DEAR TOM AND RAY: If a mechanic is not wearing a wedding ring, is that a true indication of his marital status? I think my mechanic is HOT, but I'm wondering if he doesn't wear a ring because working on cars would destroy it. Depending on your response to the ring issue, I'm also concerned that if he took me up on a date offer, but found he didn't really like me, I'd be out an awesome mechanic. What do you think? Should I go out on a limb and risk losing both my pride and my great mechanic? -- Rachel

TOM: Absolutely! You can't pass up the possibility of a lifetime of happiness just because you might have to find a new mechanic!

RAY: How about an evening of happiness?

TOM: That would be a tossup.

RAY: You're right about the ring, though. Most mechanics don't wear wedding rings when they work. Mostly because it's unsafe.

TOM: A ring can get caught on things under the hood. And then, when you need to yank your hand away quickly to avoid getting your fingers chopped off by a moving fan blade, you can be in big trouble, like the guy at our shop we call "Ocho."

RAY: The other reason mechanics don't wear rings is because they get all scuffed and banged up from working on cars. Most of us take them off when we get to work, and put them in a safe place in our toolboxes.

TOM: I've got a whole drawer full of wedding rings in my toolbox.

RAY: So, you need a different way to determine whether your HOT mechanic is available, Rachel. Here's what I'd do ...

TOM: Does it involve deception?

RAY: Of course! Tell him you've been hearing a little creaking noise when you go over speed bumps. Tell him it's been worrying you. And when he reassures you that it's nothing serious, just a creaky bushing or something, you say, "So, you'd feel safe letting your wife drive this car?"

TOM: And if he says, "Well, I don't have a wife," then you say, "OK, would you feel safe letting your girlfriend drive this car?"

RAY: And if he says, "I don't have a girlfriend," you say, "Want one?"

Get more Click and Clack in their new book, "Ask Click and Clack: Answers from Car Talk." Got a question about cars?

Write to Click and Clack in care of this newspaper, or e-mail them by visiting the Car Talk Web site at www.cartalk.com.

Keep your car on the road and out of the repair shop by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" Send $4.75 (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.