My Mechanic is also My Friend

I took part in a simple, but gratifying ceremony the other day. A group of us car enthusiasts have a friend to whom we wanted to express our thanks. He has been digging us out of holes, aiding us through roadside emergencies, and solving numerous electronic gremlins over many years. He’s our mechanic.

Most people have a guy they trust to work on their cars. We have a friend who works on ours. Many of us have known Vincent for decades. I first met him, naturally enough, sixteen years ago when I needed maintenance on my Aston Martin. Vincent was the resident mechanic and expert at the dealership. But he soon became much more than that. And it wasn’t because of anything I did. It was all him.

Friendly, outgoing, enthusiastic but with a thoughtful reserve, Vincent has always been serious about fixing the mechanical issues of high-end cars, and merciless in his dogged pursuit of solving the latest computer glitch. And these days, those are becoming more and more common with every car on the road.

To give you an example, he recently had to complete a fourteen-hour software update just to ready a car for sale. These new cars have 63 computer modules in them. My 2012 is bad enough with 35 modules. And they all talk to each other, so if something goes wrong with one, the others all act up. It’s like a kindergarten class of misbehaving brats. Tracing the source can be tedious and requires an inordinate amount of patience.

And that, Vincent has in spades. He approaches these mysteries with a determined inevitability – he’s going to figure it out.

Better even than his reputation as one of the world’s best Aston mechanics, is he’s a great person. As a customer, one of the first things he gives you is his cell number. “Call me if you have a problem. Anytime.”

Seriously?! I’ve never ever had another person who worked on anything for me do that, especially after a first visit. It was day one, and though I was skeptical, I was nevertheless impressed.

I have used his number several times, and usually at an inconvenient one. Whether it was a text or call, he always got back to me. The man loves his work and he loves the people he works for – we customers, his friends. And the feeling is mutual, to which this little ceremony was testament.

A group of about a dozen customers, along with the dealership’s owners and managers, as well as the thank you’s of another dozen customers who couldn’t make it, gathered near his work area, engaging in small talk. Somehow, Vincent thought it not at all unusual for us to all be hanging about. It’s part of the job, right? After we all assembled, my friend Robin Bolz with help from Justin Thomas, led us through a thank you to Vincent. A presentation of a special plaque commemorating his customer’s thanks, his friend’s thanks, along with a generous gift certificate to dinner at John Howie, a very high-end Seattle steakhouse.

The words, the expressions of gratitude for his expertise and friendship were more important and sincerely felt by all. Handshakes, hugs, pats on the back, even a tear or two followed. We got to him. Robin had to read the plaque because Vincent was too overcome to do it. Humility. Kindness. No expectation of reward other than the satisfaction of a job well done. That’s the man.

I can’t show up at the dealer for any reason without looking to see if he’s around just to say hi, talk about his kids, the latest car in his bay or our other mutual friends. He’s a fine man whose company I thoroughly enjoy. Thank you, Vincent, for being a great mechanic and a greater person. I love being able to go places and feel like I belong. You make it feel like family. You’re just the highest seal of approval on everything Aston Martin!