Mechanic report: much good

The Mazda dealership could learn a lot about service from Accurate Automotive in Burlington, MA.

I've said before that I don't have any complaint about the actual service work that was done on my car at the dealer. I don't know much about cars and how they work, and thus have to take a lot of what any mechanic says and does on faith. I did figure it out quickly when I got a bad oil change, but otherwise it's more a case of accepting their word. What irked me with Liberty Mazda was the attitude, the general contempt for the customer that I always felt from them. The feeling that their day would be easier if I wasn't there, and what did I want from them, anyway?

Meanwhile, the guy at Accurate, Chris, asked if he was pronouncing my name correctly.

Though clearly very busy, he cheerfully took the time to show another customer how to use the coffee machine.

He brought out another chair when a customer came in and was going to have to stand while they put in the turn signal bulb for her. (I think she had bought it and brought it with her. They didn't charge her for putting it in.)

They sent someone to pick up another customer when her car was ready. She walked home this morning after dropping the car off, but it's over 90 around here today.

I talked to a couple of other people waiting there today, both of whom have been taking cars there "for years". They used words like honest to describe the service. I got a good feeling about the atmosphere, with a small but clean waiting area stocked with magazines ranging from Popular Mechanics to US Weekly to The Economist. There was a window mostly covered with kids' drawings, and a newspaper clipping about a group of Girl Scouts who visited to learn something about cars.

Off to one side, on a sort of job organization area, there was a notice to the mechanics that cell phones are not allowed while they're working, and frequent trips to their cars to check messages will be noticed. (You mean, they're supposed to concentrate on their work? What an idea.) There was a TV on the wall, but it was off, which I prefer anyway when I'm a captive audience. The radio was on, quietly.

Anyway, I liked the place. I got my oil change and they fixed the headlight. They also told me (showed me, in fact) that my right front tire was mostly shot, which was not a total surprise after April (when the left one blew, the guy at the repair shop said the right was also showing wear, and should be replaced before the summer was over). They couldn't get a new one today, but will have it Monday. You know, I was so busy looking for a place with Saturday hours, I didn't even notice they're open late in the evenings, too. I'll go right after work, but it's nice not to have to worry about getting there by 6, or something.

Like 4, if it was Mazda.

They did put the spare on, explaining that if anything happened, the insurance company (mine) would be all over them for the liability, for telling me it was safe to drive on. They kept the dying tire, so that they can mount the new tire on the middle bit (to use the technical term) when it comes in, and then pop it right on when I get there.

So the only downsides that I can see are these: first, the cost of the new tire, which is an expense I could have done without, though as I say it was not entirely unanticipated; and second, that I had planned to go up to the North Shore this weekend, and that's not something I felt like doing on the spare: it's probably 50 miles round trip. My Woodman's craving will have to wait for August to be satisfied. (Their chicken fingers are, I say without exaggeration, the best I have ever had. Seriously. Just so you know. The seafood is supposed to be great, too, but I'm more a chicken fan.) (To console myself for loss of treat, or at least delay of treat, I picked up a pizza on the way home. It's no replacement, but it was a pleasure in a different way.)

The upside is that I have found a mechanic that I like, and I can keep taking my car there, get the regular maintenance caught up, and stay on schedule with it. This feels like a big deal to me. Maybe I'll even trust the car again (I've had trouble with that since the blow-out happened). Overall, a positive day.

I've just finished my laundry, so I only have the towels to put away and that will be done. Then what? I'm not sure. I love the weekend.