Trustworthy Auto Mechanics

Because we drive several times a year the 1,500 kilometers from Lake Chapala to Highland Chiapas, I like to have our car safety inspected and have the oil changed, various fluid levels and belts checked and proper lubrication performed periodically but, while I am pleased with the people I hire to do this in Chiapas, I have not felt comfortable with the people I have been using in the Ajijic/Chapala area. Can someone out there give me a recommendation as to whom I should trust for this important work?

I have never had a problem with Francisco on the mountain side of the highway across from Maskaras. He is next door to Junior's. I've been to most of them and had problems with repairs others have done and finally took it to Francisco who diagnosed it and fixed it correctly. Son and Francisco speak English. My friends had a van and traveled extensively in it - stayed in it over night - from here to Florida and back. Francisco is the only one they trusted.

I recommend Pablo. Pablo's Garage is just west of the "japanese nursery" before the "new" Pemex on the Mt. side. When other mechanics I'd been to wanted to tear the engine down to rememdy a strange noise, he diagnosed a loose spark plug. He accepted no payment for his work saying "you'll be back." He's done all of our routine maintenance and a couple of repairs on both of our vehicles for the last 3 years. He's from LA, dual citizen, an excellent mechanic, and a very nice guy.

Thanks David - that's much closer that Francisco - I'll give him a try.

Pablo usually has his gate closed. His phone numbers are:
Shop 766-4347, Cell 33-3830-0884

hound dog wrote:Because we drive several times a year the 1,500 kilometers from Lake Chapala to Highland Chiapas, I like to have our car safety inspected and have the oil changed, various fluid levels and belts checked and proper lubrication performed periodically but, while I am pleased with the people I hire to do this in Chiapas, I have not felt comfortable with the people I have been using in the Ajijic/Chapala area. Can someone out there give me a recommendation as to whom I should trust for this important work?

Pedro tunes his Beezer all by himself...

If U asked nice ... I betcha he'd do yer brakes for a cut rate

"Pedro tunes his Beezer all by himself.."

And that is why he either has to push it home or have someone load it into a truck to get it back home!

CheenaGringo wrote:"Pedro tunes his Beezer all by himself.."

And that is why he either has to push it home or have someone load it into a truck to get it back home!

Cut him some slack guys! Maybe he's taking the drinking/driving law seriously and, honestly, I know a few people who need either a push or to be loaded into a truck to get home.
The beezer is his baby and he probably wouldn't trust it to anyone else...and it's really old.

jajaja....yeah right. Geezer Bezzer's (old BSA's) are notoriously unreliable as is just about everything old and British in the auto or cycle world.

But they were the BEST in their day and the fact that they're even still working some 40 years later is just icing on the cake. They just don't make 'em like they used to :)
Of all the bikes that my ex had, I still liked the Triumph Bonneville the best. The Honda Goldwing wasn't bad but the Harley was a royal pain in the butt . You thought ford stood for "fix or repair daily"? Harley stood for "had a rotten life every year". I believe they've improved since but they sure had to be babied then.

I had a '66 BSA Rocket with electrics by Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.

David wrote:I had a '66 BSA Rocket with electrics by Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.

Q. Why do the British drink warm beer?

A. Because their fridges are made by Lucas

ferret wrote:But they were the BEST in their day and the fact that they're even still working some 40 years later is just icing on the cake. They just don't make 'em like they used to :)
Of all the bikes that my ex had, I still liked the Triumph Bonneville the best. The Honda Goldwing wasn't bad but the Harley was a royal pain in the butt . You thought ford stood for "fix or repair daily"? Harley stood for "had a rotten life every year". I believe they've improved since but they sure had to be babied then.

Now it's just a matter of opinion. I have owned many bikes. The Japanese stuff was definitely the most reliable however I didn't have too many problems with my Harley. If I was to own a vintage bike it would be an Indian or Harley. I wouldn't buy vintage British anything IMO.

