Having a car of your own is not a luxury these days. It is a necessity because you then have the liberty of moving to any place at any time. Finding an authorized and certified car mechanic from the local garages is almost next to impossible, if you have to get the warranties. But at the same time, it is also true, that the local mechanics can work best for minor changes that need to be made to the electronic configuration or to the mechanical parts of your car body. It is at this stage that your car might need a mechanic.
There are many mechanics that claim to know all the cars in and out but you should not select the mechanic for your car on a whim.
You should keep these points in mind before selecting car mechanic:
- First of all, you must decide if your car needs a special mechanic or any mechanic will do. If you own a high end car and it uses chip to operate then you must never get it repaired even for a minor scratch from a regular mechanic. Instead you must take the car to the company and get it repaired at their workshop.
- You must also see if your car in under the free service period or not. Many problems that are encountered by the car owners can just be eliminated by getting the car serviced properly. So if your free service is due then instead of going to any mechanic it is better to go to the authorized service station.
- If you really need a mechanic who has a good amount of knowledge of cars and their parts and has reasonable labor charges and fits in genuine parts, then you must ask around. You friend, family members and colleagues can very well guide you to such a mechanic. They can also give you an idea about the labor charges and the charges for the parts that need to be replaced in your car. This will help you get a car mechanic who is tried and tested as well as reliable.
Shortlist some individuals and know about their experiences:
- Many workshops and body shops have their websites online and you can even check for the ratings and reviews for the mechanics. These reviews, however, must be written by the real clients so that you get a fair chance to evaluate the mechanic. Look for mechanics that have mostly positive reviews.
- Even though you have shortlisted a few of the mechanics do not rush to them for the repair. First get and estimate and it is always better to get the estimate in written. The written estimates make sure that if at all the cost of repair exceeds the cost in the estimate then the mechanic will first contact you otherwise they may just do stuff that is not even necessary.
Finally, if you get to see the work of the mechanic in other cars at the workshop it will give you the estimate of his work. A good mechanic will be clean and tidy as well as respectful of the parts that are present in the car. If you see grease on the seat and change in the default radio stations, then probably they did not respect the parts of the car as much as they should and you should avoid being their customer.
