How to Pick an Auto Repair Shop

If you own a car, then you must know the importance of having your car repaired. Whether you drive a sports car or sports utility, family sedan or a pick up, mini van or a truck, everything needs repair work to keep them functioning in an effective way. A good repair work is associated with good repair shop. Here are few tips given to find a good auto repair shop for your vehicle.

Preparation

It is not enough to drop your vehicle at the nearest service center and hope for the best repair work. You are in other way putting your vehicle functionality at risk.

• To become familiar with your vehicle and recommended service schedule, always consult your owner’s manual.
• It is not necessary to look for service center when you need it, it is better to look for appropriate service beforehand to avoid any panic situation.
• Take help from your friends, co-workers and family for certain recommendations. Remember, reputation of the service center always matter.
• To check the reliability of the service center, visit your local costumer organization.

Once you have chosen a shop, test them with minor maintenance work, if you are satisfied with there services, you can have them for major maintenance work.

At the Shop

When you are at the shop, observe the surroundings and ask for certain things:

• Professional environment of the shop has courteous and helpful staff. And you always find them willing to answer your every single question.
• You can ask for the names of few old customers and contact them to have a better idea of the shop reputation.
• Good repair shops usually have all policies posted clearly, i.e. labor rates, mode of payments, guarantees and so on.
• Feel free to ask whether they are specialize or deal in with your vehicle make and model. Some repair shops only deal with particular makes and models.
• Make certain if the shop has won any professional awards like civic and community service award, customer service award, AAA- Approved Auto repair status, membership in the Better Business Bureau.
• See whether the technicians or mechanics employed in center are qualified. For instance, ASE Certified, trade school diplomas holder, having certificated of advanced course work.

Follow-Up

• Professional service centers keep log of all the paperwork.
• If you are happy with the services, come back to have maintenance work on the same shop. This will improve the communication process and will have to establish good relationship.
• If on any occasion you find that the services are not up to the mark, the best way is to negotiate the problem with the service manage or owner of the shop. Reputable shops care for their customers and their feed back and make sincere efforts to resolve the issues.