Something In Common - Turbocharged #2

Hey, it’s Dale with Sage Creek. I ask our techs dumb car questions so you don’t have to. 

Techs, service writers, grease pitters and shop owners all have something in common, and in common with you: they’ve got bills to pay. They’ve got lights and heat to keep on, food to buy, internet and phone to pay for, and making sure all the necessities are covered enough so they can do something fun with the money left over. 

Nowadays, that little extra money is looking extra little. But before we go get mad at “the Man,” let’s go back, WAY back, and learn how this all got started. 

Back in the Stone Age, cave men decided that they’d exchange their skills with one another to survive better. Ooga was taller and could forage the best fruits. Booga was thicker and better in a fight. 

Turns out, Ooga didn’t want to be a forager all his life. Instead, he went to technical school and got a degree in automotive repair, made a decent living for his wife and two cave-babies. Booga got rich doing the honest work of cage fighting, but he only trusted one friend to take care of his bougie new sports-cars: Ooga. Booga knew that his friend was skilled enough to earn a degree, and was willing to pay him a little extra for Ooga’s experience to ensure his car was taken care of the right way. 

Or something like that. I saw a documentary on it one time. 

There’s three parts to Booga’s relationship to Ooga we’ve gotta think about. Keep these in mind with your current auto tech and see if they make the cut… 

1. Proficiency. You’re paying for the competency behind an auto tech, the tech’s education and time invested into proper automotive ongoing training to ensure the work is done right, the first time. 
2. Parts. The design and craftsmanship in every component in a vehicle. A better part may be more expensive, but it’ll also be more likely to work properly over time and typically carry a nationwide warranty. 
3. Experience. The quality of service. Don’t just limit yourself to the quality of the technicians, either. YOUR experience, from the front desk to the work on your vehicle, should be considered equally. This includes being able to asking questions, get well-explained repairs, gain access to videos to clarify what a repair does, and receive a digital evaluation to refer to (maybe even get it sent to your phone or email). Honesty and integrity are HUGE for my experience, so I look for this in each service, big or small. 

All of that sounds like a key selling point to me. If a tech—heck, if a SHOP—enables me to… 

• ask questions and not be talked down to… ? 
• say “NO” to a repair order if it’s not a critical safety issue… ?
• have a digital record of my evaluations, so I know what I’m getting into and can take that record for a second opinion… ?

I’m sold. If I have to pay a little extra for that piece of mind, I consider it part of the services rendered. 

A bit longer read today, so thanks for sticking it out. If there’s only one things that sticks out to you, I hope it’s this: 

Ooga Booga. 

We’ll catch you next time! 

#AutoRepair #Mechanic #ASECertified #DigitalInspection #TieRodEnds #EngineRepair #OilChange #SageCreekRepair #IdahoFalls #EastIdaho