I have lost count of how many times Iâve gone into a mechanicâs place and gotten a loooong estimate full of expensive repairs, getting told, âyou gotta believe me, you really need these done!â
Thatâs my cue to a) call my former-mechanic uncle with questions and b) say, âI need to do something first,â grab my keys back, and go for a second opinion⌠where I find out most of that estimate was completely unnecessary (and often unrelated to the actual problem.)
Itâs hard to find a decent mechanic that wonât try to screw you over, and if they retire or move out of the area, itâs back to square one. And a previously reliable shop might wind up getting a new hire who pulls that nonsense. The first time they try it is the last time; I walk out and never go back.
(And of course, as usual in topics like this, there are many, many women sharing similar experiences and frustrations⌠and quite a few men flat-out a) denying it happens, b) blaming women for not knowing how to fix their own cars, and c) mansplaining/telling women how they should deal with this. My block button got a workout tonight.)
It wouldnât stop men from being misogynistic assholes, but more women mechanics would certainly help transfer earnings to more deserving people.
Oblig.
Absolutely true. I have to go with my wife to the mechanic. They tend to talk to me and I: a) know shit about cars and b) canât even drive.
Still better than going on her own.
When we were getting out house done I had to tell the electrician (on my belivedâs instruction) that if he wanted to keep working the job he couldnât talk to my wife without me being there.
Thatâs fucked.
My ex went to buy a new truck several decades ago. The salesman refused to get up from his desk, and told her, âhoney, when you come back with your husband, weâll talk.â Not a good move on his part. This shit is everywhere, but anything to do with cars it seems particularly endemic.
Not sure if this belongs here or in its own thread, but, fuck.
I have learned more about cars and how to fix them than I ever wanted to know over the years because mechanics cannot be trusted to be honest with women. I even had the effinâ Toyota dealership try to soak me for unnecessary repairs on the stupid Prius. Well, piss on you Toyota, Iâm never buying another one of your POSs again thanks in part to that. Oh, and weâve been tearing those made-to-fail heat shields off the exhaust as theyâve failed instead of paying the dealership $1500, each, to replace them. Last oneâs getting ripped off within the month. Why are there even heat shields on the entire exhaust system on a car that runs an internal combustion engine only half of the time, anyway?
Iâm not sure myself, but Iâm reasonably sure theyâre there for a reason?
I just donât park over piles of leaves, and itâs fine. The floor does not get hot. Ever. My best guess is that it âimprovesâ mileage by approximately 0.1 MPG.
Thatâs for sure. The trouble with all fields like this is getting the training and making it through the gauntlet while itâs still so misogynistic and male dominated. Until there are female trainers training classes that are at least half female themselves, a lot of potential mechanics are getting driven away by the shitty culture before they even get started.
I got into construction in college. It was that or wait tables, basically. I was amazed at how much you could make (compared to, say, a diner, not high-end dining service). The hours are better, working conditions could be better if co-workers would behave, it would be a great avenue for a lot of women and moms out there.
ButâŚthereâs this âboys clubâ mentality on the job site. I found a couple reasonable mentors, but most of the guys would either show me stuff wrong, or take the tools out of my hands and say, âOh, let me do that for you,â like they were doing me a favor. And then there was the harassment, the vile scrawling in the port-a-potty, and the stupid gossip. I supposedly got a lot of action this one summer (I did not. Not there, at least!)
Hereâs How You Can Help Shut Down the Vile Website for Snitching on People Who Get Abortions in Texas
This reminded me of the documentary âPicture a Scientistâ about the myriad levels of bullshit women scientists go through in order to train and become independent researchers. For anyone that hasnât seen it and might be interested, Iâd recommend checking it out
I guess you also have a butt warmer in the wintertime. 
Pfft. Unless you are speaking of my -40F rated coat that just barely is long enough to get under my butt, no. Srsly, these heat shields are a sad joke. I have a coworker with the same model year, and he yanked all 3 as soon as the first one started rattling. Same question, why are they even there?!?
BTW, my -40 coat is because my ridiculous office cube faces south in a building that hasnât had renovations since the mid-80âs, built in the 50âs, and faces south. I havenât worn a shirt with sleeves there since my first week in the building. Why? Itâs 85F, in Michigan, in my cube, in February.
Beauâs take. Always worth a few minutes.
Thatâs it folks. Game over. Texasâ withdrawal from the civilized world is now complete.
