My sister called me this morning from a dusty parking lot on the outskirts of Denver. “I don’t know about this…” she said.
A few months back, she mentioned she needed brake work done to her car. I’d been urging her to stop going to the VW dealership, since going to any dealer is a good way to get gouged. I did some research (since VW maintenance is kinda my area of expertise), and came up with a bunch of specialty shops in the Denver area.
Apparently, several of the shops I suggested to her were either too far away, or just weren’t open anymore. The one that was left was actually the one that looked most promising. She called them up, talked to a nice guy to make an appointment, and got an estimate for how much the brake work would be. Their prices were reasonable (far, far less than the dealer), and the dude sounded honest.
So she’s in their parking lot this morning, hemming and hawing about whether or not she wants to leave her shiny, nice Touareg in a place like this. All crappy cars out front, not-so-nice part of town, just not a good feeling. I tried to set her mind at ease, letting her know that most shops will bring all the nicest cars inside the garage bays at night.
The thing is, I worked in a place like this. Hole in the wall shop, run down, dingy, middle of nowhere, huddled among a half dozen other run-down auto shops. They’re almost all like that, especially in the larger metro areas, and there’s no avoiding it. The problem is, nobody wants an auto shop in their neighborhood, and zoning laws really only give shop owners a limited choice of where they can build their business. Sadly, most shops are right near the nastiest places on earth, auto salvage yards. My sister wasn’t aware of the zoning laws, so this kinda put her at ease too.
Also, there’s the fact that brand-name auto dealerships always tend to have pristine, gleaming enamel floors, shiny new lifts, and mechanics that look like they just stepped out of the shower. It’s kinda sad, because in all reality, that’s the place you don’t want your car worked on, yet it’s totally the most inviting and “confidence inspiring.”
It’s no wonder people are often remiss in taking proper care of their cars.