I go to an "oil and lube" station to have my oil changed. That's it. I used to stop the kid before he got very far along in the sales pitch that oil change is all I'm here for. I can change the air filter, and if he would have read my manufacturer's book, he'd already be aware that my transmission needs nothing.....absolutlely nothing until 100K miles. He has no clue of the needs of my car. He pulled out the transmission dipstick to show me that there was "sludge" on it (had 35Kmiles on it mind you) and a flush was necessary. Let's simply suffice to say that I disputed the "sludge" and we have been amicable ever since. He now greets me with the standard "usual oil change?" and we are fine.

 

However, of the 40 customers that they have daily, if one bites on the extras, I can understand the reason for the pitch.

Same here. We take our cars to our local Valvoline as it's convenient, and I always tell them 'no thanks' when trying to sell me something. I used to do my own oil changes, but it's such a hassle. Plus, it's really not that much different in price anymore.

 

 

As for the initial post, I would never take my car to a Midas or Mieneke, or any other 'big box' store. I've heard plenty of horror stories to stay away. I've also had my own experience at Pep Boys. I'll never take anything there for service either. Outside of Valvoline, the only other 'big box' store that I will go to is Tire Discounters, and I only go to the one on KY18 if I have to pay for something. Otherwise, I go to Smith's Muffler in Covington or a family friend in Bellevue. Smith's is one of the few places that will take you back into the service bays to show you what is wrong and what they can do to fix it. They will also point out things that might need replaced in the near future.

 

Smith Muffler for anything on my Nissan Pathfinder but since we lease them every 3 yrs normally nothing but oil change.

 

On my 2000 Honda I go to my good friend in Bellevue who has a garage on his property and is a Nationally touted Honda Mechanic. He is very very good and doesnt hardly charge anything for labor. The guy is a gearhead for life and just loves working on Honda's. I have had a Honda since 1992 and will always probably have one for this reason. Not to mention you really dont have to sink a ton of money into them.

Smith Muffler for anything on my Nissan Pathfinder but since we lease them every 3 yrs normally nothing but oil change.

 

On my 2000 Honda I go to my good friend in Bellevue who has a garage on his property and is a Nationally touted Honda Mechanic. He is very very good and doesnt hardly charge anything for labor. The guy is a gearhead for life and just loves working on Honda's. I have had a Honda since 1992 and will always probably have one for this reason. Not to mention you really dont have to sink a ton of money into them.

 

Does he take referral business. I think I may have asked you about him once.

Smith Muffler for anything on my Nissan Pathfinder but since we lease them every 3 yrs normally nothing but oil change.

 

On my 2000 Honda I go to my good friend in Bellevue who has a garage on his property and is a Nationally touted Honda Mechanic. He is very very good and doesnt hardly charge anything for labor. The guy is a gearhead for life and just loves working on Honda's. I have had a Honda since 1992 and will always probably have one for this reason. Not to mention you really dont have to sink a ton of money into them.

 

I have 3 Hondas. Is this guy in business or just does it on the side? If in business, please share.

I have a 2007 Nissian Frontier and the transmission is slipping pretty bad. The warranty runs out at 60,000 miles mine had 59,700 when I took it in, They put it on the machine and said nothing was wrong. I would not take that answer and made the mechanic ride with me and he then saw what I was talking about. After getting back to the dealership they told me the service manager would come out and see me. 45 minutes later I finally went and found him, he said they were tring to call Nissian to see if they would warranty it. They have done so and now am waiting on a new transmission to be shipped from Japan. If I had left without making the mechanic ride with me my warranty would have ran out and I would have been out of luck. They tried but I was not leaving until he rode with me.

I have 3 Hondas. Is this guy in business or just does it on the side? If in business, please share.

 

check your PM.

 

On a side note, my 2000 Honda must have been a year where transmission was an issue and I remember getting a possible recall notice when the car had 45,000 miles on it. The warranty was 60,000 but I didnt have any problems at the time. Apparently they had so many issues that they extended it to 100,000 warranty for the transmission. About 2 yrs ago I noticed it slipping a little and I had 97,000 miles on the car. I kept procrastinating taking it to my guy in Bellevue to test drive it and give me the OK to run it out to Wyler in Florence to get set up for a new Transmission. Finally I let it get to 99,300 miles and took it out and they tried to give me the runaround. My mechanic I use actually is the lead mechanic out there and I told them to have JD confirm that this one is bad. All it took was for the manager to walk over to him, point to me, I waved and they said when can we schedule to have your new transmission put in? I couldnt believe I was getting a brand new transmission after 100,000 for nothing. It runs great at 132,000 miles right now.