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| - I like giving my old car synthetic oil changes pretty much every 5 or 6000 km, and I switch between a lube joint and a mechanic, just to make sure all the mechanical bases are covered. Usually the lube place looks at everything from tire pressure to reverse lights to transmission fluid while they are draining and replacing the oil. For other mysteries of the vehicle the mechanic will do an inspection of brakes, pumps, tire tread wear, etc, all in addition to the oil change. Usually I get a call from them with a suggestion, like your engine hangers are broken or your brakes are disintegrating on the right side. The car hasn't broken down on me yet (aside from some dead batteries in the winter) so I trust these guys to look out for problems and not sell me things I don't need.
So, when I went to new-mechanic-on-the-block Harper's Tire ("Full Mechanical Repairs") I was expecting some kind of inspection and maybe to "Expect the Unexpected," but I ended up with a perfunctory oil change in a reasonable amount of time. No 114 point inspection (opportunity to upsell), no query on why the check engine light is on, not even a little sticker in my windshield telling me when to come back. They left up the old one from the last mechanic.
So, they get points for a decent oil change in a quick time frame with no upsell. When I made the phone appointment I also wasn't offered a 100 point inspection or a winter tune up, so I shouldn't have expected one, but I kind of thought they would at least tell me how my tire tread is and recommend tires (I think the tread is getting low).
Straight-forward, yup. Timely, yessir. Going the extra mile, not really. 3.5 stars rounded up.
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