Jul 08 2002
Mechanics & Mustangs
I think it’s a fairly well-known fact that mechanics of the male persuasion tend to pad their bills, overcharge, and/or flat out lie to their female clients. In the short time that I have owned a car, the only honest mechanic I have met is my brother.
Starting from my first personal encounter with a mechanic named Snake when my car broke down on one of the major artery roads through the city and had to be towed on a Sunday afternoon to Snake’s lair in the Haight on down, it hasn’t been good. It might be because I am a very silly girl who doesn’t know the first thing about cars, other than how to put in gas and change the oil (and I have been known to forget to screw the gas cap back on, too. Good thing it’s permanently affixed to the car with a sort of wire thing, so it doesn’t get lost completely). It might be because my car is a 1966 Mustang convertible, which can have strange effects on people, ranging from envy to the person who keyed the hood after it had a brand-new paint job to the uncontrollable urge to pass me when I’m driving it just to say they can. Or it might be a combination of such a fine ride being wasted on one so very ignorant. But for whatever reason, this has been my personal experience, and one I have heard from many other women, including smart, non-Mustang owning ones.
I was discussing this phenomenon with a screenwriter (for Paramount) at a party recently, and his theory is that men, including but not limited to mechanics, are actually afraid of women. In the wild, the frightened animal puffs himself up and tries to appear bigger than he really is to intimidate whatever is frightening him. The screenwriter thinks the mechanic’s bill padding is the same thing, translated into an urban (or suburban) setting. I think he gets points for creativity and charm on this one, but that’s it.
Any thoughts?
2 Responses to “Mechanics & Mustangs”
Wish I could help you on this one – whenever I take the car in, I am so in their face about it, because I worked at my dad’s shop for so many years, I usually know what they’re doing and how much things should cost, etc… Maybe Jonathan can give you a few pointers on how to bullshit your way through it?
Why so much thought put into it? The fact is that the mechanics (not necessarily ALL men… my uncle had a woman mechanic rip him off. Except, he knew about it and actually almost sued her, but that’s another story…) who rip people off just want more money than they deserve and lie to get it.
About my uncle… he took his car in to have the tires rotated and an oil changed. The oil was changed, because he checked it before and after, but the tires were definitely not rotated. he put stickers on the tires, remembered where they were, and they were all in the same place. And she charged him for it. A SHE! Now how scary is that, yo?