This in itself can be as frustraighting as getting your vehicle worked on. I have owned 3 mechanic shops and 2 autobody shops. I have had my hands involved in every aspect of the trade and will give you some of the tips that will “Help” you choose a shop that will perform for you.
1. Dealerships – Not the greatest. You pay top dollar for work being performed by “Students”
Walk into almost any dealership and you find 90% of the mechanics are 24 and younger. The dealership is a great place for a beginner to go and get his feet wet. Most provide free training and school them in “Their” methods of doing things. Mostly you find young people being trained in only one aspect of the repair trade. Either they are JUST a suspension guy, or electrical, or diagnostics, or transmissions. You rarely find someone out of a dealership that is a “General” mechanic.
The other 10% will be older guys who are actually the “goto” guys. When the young guys can’t figure it out and the computer cant help them, they step in. They are also more in the lines of a general all around mechanic.
I personally have a problem paying premium dollar for someone to learn on my automobile.
Dealerships seem to have a high length of time diagnosising automobiles because the dealership is actually a school of sorts. So take note when thinking of a dealership when you have a real problem with your car.
2. Franchise shops – I won’t go into names but I am sure you will know the shops I am talking of. There are some decent mechanics in “some” of these franchises. It seems most franchises will hire 1 or 2 real mechanics and then the rest are newbie or being taught. Franchises don’t seem to pay to much money for their help. They do charge for the work! Most all the franchise shops work off a commission basis to pay their employees. Meaning, expect some selling to be done so they are making sure their mechanic is going to make wages for the week so he doesn’t look for a job elsewhere. This is life in the auto industry. Also, Franchises don’t make that much money by selling a lot of labor work. They make their money off the parts. That’s why when you get an oil change they always say, you need this that and whatever else I can shove in your car.
My favorite one runs a commercial on tv ALL the time that says “Front brake job $29.95″ Followed by “Lifetime warranty” in the fine print below it “price for pads only, Warranty void if complete brake job is not done!” When you into the shop, you will be requested to install new rotors and caliphers. I don’t care how old the car is, they “must” replace them, then you ask about the warranty and are told unless you have all new parts there is NO warranty. So by the time you leave the shop, you just spent 400 bucks on a front brake job!
4. My advice, stay away from Large franchise shops.
Next would be your medium size shop. Has maybe 3 to 10 people working for him.
He has a better chance of getting what you need done as he is small enough he can be ruined by word of mouth. Word of mouth is also NOT the greatest way to find out about a shop. You might ask Joe Blow about a shop and he will say “Great Place, been going there for a couple years!”
All he has ever had done there is oil changes! Ask a few people, take not one persons word on anything.
Ask the shop if they are a member of the better business bureau. If he is, that is a plus. Once again, the wrong word especially from BBB can kill a business.
How clean is the shop? That is a great indication of the treatment your automobile will get.
One of my shops was a 4 man shop and another had 15 guys. All my shops were spotless. Busy and still spotless. You run across a dirty shop, you ran across someone who really doesn’t care for what they do and their uncleanliness will show in their work. Be upfront, Ask what brand parts will be used and what warranties are covered for parts and labor. In general if a shop says no warranty on labor, He is using a cheap parts supplier like 3 chains I know of but will not name. A “real” parts store passes on the warranty to the retailer. Ie.. If I put a fuel pump in your car and it goes bad. My supplier gives me another pump AND pays 90% of the labor involved. Most times 100% depending on shop rates. Cheap franchise parts dealers say they will cover labor, but at half the time and half the labor rate. And most the time not even then they just tell the shop they will give them a free case of carb cleaner or something stupid.
Also, ask what type of equipment the shop uses. When you walk in, do you see a computer? If so, Ask him if uses Mitchell or Alldata. A good shop will use such software. Once again, show organization. That gets carried on in the work performed. Ask what type of computer diagnostic machines he uses. Whether you know what they are or not. You can generally tell if they are knowledgeable about their equipment.
In summary: I prefer a medium size shop that has been around a few years and keeps a clean shop and uses a reputable parts wholesaler that backs him up if a part goes bad. A shop that utilizes its computers and stays up with the times. The medium size shops have a lot of money invested and the owner will try to be sure you are getting a fair deal and good work so you come back. Dealerships work on the revolving door theory. They might sell 30 new cars that week, well they just 30 more new customers for their shop so they could care less about the 30 they just made mad. Franchises work in close to the same manner. Its SALE SALE SALE! Got to make the franchise money! Who cares if you come back, there are 30 more behind you! When I was younger I was sent to Texas to learn the upper management strategies of a well known Tire branch. I quit the training because of what they were teaching. Its about rotation of customers. No care for long term. And that is why you don’t see as many tire companies running the mechanic franchises to this day.
