Almost everyone around us is excited about buying a car. Yet the same kind of excitement is missing once a car is bought. The excitement fades just after a couple of days the car is brought home. It is as important to get a car serviced as it is to drive a car regularly.
However, most car owners have no clue regarding car servicing. This is especially in terms of choosing car repair shops. The majority of car owners end up taking their car to the nearest car repair workshops once the free company car workshop expires. In such cases, car owners are unaware of the quality of services provided. Taking a car to such car repair shops can potentially incur a lot of costs and damage to the vehicle.
Hence, choosing a quality car repair shop plays a crucial role. Here is some information to choose the right car workshop for your car:
1. Taking references and suggestions:
This goes without saying and probably one of the first things most car owners do. To get a better idea of better car repair services, it’s best to reach out to close friends and family. Their recommendations can give an idea regarding some of the best car repair brand franchisees. Additionally, recommendations may also give car owners an idea about unheard local service providers that have been providing quality services despite not being listed on the internet.
2. Look for certified shops:
Some brand franchisees and local car workshops are usually certified by quality-assuring authorities. Car repair shops certified under “AAR” (Approved Auto Repair) are offered the distinction of offering mandatory professional standards with respect to their facilities, staff, environment, machinery, servicing, and quality. This is one of the easiest ways to find a quality car repair workshop.
3. Look for certified mechanics:
This is pretty much similar to what is stated above for the certified shops. At times, people tend to look for someone qualified to get work done in a designated field. The same ideal practice can be applied in the case of finding good car repair workshops too. Organizations like ASE offer certifications to qualified mechanics.
Qualified mechanics usually receive this certification after working with cars over 2 years post education and passing the assessment test. Coming from a non-profit organization, mechanics are certified genuinely and are assessed every 5 years to ensure that they retain quality practices for successfully running a car workshop.
4. Observe a majority:
This is something uncommon to look for but helps in choosing a good car repair shop. A large number of public vehicle owners like taxi drivers tend to prefer a specific car repair workshop that helps keep their cars running smoothly.
Asking a fellow taxi driver can give an idea about repair shop preferred by a majority of the taxi driving community. Perhaps, reaching out to such a car repair shop can give a car owner the gift of a highly dependable service provider.
5. Identify old shops:
Good businesses go a long way. The best way to identify such old and renowned businesses are to find their advertisements, stickers, and historical referrals. A constant record of offering a quality car repair to the customers is perhaps what kept that car workshop in business for decades.
6. Explore what media says:
There are instances when local media sources like newspapers or TV channels give out a recommendation for local business experts. Such recommended car repair workshops might not be as cheap as one would think them to be, their quality can be assessed by checking their automobile-related knowledge.
7. Check different sources:
Inspecting different sources like the internet, blogs and magazines can also an insight about quality car service providers in a locality. Additionally, things like Search engine reviews and online reviews can also provide a deeper insight into the kind of services provided by several car workshops in an area, leaving the ultimate decision to car owners.
8. Get a minor servicing:
Before choosing a car workshop for getting a major repair done, one can ensure service quality by taking the car for minor servicing. This minor servicing can be related to anything ranging from tire rotations to oil replacement.
Such a minor servicing will help a car owner to evaluate the kind of services that are offered by mechanics at that car repair shop. Their reactions towards a future recommendation will give out how good they are. Additionally, things like the availability of payment modes, payment plans, warranties, and discounts will enable us to discover the seriousness of a repair workshop.
9. Change selection criteria:
The majority of car owners tend to choose their car workshops based on economic factors. This, however, might not be the most fruitful approach to go for. Different selection criteria like delivery time, brand, servicing machinery can also help fetch the right car repair shop. Sometimes, it is also noted that the ones offering the cheapest repairing services tend to offer the worst services.
10. Ask insurance providers:
Chances are that a car owner would have likely bought car insurance at the time of purchasing a car. Such car insurance companies often work with a lot of authorized car repair workshops. If inquired, insurance agents are likely to assist car owners with a list of quality car repair shops to choose from.
11. Discover community involvement:
Renowned car workshops that have been offering their services in a locality are bound to be active in a lot of communities. Their long-term commitment towards communities can give an idea of their dedication towards the people in a region.
While such kind of involvement gives no clue about their service, it does give an insight about a shop owner’s valued business proposition towards people. Sometimes, events like fundraisers, BBQs, charity events, concerts can bring out the good, sponsoring car workshops out in the wild.
These are some of the common things to know when on the lookout for a quality car repair workshop. It is a known fact that cars are a major investment for a majority of people. It’s important in our lives is next to our homes. Hence, it becomes essential to choose the right car repair shop for a car so that it keeps going on smoothly for miles to come.