Vehicles & Servicing I can't find a qualified and trustworthy car mechanic.

Without any review or information as to why these particular shops made it into the "top 13" I'd take this list with a grain of salt.

 

Have a look at #7 and #8. I'd like to see their collection of snap on tools.

 

I went to see him today. He is quite busy back in there and does not communicate well in English, but well enough to reply. I asked him if he would be interested in doing an oil change and rad flush and he said to go to Roberts as he was very busy there.

So I went to Roberts and got it done for 2,338 pesos most of that was oil, filter and antifreeze cost. They were quite professional and did not charge a fortune for labor. The oil, filter and antifreeze were expensive but good quality so worth it to me. Still, US$50 for an oil change and rad flush on a Honda Civic . . . what are they paying in the states for that now?

 

Didn't think you needed anti freeze here

 

I think he really meant coolant. Appears very cheap, as coolant and oil would be about p3000.

 

LOL Jim, I guess it may be needed due the Frosty conditions of the Wife/GF some days EH?

 

Relatives and Kick-backs like Free Beer for the referrals?

 

Antifreeze Versus Coolant: The Battle

 

Yes. It serves the purpose of both raising the boiling point of water and lowering the freezing point at the same time so its dual purpose. I'm just used to calling it Antifreeze. The main reason I like it as opposed to plain water is the anti-rust additives in it. Have you ever used plain water and noticed it gets rusty pretty quick? I figure that is reducing the life of my water pump and rad

 

They reeled me in with the good job. Like fishing. The hook was baited and I bit.

So this time I had a coolant leak and took the car back to Roberts to fix it. As I expected, it was the water pump. In my car the timing belt has to come off to get at the water pump and its a big job. So I asked for an estimate for all the things I wanted done. They wrote down 5,000 pesos but stressed that it was only an estimate as they would find other things that needed to be done when they got into it.

That sounded like a budget of 10K to me so I planned for that. Got a text this morning: Car is ready to pick up. Total cost 15K.

I'm looking forward to seeing the itemized bill. Ain't it fun to own a car in Philippines? For the record, I'm not saying they overcharged. More along the lines of underestimated, but I'll know more when I go pick it up.