What Do You Look For in an Auto Mechanic?

I have gone to Sam’s Auto in Waterford, Michigan for several years now. They always take care of me. But, they aren’t perfect, of course. No one is.

In the summer (about five months ago), they told me my radiator was leaking and that I would need a new one. I couldn’t afford the repair at that time, so it was left undone. They fixed whatever else they fixed on that visit, but the radiator was left in a leaking state, but it was not a bad leak because I actually forgot about it for a while.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. I was having them check the vehicle over, and by that time I had remembered to ask them to check the radiator. They gave me a list of things that needed to be done, but I was told by the mechanic (Terry) that the radiator was not leaking. It looked good to him, so he said to let it go. So, for that moment I did. They fixed some other things on the van and I went home.

All of sudden, I had no heat. It was getting pretty chilly outside, and my windows were fogging up, but I didn’t have heat to clear it away. I added a gallon of antifreeze to the radiator in hopes that that would take care of it.

It didn’t, I still had no heat. Sam took care of me. He gave me a new heater core for free, and he did a flush of the radiator also for free. Now, I had heat! Thank you, Sam! But, he couldn’t check the radiator for leaks because of the flush made the area wet. Sam told me that he couldn’t see a leak if the area was wet. He told me to come back on a…