Good Car Mechanic Finding Guide

September 13, 2017

Finding a good mechanic can be a very difficult business, and it’s a particularly important aspect in your life if you have any dependency on your vehicle. Being able to trust your mechanic to be both knowledgeable and honest is essential – a dishonest mechanic may sell you expensive parts, do unnecessary work, and charge far more than a fair price and because so many people are uncertain about the intricacies of vehicles, there is often very little you can do about it. Equally, a mechanic who lacks knowledge or experience could improperly diagnose faults, possibly leaving you with a dangerous vehicle, and taking more time and money to find the root of the problem.

We used to depend on word-of-mouth and friendly recommendations, or even just sheer luck, to find good repair shops, but thankfully we now have another tool at our disposal: the internet. It’s so easy to hop online and click through review sites, which give you access to a vast range of people’s experiences and thoughts, all on one screen. It is, of course, important to be discerning about review sites – sometimes businesses will review their own company, or pay people to post positive stories – but you can generally filter through these by searching for patterns and looking for reviews which highlight specific details; these usually spring from a real story. Many sites also attempt to filter out misleading reviews themselves to help consumers get accurate information.

There are a whole range of websites, including Yelp, which allows you to specifically search auto repairs and set your area and distance to travel, making sure you get only relevant information close to home. Yelp has an enormous database of information, meaning you’re likely to get enough reviews on a business to be sure of their veracity, and also giving you a wide range of options. You could also try just googling your area’s auto repair shops and seeing what comes up – really exceptional places are likely to get noticed and pull in reviews on a variety of sites.

Another website which offers reviews for a wide range of businesses, including auto repairs, is Angie’s List. The paid-for-membership website probably offers more reliable reviews, as it reduces the temptation for businesses to try and boost their own ratings, but it does have less reviews and options than free websites. It could be a great way to verify what you’ve read on other websites, backing up general impressions you’ve managed to form with a few reliable stories.

You could also try Message Boards, on which enthusiastic users will often post about their local dealerships, once again offering you real user experiences and conversations at the click of a button. As always, it’s important to look for patterns to get a clear picture of the business, as one user could have a terrible experience where a hundred people have had a great one. Don’t be put off by or sold on a single review, but try to form an overall picture by reading plenty.

There are lots of different ways to find helpful reviews online, and you could use these websites in tandem with family-and-friend recommendations to really make sure you’re finding someone trustworthy and reliable before you take your vehicle to them.