When your trusty vehicle breaks down and you know it's time to pay a visit to a mechanic you almost shudder at the thought of what kind of money its going to cost you. What's even worse is if you don't have a mechanic that you can already trust that means you have to start shopping around for one. This can be the most difficult task but first of all you need to decide where to start and then you need to be able to know how to judge their qualifications.
Ideally, if you have a friend or neighbor that has a mechanic that they've used in the past then it's going to be easier for you. There are some things you need to look for when you start searching out your mechanic. First of all, you want to know that they're organized and that they can provide you with a written estimate for your auto repair. Nothing is worse than to bring your car in and have them verbally quote a hundred dollars to do it and when you go to pick up you're paying six or seven hundred.
Another thing that some people are doing is when they've had a car repair and a part replaced they ask for the old part. This way they have a little bit of assurance that at lease the work is done. There are several mechanic shops that are certified such as with the Better Business Bureau or the people from Triple A and this gives a little bit more credence to their credibility.
Unfortunately, car repair scams are on the rise and there are multitudes of dollars lost every year through it. Some believe that finding a good mechanic is just a hit and miss adventure and if it doesn't work out well the first time then you just don't go back a second time. That first-time visit can be detrimental if the repair is not done correctly, as it could be a safety issue.
There are different types of repair scams. There's the ones were they just plain rip you off and put in some faulty used-car part. Or there's the ones where they don't even change the part to begin with. Then there's the ones where you go in and they check out your car and then tell you that there's some really serious problems when there's really not that much wrong with that at all.
The other thing is that a lot of these mechanic scam artists have learned to read their potential clients. If the individual client looks like he doesn't know too much about cars that's just an open invitation for the crooked mechanic to take advantage of the person.
It's a really a good idea to keep yourself aware of all the possible potential scams that can be done when it comes to car repairs. At least when you have a little bit of knowledge by being aware of scams you may not fall prey to one.
