Cadillac mechanic in New York State

[wombat457]

Good Morning,

Can anyone recommend a "good" mechanic in New York State or northern Pennsylvania, a "real mechanic" one who can hear your car pull up and say "sounds like your such and such is bad" rather than one that needs to turn a computer on to tell them what is wrong like at stealerships and so forth.

[BodybyFisher]

I will say this, these cars need a mechanic that has a little of both types of skill that you describe. What year and model do you own?

Your car has an on board diagnostic system that will set a code when there is a problem you do not need a computer to diagnose problems.

[Cadillac Jim]

The OBD system is a godsend for electrical problems, and it will clue you in well before one would reasonably think to look for a problem. Example: if the cat gets a crack or starts to clog, you will get a cat low efficiency code long before you notice something. If you wait long enough to notice cracked cat noise or a clogging exhaust, you may have debris in the mufflers. The PCM can sense and flag a miss before you notice the gas mileage change, and you get to fix it without it ruining the cat. Etc.

But, of course, there is no substitute for an experienced, wise mechanic. I agree that what you need is an experienced, wise mechanic that uses a code reader.

Dealer techs work by the job and are paid according to time estimates from the GM flat rate manual, which pretty much agrees with the FRM from other sources. The faster they work, the more they get paid. Their training and experience on later model cars makes them faster as they gain experience, but when an old car comes in, then unless they were around when that car was new, it's a money-loser for them.

Shop around for a dealer that has an older tech that isn't put off by your car and give them some slack about scheduling jobs, so that the tech can clean out his later model (and higher paying) jobs before tackling your car. If you can't find that in a dealer close by, find an independent mechanic. Look for the ASE certification, make sure that a certificate is there for the people that actually work on your car, and look for similar cars in their lot that come and go (not come and stay!).