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I think I brought this up last time there was a post about Your Mechanic. But I am still curious about it. I wonder how much their data is skewed by the fact th
by zippergz 10y ago
I think I brought this up last time there was a post about Your Mechanic. But I am still curious about it. I wonder how much their data is skewed by the fact that they're a third-party mechanic. I don't think they necessarily see a representative sample of cars and problems, especially in the early years. I have owned different kinds of German cars for the past 15 years, and they've all gone to the dealership for the vast majority of service for at least the first 5-7 years.
I only take new-ish cars to a third party if I need something the dealership doesn't specialize in (body work, tires, etc.). I'm not that price-sensitive about service, and I like the dealership experience (nice new loaner cars, all the parts are on hand, etc.). So I'd wonder what it is that drives people to Your Mechanic, and if that affects the volume and type of problems they see. For example, maybe people are more likely to use them if they have just received a large estimate for a major problem from the dealer. Or people who are more price sensitive go there, which might skew the mix of models they see. And so on.
While this is interesting data, I have a hard time considering it representative of reliability as a whole without some additional context.
- rcthompson 10y agoIt shouldn't be a problem if there's a bias towards certain car models. It just means that some models will get a larger sample size and other models will get a smaller sample size. They could easily account for this by sticking error bars on all their graphs, and ideally, reporting their sample sizes. The real problem is the other aspect you mentioned, which is that for any given model, owners of that model might be more likely to consult a 3rd-party mechanic for some issues than others.
- Nitramp 10y agoYou could imagine that owners of a more expensive car are more likely to use the original dealer for most repairs, and only seek a third party shop for very expensive repairs. Which, depending on methodology, might skew Your Mechanic's numbers. But that's only speculation given they don't reveal their numbers, methods, or sample sizes.
- wrsh07 10y agoBut it is an issue if there's bias towards certain (more expensive) repairs for those models.
- rcthompson 10y agoThat's what I said.
- wrsh07 10y agoOops, agreed
- hueving 10y agoA specific model being more expensive to repair is something I would want to know about.
- rcthompson 10y agoNo, that's differences between models. The problem comes when people go to the dealer for cheap repairs and only go to a 3rd party for more expensive stuff. Then taking the average of repair costs from a 3rd party shop would overestimate the true average.
- sgustard 10y agoThe service department is a huge profit center for dealerships, enough to make up for the minimal margin they make on new car sales. Some people may be more sensitive to that cost than others.
- ethbro 10y agoIncidentally, does anyone have a list of reliable mechanic finder sites / apps (aside from the title example)? I know the only reason I sometimes go to dealerships for maintanence is consistence. A bad mechanic is bad.
- asimuvPR 10y agoThe data is good. I have been in the auto repair industry (in various forms)for a long time and can attest that the results are correct.
- ambicapter 10y agoBased on your intuition?
- asimuvPR 10y agoNot at all. I: Owned and operated various auto repair shops. Including on site repairs similar to YM. Worked as an auto technician across brands. Have a degree in auto repair. Worked as a shop manager at a national repair shop. Worked in commercial, retail and wholesale auto parts sales. In all I have about 20 years of experience. Without mentioning my experience modifying and tuning cars because its not relevant.
- chris11 10y agoIs this accurate for the hybrids? I have a hybrid and I can't find a local independent shop who will work on the hybrid system. I'm wondering if those estimates include data from dealers.
- asimuvPR 10y agoThe hybrids are very area dependent. Like you have experienced, service shops are not common. Although those things are reliable because the whole hybrid market would have tanked if they were lemons. So they were forced to overengineer them. A win for the consumer.
- kswahl1 10y agoWhats wrong with the hybrid system?
- chris11 10y agoI've had a decent amount of work done on my car. But the few bigger repairs were either expected, or unusual and not representative of the model (like the engine work I had to do). And the dealer has given me some significant goodwill discounts. But one thing is that the parts of the hybrid system are different than normal gas cars. The transmission is probably different, and the gas engines are smaller. So most independent shops don't really have experience working on those hybrid-specific parts. Another thing is that the HV batteries don't last forever, and are expensive to replace. And the warranties don't always cover the average life of a battery. The third thing is that hybrid battery is high voltage. So most shops won't want to do any repairs that will touch the HV electrical system. You can find independent mechanics that work on hybrids, hybrid car repair just require a little more specialization than other cars.
- brogrammer90 10y agoThere's no excuse to bring your car to the dealership unless you're a woman or have the delicate hands of the typical cross fitter.
- dang 10y agoWe've banned this account for repeatedly violating the HN guidelines. If you don't want it to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com.
- Nitramp 10y agoThese statistics here are collected by the semi-government run German technical control organization. Every car in Germany has to be checked by them every ~two years to be allowed in traffic. http://www.anusedcar.com/ http://www.anusedcar.com/ This is a different data source: they only check if the care is safe, i.e. cosmetic issues won't show up in the statistic. They also won't see cars that are actually broken. Also consider the skew by owners who care more about their car. But overall, it might still be fair to extrapolate from fundamental safety issues to overall car quality. The numbers are quite different from what Your Mechanic reports.
- janvidar 10y agoThese are the EU mandated car safety checks, focusing on breaks, tires, lights, visibility and exhaust. It is required every 2nd year starting from when the car is 4 years old. Most car manufacturers will do this as part of the standard service interval anyway.