“As a singer, you can’t hear what’s coming out of your throat; you’re only hearing it from the inside, so you need a trusted person who knows how your voice works. It’s like a car. You take it to the same mechanic because they know it inside out, and every time you get it back, it works fantastic”. Stephen Costello
Stephen Costello couldn’t have said it any better. If you’re lucky enough to have a go to auto repair shop, that piece of mind is priceless. If you’re in search of an auto repair shop, we hope you’ll choose us at All Around Auto Repair, of course. If you aren’t near us, and want a little something closer to home, we thought it’d be a cool idea to give you a set of guidelines when choosing your next auto repair shop.
Ask Questions
This is by far the most important step! There’s so much information around, and so many people that are willing to give you advice on what to ask when deciding on an auto repair shop. Don’t just pick someone that’s cheap. Make sure that auto repair shop is also respected as well as inexpensive. The best thing to do is ask your friends, family and co-workers. Everyone has a connection somewhere, seek it out, but be mindful as well.
Don’t Wait
Honestly, we don’t blame anyone for this! If there’s nothing wrong with your car, why would you need to be researching an auto repair shop? But, we believe it’s a great thing to do. It can be such a terrible feeling to have your car malfunction, and at that exact moment, you have no idea where or whom to go to.
Pre-Plan! Especially during the Holidays and this cold weather. One of our new client’s car started up and then shut off immediately after. He was lucky to have researched our auto repair shop and reached out to us the week prior. He seriously felt his car was going to break down soon. We gave him an emergency number because he works early in the morning when it’s been extremely cold. We concluded, since his car was an older one with a lot of miles, and the weather had dipped to 25 degrees, that the ignition switch may have frozen over. We told him to wait until the temperature warmed up, then to try it again. He did, and the car turned on and he went on his way. We are glad he called us! In our experience, people will continue trying to get their vehicle going and start doing unnecessary damage.
Reviews
I think we all can agree, most everyone is connected to the internet. Knowing a lot of local business owners, the feelings about online reviews are mixed. A close friend of ours owns a restaurant and doesn’t believe in the online reviews. “You aren’t going to please everyone in the food business”, he says. “It’s not fair that if someone doesn’t like your food and reviews it negatively, then that review can end up costing us other customers.”
We see his point, but with auto repair shops, we think reviews are vitally important to bringing in clients. We want people to know that we are a respectable auto repair shop. We also want people to know that there are bad auto repair shops out there. Without reviews, you must go on trust. And that can be a slippery slope, especially if you haven’t been refereed to the auto repair shop by someone.
Dealer Vs Local
This is another slippery slope. In some cases, people feel more inclined to bring their car to the dealer auto repair shop. There’s some piece of mind knowing that their car will be worked on by someone who’s sole purpose is that make and model. The price will almost always be more than that of a local auto repair shop.
If you’re getting routine or even heavy-duty work done on your car, a local garage will be your best bet. They can handle major fixes like wheel alignment, electrical issues, engine repair or windshield repair without charging you an exorbitant amount of money. A local auto repair shop must have a wider scope of knowledge because we will work on all makes and models. Again, the preference is solely up to you; unless you have a vehicle that has parts that can only be fixed by a dealer. We are looking at you Ford!
Auto Repair Shop
In all reality, we don’t want your car to ever have any issues. We know, if this were the case, we’d be searching for a new line of work. But, unfortunately, your modes of transportation will eventually need some type of work done. Whether it’s minor or major, choosing an auto repair shop shouldn’t be overwhelming. Just ask questions, find an auto repair shop before something goes wrong, read reviews and maybe go local over a dealer. If you have any questions for us, or if you’d like to come in for an estimate, you can contact us here.
Here’s a little auto repair shop humor: “We guarantee fast service, no matter how long it takes”.
