“Don’t worry, oga. I will do it well. I take pride in my integrity. I am not like one of those other mechanics,” is by far one of the famous assurances every motor user gets from their mechanics, especially in Lagos.
According to the great words of William Shakespeare, “honesty is the best policy,” but over the years of personal encounters and experiences with mechanics, these words have been erased from their books. Not that there are no more good eggs among this set of people, but they are very rare. Often, we fall into the hands of these mechanics through recommendations. Hence, this blind trust, especially after being disappointed by one’s present mechanic. You get recommended to another one, and the vicious circle continues.
One funny thing that strikes me is when it comes to mechanics, we know better than to trust them, but then we seem to be helpless, especially when it comes to buying spare parts because where does one want to start from? From experience, according to mechanics, some brand new spare parts are better than some fairly used ones (Tokunbo) and vice versa, of which they will be the ones to recommend which one is best. But then, is one willing to go to Ladipo (a popular auto spare part market) by oneself? What does one know he/she is going to buy? And what is the guarantee one doesn’t even get cheated in that market (another story for another day). At the end of the day, we just put our hope in whatever these mechanics suggest to us. Then, price issues arise, and your sixth sense is telling you this person has added money to this thing. The question is how do you want to confirm it? Those that have the strength will start calling their old mechanics to confirm the price of what was given, and then the uncertainty sets in. More often than not, we just give in and beg the new guy to do a perfect job and buy something of quality. It is then that the assurance at the beginning of this write-up comes into play.
Apart from getting cheated on buying spare parts, another painful or rather unfortunate experience is falling into the hands of mechanics that diagnose the work issue on one’s car. They then prescribe a cough syrup for a headache. Often, these mechanics tend to do trial and error, thinking they are fixing one issue, while another issue is coming up. Then one becomes a regular visitor at their workshop. This singular problem has caused untold damage to many persons’ cars. There have been cases of engine total knock down, car efficiency reduced almost to half, and a personal experience was that the sound of my car never remained the same. I just couldn’t cry. Again, we come to these people like helpless sinners coming to seek salvation, and instead of going back with redemption, we go back with what a popular street slang term as “premium tears.”
With many other stories and experiences that many people could relate to, the question now is, are there ways to avoid these mechanics and circumvent their dishonesty? I can suggest going to one of these big automobile shops for these rich folks, but to be factual, this dishonesty has come to stay, and maybe by chance or luck, you may come across a seemingly honest one, but “shine your eye.” However, in the meantime, just keep relating with your mechanics with a sprinkle of the Blood of Jesus because even with your street sense, they will still “chop your eye.” I sound pained, right? Yes, I am pained, but we move. So, with your personal experiences or the ones you have witnessed, I leave you to answer the question at the title of this article.
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