I doubt I would lose that pissing contest. It would greatly depend on who the mechanic was, how much I knew of him, and trusted him.

If you can't install a timing belt then you should not be considering your self a mechanic by any means. 90% of guys calling themselves mechanics are far from it.

In my definition a mechanic would be a person who can fix a car but also diagnose problems as well.

if you can't do that, your nothing but a lowly parts changer