Ladies of DU: do you get tired of being treated like a rabbit's ass...

[Zephyrbird]

when you go to the mechanic????

How many times do I have to tell the dealership what's wrong with the car, they act all sanctimonious on my ass, and then come back and say, "oh yeah, you're right, what do you know!" Please tell me you all have this problem also!! Believe it or not, I've had five, yes FIVE, lemons so I know something about problems in the engine. Every time I go there (just there today) I get the same crap.

"Guys, it's the starter." "Well, ma'am, it could be anything. We'll check it out."

"No, guys, it's the starter. I think I wore down the teeth on the flywheel when my battery was running down."

"Well, ma'am, you don't know that. We'll check it out."

Sure enough, the little turd comes back in and says, "it's the starter ma'am. The teeth on the flywheel...."

You get the picture. Doesn't matter where I go, same old thing.

Dumb fat f**cks! :banghead:

I even owned a car that got into the Lemon Hall of Shame--1979 L-6 Camaro. My baby blue sweetie that turned into the car from hell!

Is it an age thing???? A sexist thing?? Nothing makes me want to slap a man stupid more than raggin' on me that I don't know anything about cars.


waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

[KitchenWitch]

1. I used to

I do not let them do that to me now. I go in with a huge air of authority though.

[Zephyrbird]

3. Oh, so do I.

Makes no difference. That's why it's so irritating. I just had to vent somewhere!

[KitchenWitch]

4. I hear you. I think what helps in my case is that I am over 6' tall.

[Zephyrbird]

10. WOW! COOL!

I'm a short little shit, 5'2". I don't intimidate anybody!!!

I think I know more about the inside of human nostrils than anyone else in the U.S. Now, that's short!

[Broken_Hero]

2. .....

My wife has experienced this many times....1 time, the mechanic told her "I know your dad, why don't you send him down here to talk to me about this, huh?"...

Talk about a nuclear explosion that day....:nuke:

[DarkTirade]

5. Back before I knew the first thing about cars

my old roommate used to take me with her when she needed her car fixed, just so there would be a guy there to nod and smile and then tell the mechanic what he needed to do. Even though I didn't know what the hell I was saying, I was just repeating what she told me to say. :\

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. If you have any clergy friends, borrow a clergy shirt and collar from them before you go.

You might get the same raw deal, but it's a good bet that the arrogant jackasses will feel really bad about it.

:rofl:

More than likely, though, they won't be nasty to you.

OR - put your hair up tomboy-like with a baseball hat, wear some guy clothes, and walk into the place like you're used to playing baseball, belching, and lighting farts with the guys.

[UncleSepp]

7. Done that one, doesn't help.

You can go in with actual greasy hands and tools sticking out of your pockets, and it still doesn't help.


:rofl: On edit, I meant... Gone in with the ball cap looking like... not the clerical collar... oh man, time for some sleep!!

[Mugu]

8. I don't know what to tell you.

I remember a time that a mechanic told my ladyfriend one thing when she was alone and another when I was there. But, I also remember a time that she took her car in and told them that a specific part was bad and they happily replaced a perfectly good part and charged her for it.

For women it's a fine line between knowable and bitchy. However, in this day and age most guys don't know about mechanical things and get screwed too. Just last night I was talking to a guy that didn't know how a clothes dryer worked. If you don't care to learn how machines work, be prepared to pay for it. Ignorance is expensive.

Regards, Mugu

[AmyDeLune]

9. Hardware stores are "good" for this too

I once needed some putty that would harden underwater to repair a leaky drainpipe. I located the right area of the store and start looking over their plumbing repair stuff when the clerk comes over and asks if he can help me. I tell him what I'm looking for (I've just spotted it on the shelf) and he tells me he thinks that they don't even make such a thing (I'd used it before, so I knew they did). I point to putty on the shelf and tell him that that is what I'm looking for. He takes it down, initially denying that it could be what I'm looking for and seems stunned that a girl would know anything about home repairs once he reads the box and sees that it is indeed exactly what I said it was.:eyes:

*ggaaaaahhhhh!!!*

[Zephyrbird]

11. Oh, yeah. I've had that at the hardware store too.

duhhhhhyeeeeeee!!!

I have a terrible habit that I can't help. When somebody is stupid like that because I'm female, I start staring at them over my glasses and don't say anything. I can't help it because I don't want to call them a bad name, but I can't be polite. So I stare and stare.

Sometimes they get it, most times they don't.

The guy who towed my car was VERY nice, and believed me, but then--his girlfriend was a welder! Cool.

[China_cat]

12. And electronics places.

It gets hard enough trying to tell these yahoos that my husband can just about find the on switch for his computer but then I have to do it from a wheelchair which tends to automatically make you disappear.

Before the wheelchair, though, I went to one place because they had a good sale on laptops. Found the one I really wanted at a price I was willing to spend. Only to have the salesman do everything in his power to talk me out of it...and every other one I looked at. He succeeded. I got so disgusted that I took my business elsewhere.

[NewJeffCT]

13. I'm a guy and I know almost nothing about cars

so, I'm like your opposite. But, my wife knows even less than me... at least I know if I hear a squealing sound when I tap the brakes, it's time to get my brakes looked at.

[johnnie]

14. If how you say it in your post is what went down...

Then I have to say you deserve it. You can suggest something, but I know if someone came in for my services and told me how to do my job, I would be a little put off. It's not a sexist thing, I know if I even walked into a mechanic and said, "Hey, it's the starter", they wouldn't just rip the starter out and hope I am right. That wouldn't be too professional.

Next time maybe you can just tell them what you think is wrong and let them do what you pay them for.

[I Have A Dream]

15. Seeing that I don't know anything about cars, I don't take offense.

However, if I did, then :mad:!

I don't blame you at all for being offended, Zephyrbird.

[BlueJazz]

16. When I was in College, I worked in a Garage, fixing automobiles....

...and I can tell you...I met just as many Men (as Women) who did or didn't know anything about Cars.

But..I never "Talked down" to the customers...Male or Female.

My Mother was a Feminist and she would have Killed Me! :)

[Midlodemocrat]

17. The car buying thing is worse.

When I bought my van a year ago, the sales guy was a wreck because I did it without my husband being present. He kept saying "are you sure you don't want to wait for your husband?"

No dumbass. He's in New Jersey. *I'm* the one buying the car. *I'm* the one sitting in front of you with a check in my hand. :eyes:

[skygazer]

18. You need to just be blunt

If this is the a place you go to regularly, you need to speak to the manager and tell him that you're sick of his employees treating you like you're an idiot, that you've spent a fair amount of money there and that if they refuse to treat you with respect, you'll take your business elsewhere.

However, you need to be a bit more diplomatic in how you speak to them. An auto mechanic is just as much of a professional in his or her field as anyone and it's annoying to have anyone, male or female, tell you how to do your job. "I think..." goes a long way. "I think it's probably the starter because..." This gives them grounds to understand that you actually do have something to base that diagnosis on and it's not going to put their back up as much as simply telling them what it is (unless its completely obvious, like a flat tire).

I don't tell my doctor I have bronchitis - I tell her I think I have some kind of lung infection.

And if that doesn't help, find a new mechanic. There are plenty of men out there that understand respect and civility.