Let us pause a moment to mourn the passing of an American institution, the independent mechanic/garage owner.
Once, these guys were as ubiquitous as corner stores, those stores long ago having disappeared, victims of nationwide chains, not to mention online shopping. The small-business mechanic is moving toward similar extinction.
The reasons are numerous.
Begin with the reality that cars have gotten so complicated, you need sophisticated computerized machinery to diagnose their ills. Dealerships and nationwide chains are better able to absorb the cost of the equipment and amortize it over large customer lists, while generally charging a small fortune to do even the most mundane of tasks.
There also is the general trend in society to devalue the skills of those who get their hands dirty. Everyone should go to college, the self-appointed arbiters proclaim, even though that isn’t true. This prunes the field of would-be mechanics.
Add on that it’s hard work running a small shop and dealing with customers who might not know a driveshaft from a camshaft, but doubt you when you tell them what is wrong with their vehicle.
I don’t know this for sure, but I suspect government regulation also makes it harder for the small-guy mechanics.
And so we are at an unfortunate stage when competent, independent mechanics are scarce as hen’s teeth.
By way of background, I’ve shared in past posts the problems of getting someone to address the automatic transmission problems of my Corvette from Hell.
After jerking me around for a month, the transmission shop didn’t want to work on its because the transmission was not stock and they might not be able to get parts. Never mind that the transmission is based on the GM turbohydramatic transmission of the past, of which many millions were made, or that the aftermarket speed provider continues to sell them, and parts such as rebuild kits online. I know, I checked.
I’d about given up on the Corvette being anything more than an expensive paperweight when a fellow car guy said there was a mechanic located near him who did great work, on almost anything, and to give him a call.
In one of those ironies of life, that mechanic’s name is Chance. So, I took a Chance.
It took some time to get an opening for the Corvette and some time for a solution, so if you’re looking for quick turnarounds, look elsewhere.
However, if you want a guy who’s old school in the best ways, such as talented, conscientous, willing to take on a challenge, and inclined to charge a fair price, Chance at Thomasdale Machine, just past Thomas Mills along Old Somerset Pike, is your man.
I thought he was a 30-something, but he told me he’s actually 41. This is a good thing because it’s likely Chance and his business will outlast me. Unfortunately, the garage located less than a mile away from my home that I’ve relied on to service my small fleet of cars, currently numbering six, has owners who are looking to retire.
The mere thought gives me the shakes.
Getting back to happier thoughts, Chance seems to have cured the transmission ills, finding many gaffes by the people who assembled my car, a Frankenstein-type effort I call the Vette Rod in homage to its non-stock nature, the sort of thing that really annoys the Corvette purists.
Chance wants to do some tuning on my Corvette’s valves next year, when I get it out of winter storage, and he’s willing to take on the balky mechanism of my convertible Mustang, yet another challenge that many mechanics, including at dealerships, seem either unable or unwilling to attempt.
I guess I really shouldn’t be spreading the word about Chance, who already is busy due to a great word-of-mouth reputation.
But, praises need to be sung of people doing a good job, as rare as that has become.
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