Rick's Free Auto Repair Advice

Find a good mechanic

How to find a good mechanic

If you want to find a good mechanic in your areas, go to iatn.net and click on the Repair Shops tab at the top of the screen.

image of iatn.net website showing how to find a good mechanic

Go to iatn.net and click on Repair Shops to find a good mechanic in your area

The International Automotive Technicians Networks is a ground of independent auto repair shop owners that have banded together to share knowledge and ideas about auto repair. The owners are good mechanics who genuinely care about the car repair industry and want to stay up to date on the latest repair advice and technology.

Good mechanics charge more

Don’t ask me how to find a good mechanic and then ask if he’s cheap. There’s no such thing as a good cheap mechanic. Good mechanics go to school every year to keep up with technology. They own the latest scan tools and diagnostic machines. They work hard at finding the root cause of your car’s problem and they charge for that diagnostic time—just like a doctor would. But, they actually save money because they don’t guess and install unnecessary parts to try and fix the problem. So get over it. If you want an honest reliable good mechanic, be prepared to pay what they’re worth. Also, expect to pay for their diagnostic time. Read this to learn more about the charges for diagnostic time

Avoid chain operated repair shops

Chain operated repair shops look cleaner, have brighter signs, and advertise like crazy. They also have to pay a high percentage of their revenue to the franchise organization. Since they can’t charge more per hour than the really good shops, they have to make it up by jacking up the bill and soaking you for other services once you walk in the door. They have to do those things because they don’t have as many repeat customers. Why? Because they’re not very good at what they do. You may feel more comfortable in their clean waiting rooms, but that good feeling won’t last long once you find out you’ve been ripped off with their latest scam.

Avoid coupon deals

No shop can make money on a $20 oil change. They offer those coupons to get you in the door so they can upsell you on other services. Even top notch dealers use this technique. But there’s a difference between a dealer coupon and a chain operated shop coupon. Sure, dealers do cheap oil changes to get you in the door so they can get your other repair business. But dealers also have to maintain a certain level of service ratings in order to keep their dealership. So they generally (but not always) treat you better. Read these posts on scams

But the chain operated shops are the worst. They offer a brake job for $99, but NOBODY ever winds up paying that price. They’ll hook you for about $500 before you’re out the door.

©, 2016 Rick Muscoplat

 

Save

Posted on by Rick Muscoplat



Custom Wordpress Website created by Wizzy Wig Web Design, Minneapolis MN