Scotty Kilmer

Scott Michael Kilmer (born October 2, 1953) is an American YouTuber, author, and auto mechanic.

Early life Scotty Kilmer was born on October 2, 1953, in Niagara Falls, New York. At age 14, he learned to be a mechanic from his grandfather, Elmer Kilmer, who was the chief mechanic at the Texaco gas station which Scotty's father owned. He studied in Toronto, Ontario at York University and received a BA in anthropology in 1975 and then attended the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, receiving a master's degree in anthropology. He was in the process of working towards his Ph.D., but eventually quit due to his dissatisfaction with the university tenure system. Kilmer went on to become a mechanic and moved to Houston, Texas in 1980. On the suggestion of his wife, he wrote a book, Everyone's Guide to Buying a Used Car and Car Maintenance, originally published in 1994. Its release led Kilmer to be on the front page of the Houston Chronicle, which attracted the attention of the local CBS affiliate KHOU. His YouTube channel is much the same, and he answers questions about car problems and the vehicle industry, and gives advice. Kilmer typically uses his customers' cars in his videos as a point of comparison or other demonstrations with various products he uses as a mechanic. He has garnered controversy over the use of "clickbait" video titles.

Publications