bob, people come to me for a variety of reasons. a guy who has no mechanical knowledge, and who has been in the DR for 3 weeks, and who does not speak a word of spanish, needs all the help he can get when buying a car. people like you , who are always trying to marginalize the value of my service with your ''buts'' do a disservice to people who want help. bob, can you ''educate'' yourself to tell if the car you plan to buy is having issues with the ABS? how about your ability to tell whether or not the airbags will deploy in an accident? can you teach yourself to do that? can you tell whether or not there are transmission issues? can you hear failing in a CVT tranny? do you know what to listen for? why not? i thought your solution is to educate yourself?
guess what, bob..i have a sophisticated handheld computer, which can tell me which cylinder in your car is misfiring, and even how much it will cost to fix it. my electrical system tester can tell me all i need to know about the battery, starter, and alternator. my amplified stethoscope lets me hear every sound, even leaks in vaccuum lines. and my snake camera goes into nooks and crannies, looking for sand residue, so i can tell if the car was in a flood.
so, bob, are you suggesting that when Janet from Miami moves to Gaspar Hernandez, and wants to buy a car, she should get a rash of tools, learn to use them, learn fluent spanish, build a network of reputable dealers, learn to recognize lemons, and learn to recognize when odometers have been set back'? REALLY?