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How to Save Money on Auto Repair

Posted on November 11, 2019

What is the one thing car drivers hate more than not being able to speed up on an empty road due to those pesky speed limits? Most drivers hate to take their car to a shop to have their car repaired without knowing how much it will cost in advance. Auto repairs are usually expensive and time-consuming. Some tips on how you can save money on auto repair are listed below.

 Some shops just tell you to hand over your keys and they will call you when they find something. A few hours later they call you and tell you that they fixed the problem and the bill will be more than your monthly salary.

Find a Trusted Mechanic

Find a Trusted Mechanic
As a service advisor, quite often, I got the question “How much is this going to cost me?” Being a professional and being used to hearing this question, I would always give the best and most honest response. “Leave it with us and we will check it out and give you an ESTIMATE before we do any work on your car”.

Your technician should have enough knowledge and experience to reasonably diagnose your car’s problem after spending a bit of time with your car.  Smitty’s Auto Service charges a DIAGNOSTIC fee which would go away if you opted to move forward and proceed with the recommended repair.

Smitty tries to be fair and allow the customer a chance to make a decision before being locked into a repair bill that they can’t afford, right at that very moment, or they are just not ready to proceed at that time.
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Know your Repair Shop

To avoid being stuck between a rock and a hard place and to save money on auto repairs, my advice is to establish a positive relationship with the repair shop that you take your car to.

I can’t tell you the amount of times, I have made adjustments to the bill, given discounts and gone out of my way to help out a regular customer who tries to keep up with their auto repairs.

Know your Mechanic
 
A customer can begin to feel like a close friend or family member within a few good visits. We want you to keep your car forever and we will try our best to keep it healthy and running well at all times.

I remember one customer saying to me that the two most important people in her world, outside of her family, were her Bank Representative and her Mechanic.
Remember Smitty’s Auto Repair Shop is there for you. We understand how important your transportation is to you.
The recommendations that we make are to save you from unnecessary and very expensive repair bills.
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You don’t want to have to mortgage your home just because one thing led to another. If the shop finds something wrong early on when you get your regular free checkups, you can avoid a major catastrophe down the road.

Trust the process, bring your car in and get it checked out regularly. You will truly save in the long run.

Colin Charles
          Colin Charles has worked in the Automotive field for over 35 years. He has owned his own car dealership,
          worked as an executive for VW and Audi in Europe, sold cars for a Toyota franchise and served on the
          advisory board for an automotive program at a college. Currently, he enjoys life as a real estate investor
          and developer but he still holds on to the close bonds he made in the automotive profession.