Your car is one of your most important assets for many reasons other than its price. Apart from being your main means of commute, you might also be emotionally attached to it or have it as a vital part of some of your future plans. For instance, to some people, a road trip is a dream vacation activity, and for this, you need to make sure that your vehicle is in its optimal state at any given point. In other words, aside from having a reliable car, you also need to have a reliable mechanic on your side. Here are five tips to help you recognize one.
Learn a thing or two about car repair yourself
The first and the most apparent thing to do when picking the right mechanic lies in the idea that you have to learn a thing or two about car repair yourself. Sure, some may argue that this is redundant, since in that case, you wouldn’t need a repairman in the first place. Yet, this is a gross oversimplification. You don’t actually have to learn how to repair certain things in your vehicle; all you have to do is figure out how much some repairs cost and how long they take. For instance, a crooked mechanic may keep your car for 2 days in order to inflate the price of the repair, when in reality it was a fix that could be done in as little as 20 minutes.
Check car forums
While it is true that a less-known local mechanic might not appear on your radar, you also need to understand that people nowadays don’t fret from posting their troubles online. A comment left on the official website, blog or social media page of a certain mechanic may get deleted, while this is not an easy thing to do on independent car forums. Due to the nature of this industry, these forums are localized, which means that the Australian audience might want to look for .au extension forums in order to find the adequate repairman.
Check out the shop in person
One of the things that people often neglect in this era of online reviews is the importance of the shop’s appearance. If the shop is neat and well-equipped (which is something you can evaluate even if you aren’t an expert in this field) and if the personnel are polite, welcoming and busy-looking, you might just be in the right spot. Of course, the politeness of the staff or the owner doesn’t affect the efficiency of their work, but it might impact your future collaboration. Ask yourself a question – do I see myself working with some of these people in the future? If you see this affecting you in a negative way, it might be for the best to just look for aid somewhere else.
Look for a local repairman that meets your specific needs
The next issues that need to be resolved are your specific needs. What good is a repairman who is halfway across the globe? Ideally, you want someone who can be there in 20 minutes or less, should there be an emergency. This means someone in your own area and someone capable of towing your vehicle – which, depending on the model, may not be such a simple task. This makes it harder for people with trucks, vans and even SUV’s to find an adequate person or agency for the job. For instance,
Test them out
Finally, you want to test the waters, so if you see someone you believe will work out for you, the next move you take should probably be going for a small job to see how it works out in practice. Unfortunately, some shops are ready to rip you off after replacing your windshield wipers or fixing your lights. Needless to say, the price and complexity of this repair is something you can easily check online or by making a phone call or sending an email to another shop.
You should never be reluctant to take as much time as you need to make sure that the mechanic you chose is the right one. While paying more than you have to may seem bad, the prospect of driving your family in a vehicle that is not fully functional is much, much worse. Therefore, you need to find a mechanic whom you can trust with your life. At the end of the day, this might be exactly what you’ll be doing.