Each to his/her own...
I remember when Japanese bikes sounded like sewing machines on wheels and those who bought them were labelled "wannabes". Things change.

jajaja.........as far as crusiers are concerned I still think that. The Japenese bikes I owned were all the cafe racer style (crotch rockets). Nothing like a Kawasaki 750 triple (2 stroke) to scare the bejesus out of you. Talk about an over powered death machine......

[quote="David"]I recommend Pablo. Pablo's Garage is just west of the "japanese nursery" before the "new" Pemex on the Mt. side. When other mechanics I'd been to wanted to tear the engine down to rememdy a strange noise, he diagnosed a loose spark plug. He accepted no payment for his work saying "you'll be back." He's done all of our routine maintenance and a couple of repairs on both of our vehicles for the last 3 years. He's from LA, dual citizen, an excellent mechanic, and a very nice guy.[/quote]

Thanks for that David. Man, was Pablo´s Garage a useful recommendation. Thanks to others of you as well but we went to Pablo´s because of David´s praise of his work and the fact that his garage is within walking distance of our home. We have lived in Ajijic since 2001 and Chiapas as well since 2006 and have been looking for good and trustworthy mechanics in both places ever since moving to Mexico. We haven´t resolved that problem as of yet in San Cristóbal de Las Casas but we certainly have here in Ajijic thanks to David. Pablo and his people with whom I communicated speak excellent English and their service was cordial and outstanding. They will even come pick you up and deliver your car if need be and their prices are the best I have seen in Mexico.

As I indicated in my post that started this thread, that is one long and often desolate drive between Lake Chapala and San Cristóbal - mostly good roads but almost 1,500 kilometers in total and some stretches of highway are dauntingly isolated. You really don´t wish to experiience mechanical failure out that as we once did a couple of years ago in the middle of the Veracruz swampy outback so a trusted mechanic doing a detailed safety review of one´s old (2004) Nissan takes on great importance - especially these days when many not very nice at all people are cruisiing the autopistas and will kill your ass for a pittance or, apparently based on recent news accounts, in Veracruz, for fun. The prospect or our being stranded into the night on the mostly deserted autopista between Orizaba and Minatitlan, Veracruz was a heavy reality check and, while our problem in Veracruz was caused by our having collided with road debris, it still occurred to us that making sure our old vehicle is in top shape for such a long trip was prudent on our part prior to embarking on such a journey. Being stranded on the Veracruz coastal plain at dusk focuses the mind. Fortunately; that time we were rescued by highway management.

We now have absolute confidence in Pablo and his crew and highly recommend them to you all. Pablo´s Garage is located between the Japanese nursery and the Pemex Station/OXXO on the Ajijic/Jocotepec Highway just west of Ajijic. Their telephone # is (376) 766 4347. Dawg recommends them unconditionally.

One other thing. While watching the Guadalajara news on television, I noted that the cops in Metro Guadalajara are cracking down on cars that have no current emissions test and window sticker so we asked Pablo for a recommendation on the best place at Lakeside to get an emissions test and pass the Jalisco standards for a car that meets environmental standards imposed by the state. He sent us to Taller Ezcaner (Jose Luis Martinez) in San Antonio Tlayacapan near WalMart and we went there and recommend them as well unconditionally. If you want more information on that taller, call Pablo. By the way; in Chiapas they could not care less about auto emissions but Dog needs to occasionally drive to Guadalajara and so must test for and pass emissions standard imposed there or risk the dreaded mordida. Dawg is out the equivalent of $20USD a year. I can handle that - so far at least.

ferret wrote:But they were the BEST in their day and the fact that they're even still working some 40 years later is just icing on the cake. They just don't make 'em like they used to :)
Of all the bikes that my ex had, I still liked the Triumph Bonneville the best. The Honda Goldwing wasn't bad but the Harley was a royal pain in the butt . You thought ford stood for "fix or repair daily"? Harley stood for "had a rotten life every year". I believe they've improved since but they sure had to be babied then.

