The Single Woman and the Mechanic: Avoid Being Taken Advantage Of

Vulnerable is how a single woman can feel when she has automotive problems. Although mechanics is not only for males, it has been male dominated for years.

My elderly widowed mother was told by a local mechanic that she needed new brakes. Unbeknown st to him, her grandson had changed them two months before. Needless to say the mechanic no longer gets her business.

There are several steps a single woman can take to assure she gets proper service without getting taken advantage of.

First, it is the woman's responsibility to educate herself on her vehicle. A woman presenting herself with a little knowledge will be less likely to be susceptible to being taken advantage of. This can be done by getting the owner's manual out of the glove compartment and manually going over certain items of your vehicle. A single woman should be able to locate the dip stick for oil and know how to check it, locate the transmission dip stick and know how to check it., and check the radiator for water level. A single woman should also know where the battery is and how to see if the cables are loose or corroded. Another thing one should know is where the fuse boxes are. All of this can be found in the manual.

Next, if you don't know someone who personally knows a mechanic that will not take advantage of you, it is best to go to a dealer garage. Dealer mechanics are generally a little more expensive, but they are held to certain standards. Customers are often sent surveys after they have had a vehicle serviced.
If a single woman will have her car serviced regular by the same mechanic, she is less likely to be taken advantage of. While you are at the mechanics you need to talk the talk. In a subtle way let the mechanic know that you keep a check on the oil, water, and transmission fluid.

You also need to know there are two reasons why a car won't start one is fuel the other is power. Fuel means the vehicle is not getting enough gas. If the auto is making noise, but won't start then it probably is not getting the fuel by whatever means. If the car will not make a noise more than likely it has no power. This could be one of many things such as a dead battery or a computer problem. Again, when you talk to the mechanic, you can say " it isn't making any noise so it must not be getting power. I checked the battery cables and they are tight and not corroded. " If it is making noise, you can say "it acts like it wants to start, but it won't so I guess its not getting fuel somehow."

There are more than these two problems that can go wrong with a vehicle. All you are doing is taking some responsibility for being a vehicle owner and letting the mechanic know that you are capable of learning and communicating with him.

Now every woman single or married can look helpless and hope someone comes along to help her. Odds are that the person that tries to help you doesn't know anymore than you do and you both look under the hood with a puzzled look on your face.

There is one more thing that I have found can be extremely tricky. It would behoove you to have the person you purchase the vehicle from show you how to open the hood!