ASE Certified....What a joke! So the guy reads some pamphlets, fills out a self test and sends it in. They send him back a piece of paper saying he is certified. There are so many ASE mechanincs around our area that don't know which end of a screwdriver to hang to it isn't funny. I have seen many such situations in my 30 plus years in the automotive trade. I work in an automotive machine shop. We are the ones that the mechaninc comes to with questions when things go wrong.

Best advice I can give in general terms...This is NOT ALAWYS TRUE: SSTay away from national chains such as Sears Automotive, Goodyear Tires Stores, Midas, Jiffy Lube, etc. They are a part of a chain that usually requires the managers to meet ticket quotas and they will sell things you don't really need to make these qoutas. I have seen so many instances of unnecessary brake drum and rotor replacement by these chain type shops! Find, was reccomended earlier, an independent garage. One who doesn't have the national chain chain behind them must do good work to stay open. Usually they will be family owned palces where fathers have their sons working for them. We have several such in our area. One is a fourth generation shop! These folks know that to stay in business they must have a good reputation and will not allow shoddy work to leave their building. They will also stand behind their work.

I know this will probably raise the hackles of many ASE Mechanics reading this. For that I am sorry, but the honest ones among them will have to agree that the certification and the patch they wear is more of a sales tool than a teaching device.