The Triumph Bonneville was a great ride. And you only had to set the valves every couple of weeks! The sweetest Brit 650 I ever rode was the Matchless 650, however. My brother had one of those, I had the 500 single. Also awesome for its day. A real thumper.

My favorite older bike is still my old Harley K model, the precursor to the Sportster. Rode that to college every day for years. Always started and only on a few occasions when I forgot to retard the spark before starting did it throw me over the handlebars when I kicked it. Flat head, 35 cubes, totally reliable.

By contrast, the 4 BMWs I had were absolute limos, particularly the last one, the incomparable R1200RT complete with electronic cruise control and power windshield. You could sit that bike all day long and not get tired.

I miss my motorcycles. . . .sigh!

ROFLMAO!...spit diet coke all over my keyboard too!
Dawg posts on December 31st and gets two recommendations then...nothing until today, nearly a month later, he gives one of the recommendations a glowing review. Get it? Got it? Good!
I have safely stashed Pablo's contact info and his recommendation away for future use.
So, we wandered a little down memory lane...we still got the message intended.

Dawg complaining about OT posts has to rank right up there with all time "pot calling kettle black" comments.

Salvador just outside of Joco.
25 years with General Motors in the states.
He also has an impressive shop.
Very honest about what work you need, he won't do it if it doesn't need it.

[quote="Mainecoons"]Dawg complaining about OT posts has to rank right up there with all time "pot calling kettle black" comments. [/quote]

Well, MC, since some garbanza beanheaded moderator apparently deleted my comment, your entirely appropriate retort no longer makes any sense to third party readers and, since I´ve forgotten what I wrote, I can no longer re-insert a substitute remark. I am sure that whatever I wrote was civil and enlightened so the moderator must have been in his cups to have deleted it if that is the case or maybe it´s still there and I am not.

Well Dawg, I agree that my post should have been deleted along with mine. But come on now, OT is hardly some kind of unique occurrence on this board. I can't imagine why anyone would get in a lather about it or delete the posts of someone who rather hypocritically gets in a lather about it.

MC:
As a companion of several resident dogs and cats, Dawg notes that your avatar is staring at Dawg´s avatar with seemingly hostile intent as cats typically do in real life when observing dawgs. Dawg and his canine entourage will shortly be leaving for their normal seasonal respite from the lake to Chiapas, leaving the intimidating cats (who do not take kindly to travel) in the care of a housesitting friend, so your avatar will not have mine to kick around for a while. Dawg´s postings hereabouts may be scant for a while since there seems to be no serious interest in Southern Mexico among posters on this forum which is understandable I suppose.

Dawg, actually the cat is pissed because we disturbed His Worship to take his picture. Remember that dogs have and love their owners but cats have and barely tolerate their staff.

To this I would add that Maine Coons have slaves to whom they throw just enough crumbs of affection to keep them securely on the hook.

This person and his esposa is very interested in southern Mexico and if we can ever both get healthy at the same time, we would like to have you and your lovely esposa over to tell us all about it. Pretty cold there now though, isn't it?

[quote="MainecoonsThis person and his esposa is very interested in southern Mexico and if we can ever both get healthy at the same time, we would like to have you and your lovely esposa over to tell us all about it. Pretty cold there now though, isn't it?
[/quote]

Well, actually, as you may imagine, Chiapas is both cold and hot and moderate according to where one is ensconced, if you get my drift. Our home is at 7,000 feet but, due to the state´s challenging topography, one can also dwell in hot sweltering lands at sea level or lands in between the extremes. What makes Chiapas attractive among other attributes, is its climatalogical diversity and breathtaking scenery. An extraordinary place home to countless rugged indigenous folks living in seeminglly inaccessable mountainous terrain. A fine place to live if I must say so myself.

You are always welcome at our place there when we are about which is normally during the winter months. We look forward to meeting you then. This year we will be there between now and May and then we´ll be back starting in December for the predicted end of the world according to the Maya calendar. Just in case the world does end then, we´ll splurge on a fine bottle to tequila to see it out.