Mechanic Dan - FAQ


		Dan P. Olson Proprietor

	612.492.1669	Mechanic Dan Honest - Fair - Reasonable

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	Frequently Asked Questions What do you mean by "Honest - Fair - Reasonable"? I'm not interested in fixing what ain't broke, in order to "up-sell" you. I have no quota to meet, and I'm not working on commission. If there's a problem, I'm interested in fixing the problem in the most reasonable way. If you have a noise that doesn't turn out to be a symptom of a safety issue, I'll tell you so. And if I tell you that you need a brake job, it's not because I want to earn more profit off of you, it's because your brakes aren't safe. The long and the short of it is this: I care primarily about three things... your safety, my reputation as an honest mechanic, saving you money. What hours are you open? Good question, no simple answer. I have a full-time job, six days a week, also as a mechanic. So we'll have to figure out times that your vehicle and I are both available. On a day that looks good, I could start on your car in the morning, then go work my shift, then hopefully finish up yours that same evening. If it's something that can be done in under 2 hours, it might be possible to do it all one morning or one evening. But I won't be lying on the pavement under your car in heavy rain. That "reasonable" thing goes both ways. Do you warranty your work? That's another gray area. Often the parts we'll buy to fix something will be covered by the auto parts store, but that doesn't apply to everything. Things usually go right, and sometimes go wrong. I'm not backed by a big company's business insurance policy. And that's kind of the point of how we can work together to save you money on routine maintenance. If you expect everything to be warrantied, and to have a big company's deep pockets there to compensate you for any honest mistake or inadvertent part failure, then expect to pay top dollar at a dealership. That "fair" thing goes both ways. Is there any job that's too big? I'm not about to do a transmission rebuild, in the driveway, on your car. If it's not a reasonable thing to do as a "shade-tree mechanic," I'll tell you so, and will do my best to give you a suggestion. But it can't hurt to ask. I've done several complete brake jobs, and major suspension work (e.g. replacing leaf spring mounts) right here in the driveway. Can you handle alternator replacement? Quite a few times, yes. Starter motor replacement? Depending on your vehicle make/model, probably. Tune-ups? More than likely. Do you work on motorcycles? Yes. Our entire family rides motorcycles, and we do the vast majority of our own maintenance. And do please remember that there are some things that you should remember to check on your own bike regularly, like the condition of cables, tire inflation, oil level, etc.. Boring out the block for bigger cylinders and adding a turbo so my car can jump over fences? I'm gonna say no. The guy in the cartoon looks bigger than you. What's up with that? Yeah, that actually looks more like my dad. Thanks for noticing, though.