21 May 2020

Good and reasonably priced mechanic

| roshen
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It’s been about two years since the Canberra’s best mechanic post was put up on RiotACT and I was wanting to see if there’s been any change in the line up of good mechanics as we’ve got two cars needing service soon.

Previously, Mechanical Care in Belconnen, Fisher Car Care and CWC Auto all rated well with rioters.

Personally I’ve used CWC but they’ve had a barrage of bad reviews on google in the past year so I’m not sure if they’re as good anymore. Mechanical Care in Belconnen is good but it was a little bit pricier than expected. I’ve got a lancer and at a recent recall service at the dealers, I found that the service (done at Mechanical Care) is priced similar to what the dealers charge.

I’m still interested to see if Fisher Car Care is still up there and if there are any others people recommend.

Thanks in advance

If you’re looking for a service specific to your car, check out our recently updated article on the best car service centres in Canberra.

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gemstar said :

I have been in Canberra for 11 years and honestly I had run out of mechanics to try because each mechanic I’ve tried have done a shoddy job and ripped me off.

However, after all this time, I have finally found a mechanic I can trust and who really went out of his way to get my car back on the road again. His name is Tim from Lube Mobile Canberra. This guy really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to cars and he is just such a down-to-earth and personable person. No, I’m not related to this guy and we are not friends. I just happened to have had my car break down while on the road and rang Lube Mobile (first time) and he was the one who came out to help me. He did a great job with fixing my drive belt. Honestly, this is the first mechanic who knows his stuff, didn’t overcharge me, and explained things in layman terms I could understand. You know how sometimes you may feel a little embarrassed to ask a mechanic “silly” questions about cars but with Tim there are no silly questions – I wasn’t afraid to ask him any questions because he always gave me an honest answer. I can’t comment on other mechanics at Lube Mobile but I’m definitely taking my car to Tim even for a regular car service, not just repairs. You may be pleasantly surprised by the great service. (Ask for Tim when you ring Lube Mobile otherwise they randomly allocate you any mechanic)

Recommend against: I recommend against Mechanical Care in Belconnen. Based on good feedback on RiotACT, I decided to try them for a regular service. They did a terrible job and also charged a lot of money. I would have been happy with the charges if they did a good job. They said they flushed out and replaced the coolant and changed hoses, but one look at these things and I could tell they didn’t do a proper job as the coolant was still quite dirty and they have used second-hand materials to do a retro fit for the hoses. What a waste of time and money. I’m truly disappointed.

Just a correction from my post above, it turns out Tim has moved on from his previous company and is now doing his own car repair/service thing in Isabella Plains. He only charges $70/hr, which is a lot cheaper than other mechanics but he is excellent in his workmanship. Today he fixed my car’s leaking radiator today. He really knew his stuff and did a meticulous job. He can be contacted on 0401 085 658.

I have been in Canberra for 11 years and honestly I had run out of mechanics to try because each mechanic I’ve tried have done a shoddy job and ripped me off.

However, after all this time, I have finally found a mechanic I can trust and who really went out of his way to get my car back on the road again. His name is Tim from Lube Mobile Canberra. This guy really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to cars and he is just such a down-to-earth and personable person. No, I’m not related to this guy and we are not friends. I just happened to have had my car break down while on the road and rang Lube Mobile (first time) and he was the one who came out to help me. He did a great job with fixing my drive belt. Honestly, this is the first mechanic who knows his stuff, didn’t overcharge me, and explained things in layman terms I could understand. You know how sometimes you may feel a little embarrassed to ask a mechanic “silly” questions about cars but with Tim there are no silly questions – I wasn’t afraid to ask him any questions because he always gave me an honest answer. I can’t comment on other mechanics at Lube Mobile but I’m definitely taking my car to Tim even for a regular car service, not just repairs. You may be pleasantly surprised by the great service. (Ask for Tim when you ring Lube Mobile otherwise they randomly allocate you any mechanic)

Recommend against: I recommend against Mechanical Care in Belconnen. Based on good feedback on RiotACT, I decided to try them for a regular service. They did a terrible job and also charged a lot of money. I would have been happy with the charges if they did a good job. They said they flushed out and replaced the coolant and changed hoses, but one look at these things and I could tell they didn’t do a proper job as the coolant was still quite dirty and they have used second-hand materials to do a retro fit for the hoses. What a waste of time and money. I’m truly disappointed.

We use CWC Auto Services (02) 6247 3601, have done so for years. Never a problem. Nat has over 30 years experience which is hard to find these days.

I asked Nat about those Google reviews, he explained to me how he has no records of these people or they storys. He was angry at Google for allowing people leave such damaging spam reviews. It does seem a little too easy to hurt a business in this way.

Anyway I’m giving CWC a thumbs up from our personal experience. Nat has always looked after our 2 cars without any trouble and the courtesy car is a nice bonus. His website http://canberramechanic.com.au talks about his 30+ years experience in the industry too.

Steve

I’ve just picked up my 2011 VW golf wagon from Fisher Care Care. As usual Russell and Jack have done a 1st class and very reasonably priced service.
I have 3 cars and each of them have been expertly serviced and/or repaired in a timely, friendly and well priced manner.
I’m very happy that I discovered Fisher Car Care on The Riot Act and have no hesitation in unreservedly recommending their work.

Hi roshen,

A good car mechanic and a good accountant in Canberra have become rare.

We have been using Adrian at http://www.ultimatetunes.com.au for probably good 5 + years now ! Even though I have moved to Bonner now, we still use them.

