Re: My letter to WalMart
 

Since I never have priced tires at WalMart, I honestly don't know. Goodyear is probably about average price here, cheaper than some, but more than others. Bottom line is, I have a good, trusted mechanic for services/products. If he is a couple of bucks more than someone down the street, I really don't care. I know that his prices are within the window of reasonability for the work that he does, and that the people working on my vehicles are truly ASE certified.

Sometimes, when you pay for the added quality, you get the satisfaction of not having to write letters! :rolleyes:

Re: My letter to WalMart
 

Agreed on that note - but on another note that has kinda bothered me after reading it earlier, the ASE certifications are just book smarts - as well as State Certifications (In Michigan you have to be STATE certified to work on a vehicle)

Some people that I know are ASE certified out of a dealership and can't fix squat - while there are people that can't take the test due to them not being 'book smart' but can fix anything 100% in the fastest time i've ever seen!! (Can you say a whole 2001 Ford Focus Clutch done in 1.5 hours :eek:)

Re: My letter to WalMart
 

grr, it took me and my dad almost 4 hrs. to do the clutch in his jeep altho we did have to make a few parts

but for getting your tires rotated at cheep places like that it is probably something you could do yourself, all you need is a jack and a torque wrench(i think everyone here can opperate both of those)

there are of course parts of the car and different common maintanance tasks that need a pro so you should find a GOOD mechanic that can do the job right and will take the time to make sure no mistakes were made, this will often cost more since these guys are in high demand

Also a note on why mechanics often rush:
1)They get paid by commission based on the number of hours it *should* take to do a job
2)If they finish earky they get paid the same and they get another job to work on and then more money from that.
3)If it takes longer than the time in #1 then they still dont get any extra pay

This is one of the main reasons why my dad quit the auto mechanic industry, simply put taking his time and doing it right was not making enough