AIBU to not trust a single mechanic

[Hyggemama]

Prepared to be flamed for generalising a whole profession. I’m sure there are excellent mechanics out there of course, but I still haven’t found a single one. I have had cars damaged by mechanics, paid hundreds for replacement parts and fittings that then fail within a few months.
A mechanic did unauthorised work on one vehicle and then claimed I had to pay him otherwise I was “stealing” - I’d specifically told him I’d need to have an estimate first.
I had a car get 7 advisories on one MOT, then 1 advisory the following year - without any work having been done. Most recently a mechanic took my vehicle for MOT then has added £72 onto the fee (again unagreed) for taking a look at it after it failed, then telling me there was nothing he could do to fix it.
I keep trying different garages because I don’t trust them and they all seem as bad as each other. Surely an industry that are relying that much on blind faith should be regulated in some way? The costs are so high, not to mention that a mistake could be fatal on the road. I’ve tried word of mouth and that hasn’t helped either. I live in a rural area and a lot of people I speak to have some sort of family link to their mechanic, so I wonder if that’s why they don’t seem to struggle with them. Any advice on how to find one I can trust?

You trust quick fit????

You must have more money than sense .

I have 2 garages I trust 100%.

My suggestion is if you dont trust the mechanic learn to do bits yourself

The problem is, vehicles often have multiple faults or its likely a fault develops soon after. It's the way, with products that have moving parts.
The customer incorrectly assumes it's the garage setting them up or ripping them off.
Any business must charge enough to make a profit.

The amount of times someone has work done for an MOT for it to fail after a few months and they return it to the place that did the repair.

Because cars go wrong for all sorts of reasons. It's not as straightforward as saying "well, they repaired X six months ago and it's gone again, so it must be dodgy/a scam". You need to think about things like:

How many miles has the car done since the MOT?
Is it driven regularly or does it spend most of the time sat on a driveway?
Is the driver a good driver, or does the car get bumped/scraped/knocked regularly?
Is it used to carry loads of heavy things which can impact on how smooth/easy it is to drive?
What kind of roads is it driven on? Smooth, well-maintained roads or bumpy country roads full of potholes which can do hidden damage?
Does the driver live somewhere coastal which can cause extra damage due to the salty air/salt water?

And some cars are just old and battered and will have lots of issues because, well, they don't last forever and at some point, it makes more sense to scrap them and buy something else.

Because cars go wrong for all sorts of reasons. It's not as straightforward as saying "well, they repaired X six months ago and it's gone again

I don't think that way, it's another reason why I would take it for a second pair of eyes to look instead of assuming the first place fitted it wrong.

I use a local garage that was recommended by a lot of people and he's really good and reliable
It probably helps I work for a dealership so it's no good trying to blind me with technical stuff!

I bought a 2009 used car last year, one owner from new and it had always been looked after by the same independent garage. I thought that as they knew the car, I'd take it there for its MOT. They were great! I think they were pleased not to have lost a car.

I know what you mean OP

For years we used a local mechanic who was great. Tried using the same garage after he retired and one of his staff took it on and I was told that my car failed the MOT as apparently the exhaust was worn out beyond repair but that as I was such a valued customer he'd be willing to squeeze me in later in the week and sort it for £££££. I pointed out that the same garage had fitted an new exhaust a couple of months ago so surely there would be some sort of parts warranty if it was really that worn out. He agreed to check it out again and amazingly all that was needed was a new clip. Rather counter productive for them really as I won't trust that garage again.