When You Become a Mechanic, Encourage Your Customers to Avoid these 3 Bad Driving Habits

Drivers like to complain about expensive repairs on their cars, but a lot of the time, they’re their own worst enemies. Bad driving habits increase wear on car components, causing them to degrade quickly and need replacing. Drivers who know which bad habits to avoid, and drive in a sensible manner, will save themselves a lot of headache and money.

In your future career as a mechanic, you’ll be able to see for yourself the damage that people to do their cars by driving poorly. By pointing it out to your customers, and mentioning the steps they can take to fix the problem, you can build a reputation as an expert who cares about their clients.

Here are a few of the habits you might want to discourage future customers from engaging in.

1. After You Become a Mechanic, Tell Customers That Hard Stops Kill Brakes Fast

Brakes are important for driver safety, but they can wear out pretty quickly if drivers constantly stomp on the brake to slow and stop their cars. Replacing brakes isn’t the most expensive repair, but the amount it does cost can add up pretty quickly for serial brake-ruiners.

The solution to this problem is pretty simple: drivers should avoid hard stops when possible. Doing things like taking their foot off the gas pedal well in advance of a stop sign, driving at the speed limit, and taking other steps to limit how often the brakes need to be used for hard stops will help brakes last a little longer. After you become a mechanic, share this information with customers who always seem to need new brakes if you want to help them avoid unnecessary repairs. They’ll appreciate the tip, and be more likely to come back.

2. You May Also Want to Tell Clients Why Parking Brakes Should Not Be Ignored

With many modern cars, you don’t need to engage the parking brake to keep a car immobile while it’s parked. It is, however, still best that the parking brake is used. This is because the parking pawl—a thin piece of metal that is engaged when a car is put in park—is not designed to keep all of a car’s weight from moving and can wear out, and even fail, if it is made to do so. A parking brake, on the other hand, is a more robust system of cabling and discs that is specifically designed to keep a parked car where it is.

It can be tough to know when a client is not using their parking brake regularly. Once you begin your career as an automotive maintenance technician, if you do notice the telltale signs of wear on the parking pawl, or otherwise find out the parking brake is being ignored, it’s worth telling your future clients why they should use it. Many drivers might not know that they may be damaging their car and will appreciate the warning.

3. Warn Clients Against Driving Around With Little Defects After You Become a Mechanic

Cars are more than the sum of their parts; most components interact with and support a number of others, and when one part begins to fail, this can have a serious detrimental effect on other components too. For example, a misaligned wheel could lead to tires and the suspension wearing out more quickly, and also affect how well a car can brake, among other negative effects.

Some drivers are tempted to put off smaller repairs, thinking that since they are not in and of themselves a big deal, it’s fine to drive a car without addressing those problems. However, because of the potential for a domino effect to occur, it’s a good idea to encourage your future clients to get the little stuff taken care of. This way, they can avoid pricey repairs further down the line.

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