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Over on the Dice Exploder discord, we welcome new members by asking them what their favorite mechanic is. It’s a great tradition, kicks off a lot of great conversations, but I have largely avoided having it turned my way. So today I thought let’s just get it out there in an episode: what is my favorite mechanic and what do I think about it?
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Transcript
Sam: Hello and welcome to another episode of Dice Exploder. Each week we take one mechanic and take it out for a test drive. My name is Sam Dunnwald and my co host today is Chris Duffy.
So, on the Dice Exploder Discord, we welcome new members by asking them what their favorite mechanic is. It's a great tradition, kicks off a lot of great conversation, and I have largely managed to avoid having it turned my way. So today, I thought, let's just get it out there in an episode. what is my favorite mechanic, and what do I think about it?
And to do that, I thought I'd bring in the man who introduced me to this mechanic, Chris Duffy. Chris Duffy is a comedian. He's a television writer and a radio podcast host.
He currently hosts the hit podcast, How to Be a Better Human. He is in my writer's group here in Los Angeles. We love that. Chris, thank you so much for being here on Dice Exploder.
Chris: Thank you so much for having me, Sam. It's a pleasure to be here.
Sam: Yeah. So today we are talking about Elf Motors, which I learned about from your newsletter, I think like three or four years ago or something like,
Chris: Oh yes. I'm deeply, deeply passionate about elf motors. So I moved to Los Angeles from New York city and I had never owned a car as an adult and moving to Los Angeles, you need a car. And so I didn't really know how to evaluate used cars. And I got a recommendation from a friend of this great mechanic. It's a shop Elf Motors in Burbank, California and run by Roz and Rafi, a father and son duo. And they are just like fantastic.
So what I did is I would, a true delight. So I bring every used car that I was considering on my test drive. I would drive it to them. They would examine it. And then they helped me to pick the car.
And then since then they have been incredible because I'm truly like beyond clueless at cars and car maintenance. And I know that they are extremely trustworthy because they've taught me to do things myself so that I don't have to pay them to do it anymore. Like they taught me how to like change the cabin air filter.
They like have explained that many times I've come to them and been like, I think this is a big problem is going to cost a lot of money. And they've been like, this is not a problem. There's nothing wrong with your car. I will reset that light. It just means that it was like regular scheduled maintenance. You don't have to worry at all.
Sam: I did this like two or three months ago, I went and the check engine light just like came on and I brought it into the shop and Roz like hooked up his thing and he went in and he was like You didn't tighten your gas cap enough.
Chris: Oh, that happened to me too! Incredible! Ha ha ha ha ha
Sam: like, looked me dead in the eyes, and he deadpanned, That'll be two hundred dollars.
Uh, It was, it was, I bet he like, sold me some like, At cost air filters, it was perfect. Uh,
Chris: Yeah, I mean like I actually have like through the like weirdness of like TikTok algorithm I've been like served like now like a like a genre of video That's like how to tell if your mechanic is like a scammer or not. And literally one of the ways they tested is like make the check engine light go off by having it be like a loose gas cap and then like, see if they charge you for something absurd or not.
And he's such a great example. Cause like I wasn't, that wasn't like a a scam catcher for me. That was just like, he could have said he could have literally even said like the gas cap needs to be replaced. That's a thousand dollars. And I would have been like, wow, who knew gas caps were expensive, but he's fantastic.
And uh, It's just a pleasure to go there. Cause I really like them and I like supporting their business. And I also like that. It's a good proof of like, if you are a good mechanic, you will make money because I have recommended him to every person that I know.
Sam: my other story about it. It's the first time I went there off your recommendation. Roz was like how'd you find me? And I was like, Oh, my friend Chris Duffy recommended me. And he was like, Chris Duffy. I love him. Like, are,
Chris: Yeah, of course he loves me. I send him a lot of business. Oh yeah, and you are. You were like, I'm also in the comedy world.
Sam: about that for a while. It was great. Yeah, and uh, the other thing I find so, like, charming about them, like, I got I think, like, a happy birthday text from them,
Chris: Mm hmm.
Sam: at such an odd time of day, and it was
Chris: Uh Huh.
Sam: a, JPEG with, like, an award kind of looking thing in there. I
Chris: Uh Huh.
Sam: he's got to be sending these out manually.
Chris: Oh, certainly. Yes. There's no automated systems involved in them. It's great. Cause he's like, he's like a, you know, a young to middle aged guy. And then his dad is kind of an older guy and they both work there. But like, it's definitely when you call the thing, it's like he picks up on his personal cell phone. Or he's like texting you back from his personal cell phone.
