How do I know if a Mechanic is Ripping Me Off?

Unless you have a friend or family member who is well versed in automobiles, finding a trusty mechanic can be an intimidating process. We would love to believe that people in the service industry are inherently trustworthy, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. 

Although you may never know for sure until you’ve had service done at a specific auto garage, there are a few things you can do to ensure the shop you’re visiting is trustworthy. Below, we share four tips on what to look for in a trusted mechanic.

1. Check Out Google Plus – One of the first places you should look while doing your homework on a mechanic is to see if the company has a Google+ page. Google+ is a more professional social media site where users with a valid Google account can leave honest feedback about the company. Customers can score the service they received on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the best. If you head on over to our page, you’ll see that we currently have a 4.6/5.0 rating. We’re pleased to have so many 5-star ratings, but we’re committed to improving that score every day.

2. Visit Other Social Media Pages – Customers are often a little more vocal on sites like Facebook and Twitter, but one thing to look for is how the company responds to complaints and praise. You might think, “Why should I care if a company takes the time to thank a customer for kind words on Twitter or respond to a negative post on Facebook as long as they do good work on my car?” Sure, it probably doesn’t matter to you that someone else had a problem because it’s not yours, but if a company shows that they are committed to resolving issues and reaching out to customers it shows that customer satisfaction is very important to them. If they value customer satisfaction, odds are they won’t jack up the price of service just to make a few more bucks.

3. Ask Around – Talk to friends and family about their experience with certain mechanics in the area. Since everyone has to have regular maintenance done on their vehicle, odds are you’ll get plenty of advice if you simply ask. Maybe your friend knows a great mechanic, or your brother-in-law had a bad experience with a certain shop. Many of our new customers hear about us from someone they know, and we’re glad our customers are happy to talk about their experience at Affordable Auto.

4. Bypass the Big Boys – We’ll save you the “buy local” spiel and explain why some of the national chains aren’t the best choice for your car. The thing is, although the national garages might be able to offer a slightly slower price to preform maintenance on your vehicle, you might be sacrificing quality work to save a few bucks. Many of the national chains hire young mechanics either right out of trade school or with only a few years of experience. It’s commendable that they are helping them get into the industry, but sometimes these mechanics aren’t the most knowledgeable, simply because they haven’t been in the industry long enough. At Affordable Auto, six of our technicians have a combined 150 years of experience working on all types of makes and models. They’ve seen it all and fixed it all. Put your trust in experienced mechanics.