How to identify a fake mechanic

March 25, 2012 by Kunle Shonaike 2 Comments

"Kunle, how can I quickly spot a fake roadside mechanic to avoid letting me let one, in the guise of working on it, damage my car?"

I must confess that this question, from a disturbed female enquirer who'd just fallen victim to sheer quackery, is a very emotive one for a man like me. And since I cannot proffer any hocus-pocus method of answering this genuine question, I'll resort to the scientific way discernible to me: that's to itemise some scenarios that must naturally trigger your mental alarm bells.

The very first thing that should raise your mental red flag is during your initial moments with any mechanic; you must have observed a problem in your vehicle (which is very likely iconified on the vehicle's dashboard) before taking the automobile to him, or calling him to work on it.

If, when he starts to examine the vehicle and notices any of the warning lights on the dashboard is lit but he doesn't attempt to use a diagnostic machine to scan the vehicle to let the vehicle's On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) system specifically "tell" him what's wrong with the vehicle, then you're very likely dealing with a "speculator" or "trial-and-errorist" (you see, it sounds like "terrorist!").

And if he, like so many of the quacks say, "don't worry about those lights on the dashboard, they don't mean anything," then I bid you to do a runner.

The other way to easily recognise an incompetent roadside mechanic is the way he goes about solving an identified (or perceived) problem on a vehicle: One, if you've just bought a vehicle and a mechanic tells you to remove the vehicle's thermostat and re-direct the radiator's fan/s, he's either a quack or he's just far behind modern automotive technologies.

Two, if you take an automobile to a garage and a mechanic (after the vehicle's engine has cooled) insists that the radiator's fan/s must start automatically with the engine as soon as the engine is restarted, you're very likely dealing with the wrong auto technician.

Three, if a mechanic is working on some major components and systems of your car (say, the engine combustion system, the fuel system or the cooling system) and instead of using basic inexpensive precision tools like "combustion pressure tester," "fuel pressure tester" and "cooling pressure tester" he's making presumptuous conclusions to assume the correct working conditions of the system/s, albeit he may not be a quack per se but his work will pretty likely lead you to frustration alley.

My non-scientific conclusion on this somewhat disturbing issue is this: any automotive engineer or mechanic, including yours truly, who doesn't read fastidiously to catch up with the ever-improving technologies in automobiles and be comfortable in using some basic maintenance and repair tools will soon slip into quackery faster than he knows. Shi kena.

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Jacob March 25, 2012 at 1:36 pm

AUTOMEDICS:I have a Toyota Camry 94/96 model V6 auto.Last december,i changed the engine & in february i discovered its fuel consumption has increased substantially,exhaust fumes blue smoke,fuel pouring out frm the exhaust manifold on the engine & from the exhaust pipe @ the rear.The engine oil had mixed with fuel in the engine.My technician advised i replace the brainbox & air spedometer.Pls is it that the engine i bought is nt ok or what could be the problem? JACOB 08034722937

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samson March 25, 2012 at 2:06 pm

@Jacob. Itz either d piston ring has worn, which will definately need replacement or d engine block bores has worn as well. Dat may need u 2 place sleeves in2 or u change d engine block.

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