Backyard Mechanics Serve their Purpose well – No
While I think that being ASE certified can be a great selling point, it is also a school system. Because of this fact, there are such things as grading curves and favoritism. The actual certification process, I am not all that familiar with. It has been my experience that many times an ASE certification is a license to charge more money when your traditional "backyard mechanic" can can often fix it cheaper.
The backyard mechanic is the crux of my argument. I grew up in several rural communities. While with any type of profession you will have people that are both good and bad. My experiences have tipped the scales on the good side. One case in example was a Mazda MX-6 that I owned that may have had a faulty fuel pump. The ASE bunch wanted somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 just to check it out. They were talking draining the fuel tank, removing it and so on. A 19 year old neighbor of my mothers, came over to my house, tore out the back seat, and for nothing told me that wasn't the problem. Yes we were hot and irritated putting the seat back in, but I think it was definitely worth the $400 that I saved.
Another benefit is the fact that they will often know the ways to rig the repair. While not the best solution, in these economic times, getting to work plus a cheaper repair bill is an awfully attractive option. The sheer awe in the fact that an old man that may not even be able to read can completely tear down an engine block in his garage in one night is much more preferable to your car setting on a repair lot for two weeks before they can even look at it.
There are of course down sides to my choice. For one, chances are there is no such thing as a warranty. Secondly, except for word of mouth, you have no idea how long said mechanic has been working on vehicles. In Southern Illinois though, by the time they are 19 there is a good chance that they have already had close to a decade of experience with all types of problems and cars.
Now I have become somewhat of a hypocrite in my older years. I recently bought a 2007 PT Cruiser. With this new of a car, I do tend to go with the certified version of the profession. But if your car is older, and money is a problem, you just might want to ask around and check out the difference in price. Not to mention that many of the people, although they may fall into the category of "good old boys" are extremely nice people and often enough will under charge you because they don't want to take advantage of you. In today's world, you can't beat that philosophy.
