We’ve all heard horror stories from people who have been fleeced by mechanics and garages – with some repair garages handing out bills for thousands of pounds like sweets. A recent survey showed some garages charging a crazy £92 per hour in some areas of the UK!

Even if you are “mechanically minded” the increasing complexity of cars makes DIY repair almost impossible, this means that average drivers are more reliant on professional garage services than ever…

So how do you choose a honest, value for money garage for servicing and repairs?

Here are our top tips to help avoid costly / rogue garages and mechanics.

Get Recommendations.

Seems fairly obvious but ask your friends and reletives who they use and trust to work on their cars, if you are still unsure they read actual customer reviews online at specialist garage review websites such as The Good Garage Scheme. These reviews come from actual customers and are not influenced by the garages themeselves.

Local Garages vs Main Dealers.

Some people prefer to take their car to an authorised repair / service center – which is fine, but small local garages can often offer a better service for you and your car whilst saving you money, use a small local garage which has been owned by the same proprietor for years, he will care about his reputation for fairness and quality.

Is the work Guaranteed?

Almost all reputable garages will offer 12 months parts and labour guarantee on the work they carry out, so before you part with your cash make sure you get a proper guarantee.

Ask to see the replaced parts.

Even if you have no idea what part does what on your vehicle you should always ask to see any parts that a mechanic replaces and don’t feel awkward asking why it was replaced, any genuine garage will be able to show you the part(s) they have replaced.

And finally… get and keep all receipts for any work done on your vehicle – it won’t help you choose a good mechanic but keeping receipts and having a full service history will only add to the value of your car should you sell it in the future.

Still totally confused about finding a good, honest mechanic to fix or service your car? Why not give us a call on  01706 299155  – you can bring your car down and have a friendly chat about any vehicle problems you are having.