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Don't get ripped off with car repairs
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Finding a good mechanic is key to keeping more of your money.
Finding a good, reliable and honest car repair shop can sometimes be a major hassle. I’m sure we’ve all had traumatic experiences with car repairs—having to take it back two and three times, being hit with a bill twice or more than we expected, and the old repair shop trick of that phone call saying they found other problems than what you took your car in for.
Sometimes, of course, a good mechanic will find a problem you weren’t aware of, but if you get those phone calls every time you take your car in for service, you might be justified in feeling paranoid.
So how do you find a shop you can be sure is going do a good job, and treat you fairly? If your car is new, you may want to stick with the dealer’s shop, to make sure any warranty work is handled. But you know you’re going to pay a premium there. Dealer prices are more than a tad higher than most shops on both labor and parts. If you can find the right shop, you will save money, and peace of mind.
How do you do it? Put on your Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat and do some detective work.
First, ask friends who they use. A satisfied customer is a big recommendation. Then go check a couple of shops out. The first thing you look for is that the mechanics are ASE certified. This means they have gone to school to be trained in various aspects of car repair (to find out more about ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certification go to http://www.theautochannel.com/mania/affairs/mechanic.html).
Next, check with the service writer and ask what the charge would be for a specific repair. All shops have set charges for every repair task so he will be able to tell you. This also gives you the opportunity to find out how well he listens, and how friendly he seems.
And ask to see the shop. If it’s a good one they will be proud to show it off. You should see little or no oil or grease on the floor, few parts lying around (any shop is going to have a few parts lying around—it’s part of the environment), and generally a fairly clean area. And ask if they have a mechanic familiar with your make of car. This is particularly important if you have a European car.
Once you’ve decided on a shop to try, and taken your car in, there are a couple of things you want to look for. If they are diagnosing a problem, do they show you what they say the problem is? For example, if they tell you the timing belt is badly worn, do they take you to the car and show you? If not, put a mark in the bad column.
Next, if they replace a part, do they show you the old part and show you how it was bad? Yes, good, no, bad.
Find a shop that meets all these criteria, and you and your car will enjoy many happy miles together.
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