BlogHer - jody devere - Comments

Interesting Topic

fnm1gll — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:34:04 -0600

As a young woman with little money and old vehicles, I dreaded having to take my car into the service station. I know I experienced a lot of rip offs and just plain bad work (like a Firestone station that used aluminum foil to help get a wrong sized part to "fit").

(I remember an interview with a manager at a coorporation who asked me to give an example of a situation that really bothered me. I answered, "car problems". His response was, "Well, you just take it to the service station and get it fixed -- what's the big deal?" I could tell that I wasn't going to be able to explain to him what's it's like being a woman walking into a place where women are often treated badly and taken advantage of, just because they're women.)

I was lucky in my 20's to find an old fashioned auto repairman that worked out of his home and did a good job for a fair price. I wouldn't have made it through college without him -- I sent him Christmas cards for years.

Then after moving too far away to take my car to my trusted repairman, I ventured out and have found reliable repair with City Garage -- a repair chain. I've moved once or twice more and have sought out the City Garage's in the area and have been satisfied with their work. They are always polite and respectful and I don't feel as though I'm being overcharged. One test of that was taking in my car when my brakes were squeaking strangely. They said it was just some sand or something and washed it out and didn't charge me a penny.

It's not foolproof, but I find a strong correlation between being treated decently and feeling as though they're doing a good job. I've noticed a strong pattern in the past when the people at the desk were rude and then finding out later that they'd done a bad job.

Woman owned garage

Maria Niles — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:42:40 -0600

I wish I had a hybrid and lived over in SF just so I could go to this garage for hybrids and which is owned and operated by a woman. It just looked so cool when I saw it reviewed on the news last night.

http://www.lusciousgarage.com/

There are a few women owned garages in Berkeley as well. I take my car though to a garage run by a man whom my sister found after her car was towed there by AAA and now my mother and I also go. Finding a mechanic you trust and doesn't treat you like a dumb little lady is a great thing. Plus his wife and mom are often around so that's a good sign. :-)

Kleenex® Let It Out™ Blog
Beyond Help

Now if only ford would just

Roberta — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:08:53 -0500

Now if only ford would just pimp my ride-I'd be thrilled.
(for the record I tell my kids that commercials are evil marketing tools made by liars to get kids to eat/buy horrible things-lets see how long they listen.)

Birdsword

Beware

heivilinj — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 08:16:19 -0500

Who was it who said "let the buyer beware"?

Jim Heivilin

In the age of fake news...

Catherine Morgan — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:31:03 -0500

In the age of fake news and fake press conferences...I'm sorry to say that fake market research really doesn't surprise me one bit. I think I would be more surprised to find out that we are ever at a point where we are not being lied to and manipulated by government and corporations.

Lying is the new truth.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at CatherineBlogs.com and The Political Voices of Women