6 Common Mistakes When Selecting an Auto Repair Center

TAMPA, Fla. - Sept. 14, 2014 - PRLog -- I've been I this industry for 40 years and I still see the same phone calls and mistakes customers make being repeated time and time again. I'm talking about finding a shop that you trust that is competent to work on your vehicle.

1st Mistake: Shopping Purely For Price.

Money is tight for a lot of us. But there is usually only one correct way to do a job properly and a competent shop will do only what is necessary but all that is necessary to correct your problem. You wouldn't believe how many prices I give and get the job only to find that what they got a price for wasn't what was wrong with the vehicle.

2nd Mistake: How Much If I Bring My Own Parts?

Even though We do install some customers parts we can't warranty the work if we don't supply the part.

3rd Mistake: A Part is a Part.

Definitely not true especially with the mass amounts of Chinese made parts on the market at a significantly lower price. Some of these cheaper parts are ok and we will use them to save you money but the only way to know which is good or which is bad is experience.

4th mistake: I Read on the Internet......

The internet is an awesome tool but most of the time your questions are answered by "my car did that once and they fixed it by...." Each make and model car has different common issues that occur within that make /model. What fixed a Nissan won't be the same fix as a Chevy. Most of the time the person that gave their advice is just as lost as you may be about your problem.

5th Mistake:" Don't You Have a Machine That You Can Hook up to My Car to Tell us What is Wrong With it."

We have 10's of thousands of dollars of scanners/laptops/diagnostic software and programs. These are only tools that are no better than the technician that is working on your vehicle. The data is analyzed by the technician based on the issues that the vehicle has. I've seen many times that multiple trouble codes are fixed with one component not multiple components or no parts at all. If you go to your local discount parts house to get a free codes check and end up buying a bunch of parts and your vehicle is still not fixed then you know what I mean.

6th mistake: Loss Leader Advertisement That Sound to Good to be True.

They're designed to get you in the door. Nobody is giving much of anything away they just want to up sell.  Keep in mind, "WHEN IT COMES TO AUTO REPAIR, THIS IS NOT A SALES BUSINESS IT IS A SERVICE BUSINESS", the car either needs it or it doesn't .

Summing this up the most important is not to research you particular car problem but to research to find a competent Shop. The internet is a great tool for this and so is word of mouth. The #1 thing is to build a business RELATIONSHIP with your shop and both to COMMUNICATE. When we have repeat customers we learn what each of their needs are so we can serve them the best for their situation.

For more information, visit http://autorepairtampa.com