When people have car troubles and they go online searching for a new mechanic they ask themselves, “What should I look for in a good mechanic?”. And in our opinion that should be a shop with a history of recurring customers and transparency. Many new shops have it tough as they haven’t built a history with a loyal client base. But any good shop will try their best to go above and beyond to earn the trust of their customers to get them to want to write reviews for them and come back to the shop as the experience was pleasant. Transparency, is when the mechanic shop staff takes the time to explain the problem and the repairs to you.
Fake Reviews and Other Tricks
When many people research a new local mechanic they quickly check to see what kind of reviews the shop gets. Unfortunately, there are many services that offer fake reviews. When looking at the reviews it is important to check the dates and make sure that all the positive reviews aren’t clustered on specific dates and months. If most of the shop’s reviews were posted within a few days of each other then you can guess that the reviews are not legitimate. Also look at the content of the reviews. When customers are very happy with the service they received they will usually write the reason why they really enjoyed the service the shop provided. Fake reviewers will post a one sentence ambiguous comment saying something like, “service was good.”.
A good shop will also be clean. The same way the cleanliness of the bathroom at a restaurant can give you an idea of how clean the kitchen is so can the cleanliness of a mechanic shop. Auto repair is dirty work and if the shop is not cared for it will quickly reflect that. That lack of care for the work environment can also reflect the level of care the staff has for their work they do and the business. The lack of cleanliness will affect the quality of the work the shop performs.
Explaining and Showing Their Work
A good mechanic shop, will have no problem taking the time to explain and show their work to you. Most people don’t know all the different components and parts that make a car work, but everybody can understand when they see something leaking, broken, rusty, or damaged. Everybody carries a high definition camera in their smart phone with a fast internet connection. A good mechanic shop will take the time to show you the damaged, leaking, broken, or rusty part with pictures or even better yet video.
A transparent shop will demonstrate how the part is broken and show you that evidence. We have seen other shops send pictures and videos of the whole car to their customers while stating in the video a part is broken or needs replacement without actually demonstrating the how or where the part is broken. Be careful of shops and dealers that refuse to include pictures or send you video that show you nothing.
In the video above you can see how our reputable shop’s service advisor records a video to send to our customer showing them how the bushing has play on the rear control arm in their vehicle. We demonstrate how the bushing has excessive play when force is applied to it. These bushings are supposed to have very little movement and the visible rust shows that the parts are old and worn.
These are the two most important things we have noticed when customers have come to us from less reputable shops asking us about our repair process. If you are local to Long Island City or Astoria, New York then feel free to give us a visit!