Good mob and knows his trade.

My 2 cents.

Haig Park (Suberoo) in Mitchell are great. They won some award from a radio station last year (year before? – sorry i’m not 100% sure exactly when) which was richly deserved. Matt is most helpful and, as already said, is very willing to find the most economical way to fix any problems. Wonderful!

Hi all,

Just jumping on this bandwagon as I was going to ask a similar question.

My 2011 Mitsubishi lancer is due for its 70k service, and I’m just wondering peoples opinion on whether I should find a mechanic with knowledge of this car?

My naive assumption is that’s it’s a reasonably common model so I should be able to take it to any of the above places for a service?

It’s a second hand car, so the first service it was due for since I bought it I had done via Mitsubishi dealer because I needed a spare key made, which apparently could only be made by the dealer (key less entry).

Cheers,

Tkd

Affirmative Action Man8:59 am 25 Mar 15

Haig Park in Mitchell are great. They are honest & always contact you & explain the issues. They will offer to put in 2nd hand parts to save you $$ & if you book in advance you can get a courtesy car to drive.

I still highly rate Mechanical Care in Belco. You get what you pay for, after all and I’d rather get quality work done and pay a fair price than pay less and get hit and miss. I’ve always found Mechanical Care very reasonably priced anyway.

City Car Care in Braddon, reasonably priced, honest and reliable.

Thanks everyone, looks like there’s still positive feedback from Fisher Car Care so I’ll give them a go.

We’ve been going to Fisher Car Care for years now and we’re very happy with the prices and service.

I have found Craig Hall Mechanical in Phillip a fantastic shop to deal with, always very helpful and willing to answer any questions I have and their prices are very reasonable.

I absolutely do NOT recommend Alpine Motors in Phillip.
I have never been more baffled by a businesses conduct in both being taken advantage of and being subject to severe rudeness.
My partner took my car there as it was displaying warnings about the suspension system. They diagnosed the problem as being the high pressure pump for the suspension and to replace this they would charge $800-900 to repair, $2600 for a new one.
While investigating, they did not replace the large plastic cover that sits over the engine etc in the front bonnet. When my partner rang up to enquire (once he finally got through after a few days) the owner got on the phone and said he would have a look for it. He rang back and claimed they don’t have it, they didn’t remove it because they had no need to remove it for what they did. Said that without proof it was on there they don’t believe they did it.
Then to top off the insult he said that they were very picky about who they service and that “I don’t think we’d do your car again”
I took my car elsewhere and it turns out that there was an issue with a sensor and it cost a total of $284 to repair.

A & D Automotive in Canberra Ave Fyshwick have a courtesy car and do a great job. adautomotive.com.au

vintage123 said :

I now use lubemobile. Reasons being is that u can watch them do the work at your home. That way you can be rest assured they actually do what the logbook specifies. I had two bad experiences, firstly with Holden who told my wife the car was due for a major service hence the $900 cost, when pressed apparently the major component was changing spark plugs. We reluctantly agreed and I told them, just put the old spark plugs into this container provided, “oh no we don’t do that” when pressed they replied actually it’s not due for spark plugs just and oil change and oil filter change and reset service reminder, so just $600. I thought $600 for an oil change was too expensive. Second nightmare was with peddles, took the car in for a wheel alignment prior to a long road trip, and was told no can do, it needs $1800 worth of suspension repairs. What the? Had it aligned for $60 by a competator who also confirmed the suspension was all fine and needed zero repairs.

Lubemobile = A+

I now use lubemobile. Reasons being is that u can watch them do the work at your home. That way you can be rest assured they actually do what the logbook specifies. I had two bad experiences, firstly with Holden who told my wife the car was due for a major service hence the $900 cost, when pressed apparently the major component was changing spark plugs. We reluctantly agreed and I told them, just put the old spark plugs into this container provided, “oh no we don’t do that” when pressed they replied actually it’s not due for spark plugs just and oil change and oil filter change and reset service reminder, so just $600. I thought $600 for an oil change was too expensive. Second nightmare was with peddles, took the car in for a wheel alignment prior to a long road trip, and was told no can do, it needs $1800 worth of suspension repairs. What the? Had it aligned for $60 by a competator who also confirmed the suspension was all fine and needed zero repairs.

Kambah Automotive for southsiders. Phil Gray is fantastic, he’ll explain any issues with your car so that you understand and his prices are always reasonable. Also for pick up and drop off if you can’t get there during business hours they have an arrangement with the 24 hour petrol station which makes coordinating losing your car for a day so much easier.

Milly Withers10:24 am 19 Mar 15

Fisher Car Care is still fantastic. I’ve been going there for over a decade, and Russell does a great job every time.

Madam Cholet9:55 am 19 Mar 15

We have started using John Tite from Eurowerks. He does specialise in european cars, but doesn’t limit himself to those. Honestly, can’t fault him. He’s mobile so comes to you, doesn’t charge for investigative work until he’s found the problem and fixed it, turns up on time, calls you back and is not expensive.

To give you an idea, we had some lights coming on which resulted in codes being logged on the cars computer – our own local mechanic did not seem interested in finding out what it was, even though we gave them a full print out of the codes. Told us to take it to an auto-electrician. Decided to call John instead and he came round, reviewed the codes, went to the problem (acctuator & temp sensor), fixed them and now it’s all good. All up – $560 including a $300 part. He charges $88 for the first hour I believe. Does normal log-book services etc.

Sure beats the head scratching you get from a lot of places.

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