Welcome to the ultimate automotive podcast for professional technicians, service advisors, and everyday vehicle owners who want the raw, unfiltered truth about the car industry.
Hosted by Anthony Calhoun (ASE Master Technician, author of Why Technicians Are Leaving and How to Keep Them, and founder of Apex Tech Nation) and Craig Tomczyk (ASE L1, L2 Master Technician & Heavy Duty Specialist), we bring over 40 combined years of fixed-ops experience straight to your speakers.
We break down:
Hot Industry Topics: From modern car reliability crises to dealership politics and warranty chargebacks.
She Found The Shop On ChatGPT And They Totaled Her Car | Car Problems And Solutions Ep 22
She didn’t want to pay top dollar, so she used ChatGPT to pick a shop. Good reviews, been in business a long time. On a Friday night at 8:15, after hours, a technician took her car out and wrecked it nine miles away. The engine almost ended up in the passenger compartment.
Craig and I get into what that really was, why the shop owner almost certainly knew, and the three things she says every driver should do before handing over their keys. This is the kind of car problems and solutions story that should change how you pick a repair shop.
https://palipost.com/wrecked-on-palisades-drive-a-routine-repair-ends-with-a-totaled-vehicle/ (https://palipost.com/wrecked-on-palisades-drive-a-routine-repair-ends-with-a-totaled-vehicle/)
https://youtu.be/x5PLTwOI9Fk?is=Miv7Fd9DoLPuEsn1 (https://youtu.be/x5PLTwOI9Fk?is=Miv7Fd9DoLPuEsn1)
Then a woman who bought more Porsche than she can afford. Cracked windshield, lit up dash, and a $400 oil change she’s trying to get around by bringing her own oil to a quick lube. We talked about affordability last week and this is what it looks like in real life.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLSfsTVj/ (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLSfsTVj/)
Trump pardoned two auto workers on stage in Alaska who got five years probation and $66,000 in fines for deleting diesels. Craig makes the case most people miss on why guys do this in the first place.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardons-auto-workers-alaska-rally-clean-air-act/ (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardons-auto-workers-alaska-rally-clean-air-act/)
And a woman in North Dakota whose leased Jeep sat in a repair shop for nine months waiting on parts after a hit and run. She paid the lease the whole time, got no rental until the last two weeks, and lost about five grand. Her insurance says no, the dealer says no, Stellantis says no.
https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/stellantis-denies-vehicle-compensation/ (https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/stellantis-denies-vehicle-compensation/)
We finish with something that made us both laugh, for anybody out there thinking about becoming a technician.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLSfnBUQ/ (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLSfnBUQ/)
Anthony Calhoun, 25+ years in fixed ops and ASE Master Tech. Craig Tomczyk, 19+ years ASE L1/L2 Master Tech and Heavy Duty Specialist.
New episodes weekly. Car mechanic stories and interesting reddit stories from the shop floor, with honest answers about what actually goes wrong with your car.
10 Oct 2026
700 Miles For Nothing, Nobody Can Afford A Repair, Best Work Truck Ep 21 | Car Problems And Solution
A guy drops his brand new car off for a shift complaint. The shop asks if a technician can take it home overnight to catch it cold. Fifteen days later he picks it up with 700 more miles on it and no problem found. The car only had 8,400 miles on it when he dropped it off. This is the kind of car problems and solutions story that makes people never trust a shop again.https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAMechanic/s/oU62lcBHb1 Craig and I get into how many miles it actually takes to verify a complaint, why I almost refuse to drive a customer’s car, and the time a tech took one to a bar and got rear ended in the parking lot.Then two articles that both dropped this month. 66% of drivers say they can’t cover an unexpected $500 repair, a third are skipping oil changes over the cost, and over 30% of trade-ins are rolling negative equity into the next loan. People are now financing repairs on cars they’re already making payments on. I watched that trend start ten years ago in management and said it wouldn’t end well.https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/10/03/vehicle-repair-costs.html https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20261006fl64895/majority-of-us-drivers-report-they-cant-afford-an-unexpected-500-car-repair We finish on the best work truck under $30,000. I’m a GM guy, Craig says Ram, and neither of us is buying a Nissan.https://www.reddit.com/r/askcarguys/s/fkHlzkfnws Anthony Calhoun, 25+ years in fixed ops and ASE Master Tech. Craig Tomczyk, 19+ years ASE L1/L2 Master Tech and Heavy Duty Specialist.New episodes weekly. Car mechanic stories and interesting reddit stories from the shop floor, with honest answers about what actually goes wrong with your car.If you are a driver pickup your Dealer Service Advantage. Simple ways to save money and understand what you are dealing with from an insider. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHQ172QD?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallbackhttps://apextechnation.com/#automotive #technician #automotivetechnician #newcar #vehiclesales #newvehicle #techlife #techtips #viral #cartips #vehiclemaintenance #carowner #serviceadvisor #fixedops #automotiveindustry
3 Oct 2026
$3,850 For A Transmission They Never Replaced | Tesla Battery Rigged Episode 20
A woman paid $3,850 for a transmission. The shop never touched it. They put an axle in the car, charged her for a unit they never ordered, and when she called crying about it the owner laughed. One of their own technicians recorded the whole thing. This is the worst example of car problems and solutions gone wrong I've seen in 25 years, and it should make anybody think twice about who they hand their keys to.
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2026/07/28/customer-pays-3850-for-transmission-repair-months-later-the-mechanic-calls-claiming-he-never-touched-the-transmission-and-has-video/ (https://www.local10.com/news/local/2026/07/28/customer-pays-3850-for-transmission-repair-months-later-the-mechanic-calls-claiming-he-never-touched-the-transmission-and-has-video/)
Before that we get into a guy who cut the coolant fitting off a Tesla battery pack and spliced in a brass fitting from the hardware store. Craig and I explain what happens when coolant leaks inside a battery.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLJRfRtu/ (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLJRfRtu/)
Then a tech posts on r/askreddit that he's misdiagnosed five cars in a row and doesn't know what he's doing wrong. We get into automotive technician training, what the flow charts don't teach you, and why every one of us has been in that exact slump.
https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanics/s/QofWOp9teb (https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanics/s/QofWOp9teb)
And I take issue with a video going around saying the technician shortage comes down to guys lacking values and integrity. I've watched over a hundred good techs leave this industry in 25 years. That's not why they left. It's a shop problem, not a technician problem.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ERU2K7/ (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ERU2K7/)
Anthony Calhoun, 25+ years in fixed ops and ASE Master Tech. Craig Tomczyk, 19+ years ASE L1/L2 Master Tech and Heavy Duty Specialist.
New episodes weekly. Car mechanic stories and interesting reddit stories from the shop floor, with honest answers about what actually goes wrong with your car.
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