How To Choose A Mechanic
Perhaps one of the most important people in your life, your auto mechanic can make your automotive life absolutely wonderful or a living hell of never ending expenses. Finding a mechanic you can trust is of paramount importance, and is pretty easy to do—when you know how to choose a mechanic.
Ask For Recommendations
Talk to your friends and co-workers (especially the ones who have very clean well-kept looking cars like yours). Ask where they take them. If you’re new to an area, services like Yelp and Angie’s List can be handy, as long as you take the online recommendations with a grain of sal— and follow up with a personal site inspection. Stories are surfacing about companies who game Yelp by paying for favorable reviews.
Look For Certifications
The first time you visit the shop, look to see if the mechanics are ASE Certified. The National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence requires two years of experience and some pretty rigorous testing before conferring certification upon an individual. Similarly, certain manufacturers will certify independent mechanics. Keep in mind individual mechanics get certifications—not garages. So make sure the certification you see belongs to the person doing your work.
Check The Condition Of The Shop
Is the garage area clean and well-organized? When it comes to working on a complex mechanical device like a car, organization is paramount. A lost bolt can be the difference between a perfect repair and a mysterious rattle. Thing are lost less frequently in a clean, well-organized environment.
Are There A Bunch Of Derelict-looking Cars About?
This one kind of dovetails into the previous tip; if there are lots of cars sitting around in various stages of dis-repair, it either says the person running the shop is a hoarder, or they aren’t very efficient in terms of getting cars repaired and back out on the street. The last thing you want is your car to become part of the garage’s collection.
Will They Answer Questions And Show You The Problem?
We’ve all heard stories of people taking their car in for a problem and hearing thousands of dollars worth of work is required—only to go to another mechanic to learn the issue can be resolved for next to nothing. Ask to see the problem, if they get irritated, or if you feel something’s not right, take your car elsewhere.
At Bud Brown Volkswagen, we believe that getting your car or crossover serviced with us will not be a hassle. Our customers will tell you how great our service advisors and technicians are above all other dealerships in the Kansas City Metro area. Our technicians use genuine Volkswagen parts to make things right! Contact us to find out what we can do for you!