My car is fixed! (You can read about the most recent incident here and about the history here.) There’s a story behind it, but I’ll say up front (in case you don’t want the gory details) that I love my mechanic. I love his full-volume passion for cars, his integrity, his competence. If I were to take an auto mechanics class, I’d want him as my instructor, and I think I’d actually enjoy the subject. If you need your car repaired, you ought to go to him. The shop is All Automotive at 2622 Bayshore Parkway (right off Highway 101) in Mountain View. The marvelous mechanic is Terry Bayegan. Tell him I sent ya.
But first let me confess my laziness, which is what cost me so much money. We had gone to this mechanic before for Husband’s car (back when we still owned the Cherokee). He came highly recommended, especially by Husband’s coworkers. (The mechanic told us about 40% of his business comes from Husband’s company colleagues.) We didn’t go to him back in April, though; he’s close to Husband’s job, but with my crazy schedule it seemed inconvenient to caravan over there, drop off my car, ferry Husband to work, get to work on any given day (since I go up to SF often). So we went someplace near home, and of course we regret this. We are sorry. We will never do that again!
Although Terry has a reputation for being a bit more expensive, he is worth every penny because he’s competent. Here is an example.
First, you need a mental picture. Terry is a man of medium build, with intense blue eyes that look a little owlish behind his classes. He’s balding and what hair he has is wiry. He’s got an accent, and he speaks on high volume all the time. Also, he loves to talk about his work. He passionately explains what was wrong with your car and shows you parts. When he attempts to explain, you can see him thinking about the words; he looks as though he might burst from the pressure of searching for words to match his intent (ideas blazing faster than they can be uttered!). When he begins speaking you can feel all his energy flowing forth as he elaborates. He opened up a diagnostic book to show us what the usual problems might be when an oxygen sensor has been tripped (replacing the sensor because it failed is the last one listed, by the way). He grabbed a marker and drew diagrams on a whiteboard. Then he took us to my car and showed us the thing he fixed. When I identified the parts in the car with the ones he’d drawn, I got them right, and he looked at me and said, “Exactly!” He says that a lot. He just wants you to understand, and he is enthusiastic when he has succeeded.
So here (in simple terms and probably not totally accurate) is what was wrong. I had a crappy after-market air filter from my last oil change. It didn’t do a very good job. Slime and gunk had built up on my intake manifold sensors (or else my mass air flow meter). There are three of them: one senses the ambient air temperature; another monitors a constant temperature of 100 degrees F (in some cars it’s 110 or 120); and the third regulates a varying temperature. The three of these sensors work together to regulate the ratio of fuel to oxygen as it goes into the engine. They sense temperature and altitude. At higher altitudes, the air is thin and the engine runs lean, and these sensors help the system to compensate. (Or something like that.)
When these are gummed up, the system interprets the car as being at a higher altitude all the time, and the system wasn’t adapting. Thus the problem. So he cleaned the sensors and the light went off. He drove it three different times to be sure. (If it wasn’t fixed, the sensor would trip after the third drive cycle, which explains why the light came on the third day after I’d get it back from AAMCO.) He said sometimes these manifold sensors do go bad, and if the light comes back on we will have to replace it. However, Japanese cars typically respond well to a good cleaning.
Terry recommended I drive it 50-70 miles before returning to get the smog check so that the entire computer has a chance to verify all is working.
The cost for all this? A tad over $300. Worth every cent.
There’s a lot to be said for cultivating a long-term relationship with your auto mechanic.
I’ve been doing business with a terrific guy for 18 years. He’s smart, knowledgeable, fair, and he actually does teach a course in auto mechanics.
When my car failed its inspection, he went through a step-by-step analysis of what was causing the problems, what needed to be replaced, and what didn’t. He, too, cautioned about not returning to the inspection station too soon. In fact, he had me come to his shop weekly to check on the computer readings so that when I finally did go back for a re-inspection, we were certain the car would pass. No charge for the extra attention.
That’s what an 18-year relationship yields — mutual trust. We never worry about the price. I know it will be fair. He does only what needs to be done, and he calls attention to small problems before they become more expensive bigger problems.
If you’re lucky enough to find such a mechanic, he’s worth every dime you pay him. More than likely, he’ll turn out to be a terrific friend, too.
I am glad that you found a real professional…one who tries to diagnose the problem, understands it, succeeds in fixing it, and delights in explaining it. It is his triumph of the day, after all, and you are the one who can best appreciate it and give him the praise, on which he bases his life-satisfaction. Too often, we are faced with “parts-changers”, or “magic-pill-prescribers”, who do not try to really understand the problem. They figure that “what worked before, should work again”, not realizing that there are a multitude of problems which can lead to the same symptom. By the way, I hope you read this in both a medical context as well as in an automotive context. Glad that your problem is solved.
Bill