Sam: Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Chris: It's also sweet. Cause like I have, I had a kid and When I go there, like you have to show us photos of the kid. And then the, his dad is like, I have seven grandchildren and every time I visit, I have to bring them toys. They say not to bring the toys, but I can't stop myself. And I'm like, I just love that my mechanic is telling me, like, he's such a sweetheart that he can't be stopped from bringing his children and grandchildren toys.
Sam: yeah
Chris: I really think it's like one of the best mechanics out there.
Sam: do you have like a favorite elf motor story that you haven't told already?
Chris: well so the one that got me to go there in the first place, cause it's certainly not the closest to my house. It's like a 20 minute drive, I could certainly go closer, but now this is why I go there every time is my friend will, who lived in LA for like 12 years before I ever moved here, he told me that he, you know, was working at a school, not making very much money, kind of like struggling to make ends meet. And he brought in his car and he said like, you know, I hope you can tell me what's wrong with it and fix it. But also like, I'm, I'm struggling to pay. So maybe we can figure out a cheaper way to do it.
And, and Roz, he, what he said that I love, and I really believe now that how having known Roz and Raffi, he said, okay, here's what's wrong with your car. I'm going to give you three options. This is the correct way. This is what they would do if you brought it into the dealership. It's the most expensive. Here is a slightly less expensive way that is like, we're going to use like not the official parts, but it will be exactly the same. And then here's the cheapest way, which I have no idea if it will work or not, but it might work.
So you have three options. I could just try a thing. We could do it right. Or we could do it perfectly. What would you like? And I feel like that's the exact right amount of options in any situation is three of three different levels. And the fact that he framed it that way just made me love him so much.
Sam: percent. Oh god, that's so good. Any advice for people looking for a car mechanic in another city? I mean, in Los Angeles, obviously, just go to Elf Motors, but
Chris: Yeah. Unless if you're in anywhere in the, in Southern California, within like four hours of, of, of Burbank drive to Burbank.
If you are in a city that's not LA, well, I think certainly like a word of mouth is a good one. I think now, I mean, I'm not opposed to doing the little gas cap scam test. I think that's like a great, if you can make your, your, if you can somehow make your engine like go off by like loosely tightening the gas cap, I love that as a test.
But I also think. I feel like he got really invested in the car because I had him help me choose possibilities. So I think that like, if you are buying a used car and you have the possibility of having an independent mechanic evaluate it, that's a good way to like get them on your side forever.
Sam: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chris: But also I do think like, these people are special. You can't just find a Roz and Rafi in every city. This is, you know, we got lucky. That's, to me, that's like one of the reasons why I still live in Los Angeles. Because I'm like, you can't move out of the city once you've met Raz and Rafi. Where could you go? I'd have to convince them to move too.
Sam: you had a whole um, newsletter about that with the haircut situation too, as I recall. Yeah.
Chris: Yeah, for years, I was still going back to New York where my parents lived to get my haircut there, and then I finally found a haircut place here where I feel like they do an equivalent haircut, but they don't speak English at all, they only speak Armenian, so I have to communicate solely in photos of previous haircuts that he's given me where I point at the haircut and he's like, okay, here we go.
Sam: I mean, honestly my spouse would love that. Like the, does not want to small talk at the haircut place.
Chris: Well, the irony is we are small talking. I just don't understand it. He's not really small talking to me. He's talking to the other people. And it's very clear that he's really funny. Like everyone is laughing and they come over and they're like, ah, like laughing and like slapping me on the shoulder too.
And I'm like, I actually have no clue what's happening. I'm the only person in the shop who doesn't understand.
Sam: Alright, I think that about wraps it up. Chris, Duffy, thank you so much for coding on Dice Exploder. This was
Chris: Thank you so much. Yeah. such a pleasure to be here and make sure that if you are selecting a mechanic for your car and not for your games, that exploding is not on the table. That's one of the biggest things that you want.
Sam: All right, folks. Your homework this week is to go check the oil on your car or maybe the tire pressure while you're at it. Better yet, look into what had cost to ditch your car entirely and get an electric bike. Thanks again to everyone who supports Dice Exploder on Patreon. And thanks to Chris for being here.
You can listen to the podcast he hosts How to Be a Better Human Wherever podcasts are sold. As always, you can find me on Blue Sky at s dun Wald or on the dice Exploder discord. You can find my games@sdonal.itch.io.
Our logo is designed by spore, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Gray. And thanks to you for listening. See you next time.