Choosing the right mechanic or garage owner to work on your vehicle isn’t always the easiest task, especially if you have never worked with a mechanic before and aren’t completely sure about what you are looking for from the service. Never allow yourself to feel pressured into letting somebody work on your car without first understanding the level of service that they offer. To help you along, consider asking all of the following questions so that you can gauge how reliable your mechanic is going to prove to be before you hire them.
What is Wrong With The Car?
This question is intended to help you get an understanding of just how much expertise your mechanic is bringing to the equation. It is important to remember that this is not always a question that can be answered straight away, as there may be a number of different reasons for why an issue is occurring. However, if your mechanic isn’t even able to offer possible causes of the problem, or tries to shy away from the question entirely by telling you they will need to keep the car in the garage to find out, without having offered potential issues they will look for, it may be worth considering another garage.
How Much Do Your Charge?
Once the mechanic has actually identified the issue, they should know how much they are going to charge you to get it fixed. Again, here you are not so much looking for the price, though that is obviously important and can be compared to other quotes you receive, but rather how straight-talking the mechanic is with you. If they won’t give you solid quote when they have established what the issue with the vehicle is, you may find yourself paying over the odds if you let them start work without having come to an understanding.
What Certification Do You Have?
This is an important question to ask of any mechanic if you are going to allow them to carry out a vehicle service while the car is under warranty of if you need an MOT. The mechanic must be able to show they are fully-qualified to work on your type of vehicle if you don’t want to end up voiding the warranty, plus they must be able to show current documents demonstrating their eligibility to carry out MOTs if that is a service that you need them to provide.
How Can I Help?
Sometimes, a mechanic may struggle to figure out the issues without a little guidance from you about what is happening when you drive your car. It is always a good idea to ask how you can help in that situation, both so that you can help your mechanic identify and start working on the issues and so that you can build a more trusting bond between the two of you through your efforts to cooperate. Don’t think that you have nothing to offer, even if you know very little about cars.
