Date: 25 January 1982 1737-EST (Monday)
From: Gary Feldman at CMU-10A
To: Joe Mohan at CMU-10A, Charles Thorpe at CMU-10A
Subject:  mufflers, transmissions, and nationally advertised auto repairs
CC: Harry Bovik at CMU-10A
Message-Id: <25Jan82 173741 GF20@CMU-10A>
Origin:  C410GF20 at CMU-10A; 25 Jan 1982 1738-EST

Everything I have seen on the subject of auto repairs from consumer
oriented sources has been uniformly down on the nationally advertised
auto service centers (Midas, Aamco, Firestone, Alray, Cam 2, etc.) and
to a lesser extent, the department store auto shops (Sears, Penney's,
K-Mart, etc.).

The general problems appear to be:
  1. High cost, to support national advertising for products that are not
necessarily superior to less advertised brands.
  2. Many of these places hire people with no experience and train them.
The training is limited to servicing just those auto systems that are
repaired by their shops, as well as techniques for high pressure sales.

The result is that the mechanics emphasize speed rather than quality, in the
belief that a) Americans are more interested in speed; and b) who needs good
word of mouth advertising when you can get a 60 second spot during the Super
Bowl?  

These places do have the advantages that:
  1. Parts are generally of good quality.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy Sears
batteries, air filters, etc.
  2. They do have nationwide warranties.  This is only important if you are
planning on moving during the life of the warranty.
  3. They are fast (if that counts).

Conclusion:  
  1. Rely on local, word of mouth experience.  (You are already doing that.)
  2. Look for a good, local repair shop for most items.  These places have
no method other than reputation and word of mouth advertising for obtaining
new customers.  (There is at least one recommendation in the Guide to
Living in Pgh.)  
  3. Try out a shop on some less important item, for which you are capable
of judging the results.  (e.g. a tuneup)  This will tell you what the
quality is like, and whether they really want your business again.
  4. Look for mechanics that have been certified by the National Instutute for
Automotive Service Excellence, keeping in mind that a mechanic who has been
certified for brake service may know nothing about engines.
  5. Check the place out with the Better Business Bureau.

Once you have found a good place, stick with it except for a) stuff you might
do yourself, like oil changes; and b) specialty items-- notably body work
and transmissions.  Chances are that your mechanic can refer you to a good
place for those items.

   Gary

PS.  The local chapter of the AAA has recently started a program of 
"recommended service centers."  If you are a member of the AAA, then you 
get an additional limited warranty on all work done by these places (for 
90 days, I think), and an agreement that AAA will arbitrate all disputes.
The AAA requirements may not be yours (clean bathrooms?), but you may want
to check it out anyway.  There were about two dozen places listed as of
their last newsletter, half of which were dealers, the other half including
gas stations and garages.