You knew this day would come but you never thought that it would happen so soon. Maybe you drove over one too many potholes. Maybe the engine had been giving you trouble for a while. But now that your car has broken down, you know that you need to find an auto repair shop fast. How can you be sure that you’ve found the right shop? What steps can you take to quickly explore your auto shop options? We’re about to give you a list of four tips that you can use while you’re picking auto repair shops. All you have to do is keep reading.
1. Try and Get a Referral
Have you ever heard the phrase “It’s a small world.”?
The saying is common because it’s true. It seems like everyone knows someone who is a mechanic or has hired a mechanic who did a fantastic job.
Before you start comparing repair fees and collecting quotes, one of the easiest ways to vet a shop and get a general sense of the auto repair experience is to ask your social circle for recommendations.
2. Look For Certifications
In the same way that qualified doctors have gone to medical school and accountants have to pass exams to get certified, auto technicians often have certifications that they pick up through training.
What does that mean for you?
It means that if you go to a shop, you should be able to see those certifications displayed somewhere prominent. Assuming everything’s in order, that bit of proof that the people working on your car are up-to-date in their training can make a world of difference.
3. Check the Reviews
Visiting the shop and finding out that a friend of a friend is an auto technician is one thing. But being a paying customer at a shop can be a different experience altogether.
To that end, Yelp has over 224 million online customer reviews. Busy review sites with lots of traffic can help you get a sense of what the shop is like from a customer experience standpoint.
4. Find Out Whether the Shop Specializes in Your Kind of Car
Compared to the models that were being manufactured in the 90s, cars today are becoming complicated. But shops don’t have to spend all their time fixing new cars to have an area of specialization.
For instance, Eastwood Auto Body Ltd specializes in body and collision repair.
The key here is to find a shop that’s used to repairing cars that are similar to yours. It becomes a lot easier to trust that your vehicle is in good hands when you know that the technician has seen cars like yours before.
Use These Tips When You’re Picking Auto Repair Shops
Auto repair shops are always looking for more customers. But just because a shop is open and willing, that doesn’t mean that it’s the right shop for you. With the help of the tips we’ve just provided, however, finding and picking auto repair shops suddenly becomes a lot easier.
Want to find more advice like this? Check out Tire Works Total Car Care.
