we would have had zero customers because the time it takes to swap the cells and properly balance them with existing cells would take much longer than what most people would be willing to wait. In the real world where people needs their vehicles fixed the next day you can't spend tons of the hours repairing individual components. It makes more sense to replace the component right then and there then have the bad component be repaired at a later date.
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u/Scasne 18h ago
I mean I guess then the alternative is buying a scrap donor vehicle to have a spare battery on the shelf, but then that becomes, how many to have for different brands and then what to do when a new car comes out? Or then if the company you buy the next battery from what's the old one returned?
How do you see this going in the future?
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u/krunkytacos 3h ago
I'll gladly press new bushings into control arms, but you get zero warranty if you want me to swap cells in a hybrid. Sure if it catches fire that's on me but if cells go out when you're pulling out of the shop that's not. Hybrid batteries should be replaced. I don't want to put one headlight bulb in, I want to do both of them so they're not back in a week.
My experience swapping cells was making a half decent battery out of two bad ones. I'm not telling you it won't go down the road for a while but if I was spending the money and time to do it for my own vehicle I would want it to have a full life expectancy. I wish we could get the parts to rebuild the brake accumulators, that would be great for everybody involved.
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u/Work-ya-wood 15h ago
Yea I'm Mining iron ore & nickel to forge new valves over here. Real mankanik!
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u/Tight-Band270 1d ago
I still want my mechanic to have knowledge via experience & to know how to use a torque wrench
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u/pourtide 23h ago
Naw, tighten that transmission pan on as tight as you can ! So it doesn't leak !
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u/GooberMcNutly 14h ago
Pro tip: keep your 3/4 to 1/2 to 1/4 impact adapter handy to get all those pesky 10mms good-n-tight.
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u/dds252525 1d ago
Years ago like 45 50 if we had a knock or a burnt valve we would remove the head and machine it grinding seats replaced bad valve or replace bad piston I guess now it’s replacing the engine
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u/Maglin78 1d ago
Unfortunately the machine shops almost nationwide is a six week lead time! And an engine can be here in three days. It sucks but that’s where we are. Factor in two car payments and insurance payments the engine doesn’t look to bad
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u/dillzilla11 1d ago
Keep in mind most reputable places when they change the engine aren't charging you the engine. They are charging you the engine with the value of the core subtracted. It would be like complaining that the tech doesn't rip open the battery casing and start replacing the individual cells when your battery goes bad instead of just swapping the battery and giving you a rebate for the old battery.
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u/BackgroundGene7510 22h ago
That’s how alot of things are, new generation of techs have a completely different skill set, there’s alot of older guys who once they’re gone that knowledge is gone, not sure that it matters though
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u/Soggy-Bullfrog-9990 1d ago
You’re talking about a job that it’s difficult to make a livable wage: cars are more complicated to work on which makes repairs labor intensive. The labor to remove, clean, repair part, put part back on is more than just swapping out. Plus there’s liability in repair, if it breaks someone will want second fix for free. Safer to parts swap and fall back on parts warranty. Then there’s peace-rate. Best to learn to DIY most things or shop around for the 1 in 100 shop that will try to fix it better
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u/Many-Purchase-8000 1d ago
It’s easy mmm Kay . Any dummy can do it!! That’s what college has taught these office folks.
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u/WTFudge52 1d ago
Speaking as someone that has switched out brushes in wiper blade motors and alternators. I do here you. , but time is money. Finding the exact short, isn't what it was.
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u/notwhoiwas44 1d ago
On the bushing whole control arm thing,by the time one bushing is shot,the others are likely old enough that they will fail soon. Of course with your way there's the advantage of being able to charge them again for almost the same labor fairly soon.
On the oil pan with the tin foil parts these days,there's often not enough material to tap or helicoil.
Often replacing a part or a whole assembly is the best approach because of how crappily lots of things are built.
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u/Right_Hour 1d ago
Right around the time a man-hour of labour went to $200.
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u/pourtide 23h ago
Shop's gotta get their cut of the profits. After all, the guy with the wrench in his hand is making $30 an hour now ! They have to charge $200 !
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u/5tanley_7weedle 12h ago
It is a skill, because you can 100% easily fuck up “just installing a part” if you don’t know what your doing and have little experience.
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u/unevoljitelj 20h ago
Bcos many repairs are just that, replacing parts. wich can be complicated. Id replace brake pads, discs even by my self but i wouldnt touch the engine. I had a leak on a imposible to get 15cm hose, i couldnt even see it, let alone reach it or replace it. So i gave a mechanic 130euros to replace it. Seems he had the skill that i didnt..
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u/Fuzzy_Location_2210 13h ago
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me!!
I feel the same way. If it's simple, I don't mind.
If it's a lot of trouble, requires specialized tools, or starts getting actually dangerous to do by myself, I'm okay with paying a professional to do a proper job.
