Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Cars

5 Tips to Finding a Local Car Mechanic

For most of us, cars are an essential part of our daily lives. This might be hard to understand for those who would rather take the bus, but for the ones that own a car, it is like another child. This isn’t an exaggeration; taking our vehicle to the shop can be as expensive as taking a member of your family to the doctor. We have to be very careful when choosing a place to take our vehicles for maintenance and repair. A good mechanic is just as important as a good lawyer or dentist because a good and reliable mechanic can be the difference between paying a fair price or spending a small fortune. Likely, you have many auto shops in your area, so how do you choose the right one? Here are some tips to make that decision much easier:

Compare prices on each service: Regardless of if your car is new or old, it will need standard maintenance before long. Before this time comes, visit different shop around your area and see how much they charge for the different services they offer. This will help you to have an idea of an average cost. Remember that what is more expensive is not always better. Sometimes the cost depends on what the shop pays for in rent or the number of workers they have. Like in every business, every aspect affects the price of the service and product.

Always ask for references: We have several different ways to know if a service worth the price or not. A good idea is to browse websites where you can ask for a review of a specific place or reviews are collected. If the place is around the area where you live, it is almost certain that a person you know has used the service, so asking among your friends and neighbors can also help to find out how about the quality of service.

Find a convenient shop: Another important aspect of finding a mechanic is the location. You can find a great shop but if the place is across the city, it may be not very convenient in an emergency. Also take into consideration that the low rates may make up for what you will be spending in gas to get there. You can find your closest mechanics by Googling your location and by using other sites that can help you for quick local car mechanic localization.

Check work timing and commitment: Everything is about money. For a mechanic, time is money. If the shop charges per man hour (the most likely case), you have to make sure they finish the job well and quick, or at least in the estimated time they said at the time of quoting. Now, if the shop charges by the job, the time is money for you, so you have to make sure they work at a steady pace or you will end up paying a bit more in taxis or other forms of transport.

Always analyze the quality of the job: The last but not least point to consider and maybe, the most important of all of them, is quality. No matter if you found the best price or the most convenient location, if the job isn’t done right, your car will be back in the shop. So always, always consider the quality over everything else.

Written By

Thanks for reading this article. If you're new here, why don't you subscribe for regular updates via RSS feed or via email. You can also subscribe by following @techsling on Twitter or becoming our fan on Facebook. Thanks for visiting!

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. Jade Young

    May 9, 2018 at 11:51 am

    I agree that recommendations of friends and family members is beneficial to get a reliable local car mechanics. We could also do some research on the internet to find the best repairing center of a particular region. A lot of factors also needs to be considered while choosing such repairing center. Cost of repairing is one of such important factor. However, always choosing a cheaper repairing center in the place of better one could cost a lot of money. So, it is always recommended to choose a reliable repairing center which has a better reputation in a particular locality.

  2. Janet Chua

    May 16, 2018 at 8:25 am

    Choosing a good car mechanic is an important task for a car owner. It is better to choose a local car mechanic for our car. But it is not an easy task. In this blog the author has mentioned 5 tips for finding a local car mechanic. We must ask our friends and family members & co-workers before finding out a reliable car mechanic. We have to do some research on the internet to find out a good repair shop in a particular area. We should always check the quality of the job and the work timing & commitment of the mechanic before choosing him.

  3. Ridley Fitzgerald

    October 1, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    We’re going to need a mechanic soon our new area. Our transmission has been having some issues, and I definitely don’t know how to fix that myself. I’ll start visiting different shops to compare their prices and services, like you said. Hopefully, I can find one before my car actually breaks down.

  4. Penelope Smith

    November 8, 2018 at 1:36 am

    I am about to purchase my first car. It is good to know that I should think about how convenient the shop is. I wouldn’t want to drive too far away from my home to get repairs done. Also, it might be smart for me to look for public transportation near the shop.

  5. Ashwin

    November 28, 2018 at 6:40 pm

    My car needs to go into the shop and get some parts updated. The problem is that I don’t have a ton of money to do this. I’m grateful that I was able to find this and get some insights.

  6. julien alexandre

    December 1, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    Great tips here, yes you are right asking friends and taking there advice is the important thing. But the most important think that i consider is the quality to services. We should go for the quality work.

    Thanks

  7. Charlice Eedu

    December 19, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    Thank you for this excellent article.

    While there are thousands of things you can do to save costs, one of the simplest way of saving money on your auto repair is to have a good maintenance culture.

    Taking proper care of your car when it’s still in good working condition will ensure that it lasts longer. And it’s understood that changing things like the transmission fluid at the appropriate time.

    Instead of going to your local auto shop to change your oil, you can get yourself a high-quality synthetic oil and STP oil filter and change it yourself.

    Not only will this cut your expenses, but it will also reduce the time wasted parading your local mechanic shop.

  8. Ellie Davis

    February 6, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    I loved that you mentioned asking for references will help you to find a good mechanic for your car. My husband and I are new in town, and we are looking for advice to find an auto repair shop to help him. I will let him know about your recommendations to find the best mechanic available to help my husband in case of an emergency.

  9. Zoe Campos

    August 26, 2020 at 11:08 am

    Thanks for telling me to visit a lot of auto shops within our area so I’d be able to compare their prices and offered services. I’m driving an old vehicle that was used to be my father’s so it would need more maintenance than newer models because of its age. I’ll follow your advice and ensure that I’ll be trusting the right shop when it comes to auto repair services.

  10. Zoe Campos

    December 15, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    It really helped when you suggested that I can just use Google to find auto shops that are near my current location. I think that there’s something wrong with my brake pads and I can’t afford to drive and risk myself. I’ll follow your advice and hope that I can find a mechanic who can immediately work on my failing brakes.

  11. Zoe Campos

    January 1, 2021 at 3:47 pm

    I totally agree that we should consider the location when it comes to finding a mechanic that we can trust. As you mentioned, I’m someone who considers my car as an essential part of my daily routine and I won’t be able to drive it further if it breaks down. If I were to have my car repaired, I’d rather have it done at a nearby shop for my own convenience.

  12. Zoe Campos

    April 7, 2021 at 3:55 pm

    Thanks for suggesting that I browse websites to check if I can find reviews for a specific auto body shop. There’s a small dent in my car that I’ve ignored for months and now I want to have it fixed. To ensure that I’ll be trusting the right people to do it, I’ll check first what their previous clients have to say.

  13. tracy

    January 6, 2022 at 6:50 am

    I would add that you should talk to mechanic first and do not tell them the problem with your car. Therefore you will have an idea about their experience and how to assess the problem.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You May Also Like

Cars

No matter what car you drive, you will need a car mechanic for the service, repair, and maintenance of your car. Either you choose...