The Guide To Choosing A Garage For Car Repairs

Before you even select a garage, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Even if you have little or no knowledge of maintaining a vehicle, it can pay to have a good deal of knowledge about your vehicle should anything go wrong.

Take the time to look around online for details about the problem at hand, or think about buying a Haynes Manual for your particular model.

They can highly some of the common faults for your vehicle model that can easily be fixed without the need for professional intervention.

If you find that you do need a garage, you will have a right under consumer law to be charged for your car or van repair an amount that is reasonable.

However, this will boil down to what you and your garage consider as fair.

To get a better idea of what this amount should be, and after you establish the work that should be done, you can shop around at local garages to see what they are charging.

You should be asking whether the cost given is a quote, or an estimate, also checking whether it will include the parts, labor and the VAT.

Otherwise, you could be slapped with a surprise on the final bill.

Steps to avoid paying too much

These are some helpful tips put together for drivers by Trusted Dealers, to help with getting the best deal:

1. Be sure that all of the work and the parts will be guaranteed for a whole year. This is something that reputable garages offer, but be sure that you ask prior to giving them any money.

2. If something should need replacing, you can talk to the garage to have them show you any parts after, having them explain what it is that they are doing, and why.

Decent garages will be happy to show you the parts, and many dealers will also sent you photos or videos of what needs to be done, along with the finished results.

This can help to cut back on any nasty surprises or confusion.

3. Talk with friends and family to see if they have recommendations on a good garage. Make sure that they drive a similar vehicle to yours, and that they have the same manufacturer.

It makes sense that the absolute best place to go for servicing your vehicle will be with the franchised dealer, but there may also be some other good alternatives.

4. Quizzing technicians about their work history and skills may be a bit much, but you will usually be able to find a great deal of information on any dealership online, including whether or not they are a member of some of the major trade bodies like the NFDA, or if they have signed up to Motor Codes.

These will guarantee the different sets of standards and can be a potential selling point, so many dealers will want to highlight such memberships.

5. Finally, you need to make sure that you are able to get a receipt, which you can keep safely with your vehicle records.

Having a good service history will add tremendous value to your vehicle, and there will be evidence suggesting that having a stamped service log from a major dealer can add a great deal of money to the resale price in the future.