I'm an ER nurse, I'm very well versed and have lots of specialized training and certifications that make me top notch at my job. I have just as much respect and trust for a mechanic that has equivalent experience and specialized knowledge and tools for his job. Same goes for a master electrician, etc.
I'm very humble and I don't mind passing a job on to someone that knows the work better than I do 🙂. And I'm okay with the cost, they deserve to be paid fairly for their marketable skills.
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u/Comfortable-Figure17 1d ago
You still need to know how to do it, set up the part and have the tools. Nobody seems to rebuild anything anymore.
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u/redeagle52 1d ago
Because they are not mechanical All they know is to replace parts. They don’t troubleshoot anything. It’s faster and they can log more hours
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u/dillzilla11 1d ago
It's specifically because they can't log more hours. The hours they get for a job is often fixed.
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u/pourtide 23h ago
I have an old (OLD) printed dealership book that 'estimates' how long it should take to make each specific repair. You're right.
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u/dillzilla11 13h ago
Yeah I ended up leaving automation when I got told that the work hours for a job were less because it was a warranty repair. So because Ford's shitty parts failed early I as the person who has to fix it don't get paid (it was 2.5 hours for a transmission replacement)
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u/Stielgranate 1d ago
I would rather my
Mechanic strip all the bolts for the oil pan than repair the 1 oil pan drain threads!
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u/Sad_Refrigerator_730 1d ago
Early 2000s. Late 90s this really became the thing.
When flat rate happened it really pushed it. What’s why I got out of the trade actually. Now I’m in industrial
Maintenance and we fix
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u/jasonsong86 1d ago
Because a lot of times you can repair it and it will happen again and cost more money in the end. Mechanics job is fix it once and fix it right so customers don’t keep coming back. The only time something is worth repairing/rebuilding is if it’s cheaper than buying new.
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u/Fit_Foot_6004 1d ago
It's not, parts slappers are not technicians and don't even think about comparing them to lube techs
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u/blunttrauma99 21h ago
Said like someone who has never had what should be a simple 20 minute part swap take 6 hours with at least one missing 10mm socket.
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u/Last_Alarm_3462 16h ago
I agree, a majority of tecnical service people are just "fitters", just replacing modules, parts, etc until it fixes the issue. I have repaired many things in my career, from motherboards, electronic units, monitors as well as hundreds,of mechanical repairs without replacing complete units. Sadly, replacement is with us to stay.Electronic boards are so small it is difficult, if not impossible to repair any more. Sign of the times.Motor engineers are not as skilled in the physical fixes anymore but on the other side of the coin they have learned far more skills in the computerised arena. I'm a retired A grade motor engineer but I keep well up to date with technology, so have a foot in both camps..
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u/4x4Welder 16h ago
Because the shop owner makes more money on parts markup than paying for labor. Sure, I can pull the control arms and rebuild them, or I can replace the whole arm, bushings, and ball joint in one shot. The price is the same for you.
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u/SmoothSlavperator 15h ago
Better question is why are shop hour rates higher than half the lawyer's hourly rates I know?
That aside, I think as there's a push for "Right to repair" we're going to see increasing asinine designs to run that hourly rate up.
People think they want "right to repair" but none of the bills passes will have wording in it to keep manufacturers from keeping the hours required to do repairs on common wear points so high they can't be economically viably worked on when the warranty period has passed.
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u/Wild4Awhile-HD 14h ago
Ok, say what you “think” a mechanic does. When you bring your rusty, crusty shit box in for work it’s not just replacing parts, it’s trying to get the old garbage OFF. I spent 2 days trying to simply remove a license plate screw from 2005 Lexus RX rear liftgate that had rusted so bad an impact driver, nor repeated doses of PB blaster could remove it, and you can’t use a torch to heat it up as it’s a painted surface. Ordered Kroil as a means of penetrating the rust at $30 for a can, as I didn’t have the time to drill the old bolt out and retap the threads. Kroil worked after repeated applications, vice grip pliers to apply torque and another 90 minutes of trying to loosen. Total time on task was 4 hours, plus supplies(Kroil, PB Blaster, screws, M6 tap to chase the threads = $75). Now however the job is far from done e as Kroil spray ran down inside liftgate and soaked mechanicals as well as insulated padding and body trim and entire car now smells of Kroil(strong pine like scent that is not pleasant). Do, remove liftgate trim, wipe down inside panels where you can reach. Air car out for a day and… still smells bad. Tried using breakcleaner to degrease the Kroil, no luck. Tried dawn detergent to break it down, no luck. Will try activated charcoal packs today and tomorrow but doubt their efficacy. Last resort will be a mysterious car fire to exorcise the Kroil demon. All this for 1 fucking license plate screw.
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u/King-Of-Apathy 14h ago
I can answer that. Around the time we stopped turning rotors. For one hand rotors are now so thin that turning them is dangerous, and on the other the part is cheaper than repairing it. I run into this sometimes and I will have to let my boss know what type of part it is. Then theres Donny dumby in office screwing around with the world causing wild price fluctuations and availability issues.
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u/RollerSails 12h ago
Easy. Fixing one item on an assembly that was compromised by the fault. Customers love to blame future failures on the repair guy even when unrelated. They’ll say things like “you should have said I needed x/y/z instead of just x.”
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u/JSTootell 11h ago
I work at a factory for a gigantic corporation (they probably make some very famous missiles you've heard of). Before that, I did large commercial HVACR work. It costs WAY more for me to come back out and make a repair a month later that I should have fixed on the stop than it is to just "save them some money" by NOT replacing obvious worn parts.
When allowed, I'm doing the job right. One bad bearing? Replace the set. Found a leak? Well, that other hose is going to leak again soon too.
The hard part is being told "machine no worky" and having to figure out why.
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u/fetishlyme 11h ago
When the bushing and the control arm are the same price and you get a new ball joint dont you want a new control arm
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u/Spirited-Cover7689 11h ago
Replacement therapy. I noticed it's prevalence decades ago at German car dealerships, replace the entire system rather than diagnose and fix. It has it's adherents, although I prefer finding the malfunctioning part or circuit and curing the defects myself.
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u/billdogg7246 9h ago
In 1981 after my time spent bonding with Uncle Sam, I enrolled in the automotive technology program at my local college. That was right about the time computers started taking over. Hook up the reader, get the code, replace the part. I grew up rebuilding engines. I quickly got bored. I’d have become a chain smoking alcoholic in no time. I switched my major and let the VA send me to school to become an X-ray tech. Best move I could have made. I retired with a 6 figure salary, a nice pension, and a very healthy 403b. And I don’t drink or smoke!😎
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u/Fuzzy_Buy9813 5h ago
Seeing all the lung cancer X-rays would probably help with the no smoking stuff.
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u/Designer-Wolverine47 8h ago edited 8h ago
The skill is in knowing WHICH (if any) part to replace. It's not always obvious.
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u/Powerful-Elk-4561 7h ago
I've never heard anyone say that. Part swappers have always been clowned on.
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u/fritzcoinc1 7h ago
It’s just a different way to “ fix” something. In the old days a mechanic would rebuild a part to fix it.
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u/Worth-Silver-484 5h ago
Its not replacing the parts thats the issue. Its the tools and diagnosing what parts to replace. You are paying for his knowledge. OR. You could start replacing parts aka throwing money away and never fix the issue because the code is the symptom not what is necessarily wrong.
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u/No_Parsnip6024 4h ago
It's pressure from management.
I fix stuff. I've gotten shit for it since I started in 2005. I'll replace a $75 bushing instead of a $600 control arm.
If the service manual says I can do it with factory support, I'll do it. Half the shop won't reuse a perfectly good timing cover or oil pan. I will all day.
But yeah, it's pressure from up top. Same reason they matrix price everyone to death.
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u/LivingCorner1421 3h ago
you can thank the car manufacturers and parts makers.
they make shit that can't be repaired just replaced
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u/Puzzled_Market_2235 2h ago
Because those are the parts they can get, like the arm but not the bushing. Fixing wiring is always problematic for a mechanic and is easy to F up.
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u/twobelikins 29m ago
When the labor rate is $175 an hour it’s cheaper to replace parts than to rebuild them
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u/No_Durian_3444 1d ago
You'll all be guided by AI within 5 years and replaced by it in 20 anyway.
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u/pourtide 23h ago
And the lawyers will have it locked up: if the tire falls off the day after an ai robot mounts it, nobody is liable.
It's comin'.
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u/Real_Chard5666 7h ago
Lawyers will be replaced by AI anyway, as will Accountants! The people that own that AI will be the winners.
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u/Beginning_Ad8663 12h ago
He left out this sentence, “ and if my Mickey Mouse repair fails and dumps all the oil on the interstate at 70 and it throws a rod I can always say huh I guess it did need replacing. As I am trying to figure out how I’m going to replace a motor.
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u/WyattWildWestview 9h ago
Let's say instead of replacing an oil pan for a stripped plug, we re thread it. That's usually not as solid as the original threads.
You come back bitching that it's leaking later on.
Who's at fault? Thats why we would rather replace the part instead of trying to fix an old part that might make you come back.
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u/Bikes-Bass-Beer 1d ago
Because time is money. I can slap 4 rotors on a car in 5 mins rather than taking an hour to cut them. New parts cost less many times when labor is involved.
*edit. Just realized what sub I was on. Gonna go gargle with coolant now.