
Employees should welcome you to the shop and seem genuine. You can tell a lot by a shop if you just take a look around.Ī high-quality and honest shop will be pretty busy. If you have a shortlist of a few shops to consider, give them an in-person visit. Your coworkers might have horror stories about different mechanics which is just as useful - now you know where to avoid. You’re just looking to see who other people are using. People like your family, friends, and coworkers can share their insights if they tried different mechanics. When I move to a new area, one of the first things I’ll do is ask around for a good auto shop. In this case, you’ll have to stick with my other suggestions on this list. If a shop has a lot of reviews and a rating over 4 stars, then it’s probably a good bet.Ĭertain shops have no online presence, but they do a great job. For example, if everyone complains about the mechanic lying and charging for services they didn’t perform, you should run away from that shop. If all the 1-star reviews have the same complaint, then there might be some truth behind it. The secret is to look at what the reviews say. Sure, competitors can pay people to leave fake reviews, but they’re typically easy to spot. Online reviews are a powerful tool when it comes to finding an honest mechanic.
#My mechanic how to#
How to Find an Honest Mechanicĭoing a little homework ahead of time will help you find an honest mechanic before something goes wrong. So, when should you go to the mechanic? Whenever you want to or whenever the repair is too big for your hands. Other people will comfortably rebuild an engine on their own and “mechanic” is a four-letter word.
#My mechanic free#
If you’re not mechanically savvy, don’t have lots of free time, or want to leave it to the pros, then there’s nothing wrong with taking your car to a mechanic for every repair. I went into more detail in my guide all about when to go to a mechanic, but here’s a general idea: you want to go to a mechanic any time the repair is outside of your comfort zone.įor some people, this means going to a mechanic for everything including oil changes and tire rotations.


At the end of the day, this could be thousands of dollars essentially stolen from your pocket. You want an honest person working on your car that will correctly diagnose your issue, tell you what’s actually going on, and charge you accordingly.Ī dishonest mechanic will upcharge you, do repairs you never agreed to, and scare you into fixes that you didn’t want. Plus, this industry can get pretty pricy pretty fast.

They’ll be doing the work behind closed doors. You need an honest mechanic for the same reasons that you need an honest doctor. If you think of a mechanic as a “car doctor”, everything starts to make more sense. With that out of the way, let’s talk about the good stuff. I’m just looking to help people who might be a little lost when it comes to this topic. When it comes to honesty in an auto shop, people tend to get fired up and I have no problem with that. I know that some people will disagree with different points I make, and that’s perfectly okay. I also want to mention that all of the following thoughts are my personal thoughts. It doesn’t make sense that someone will open it strictly to scam people - there are better ways to do that. To open an auto repair business takes a lot of effort and money. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen, just that in my experience it hasn’t happened. I’m yet to find a shop or hear a firsthand account of a shop that scams people and lies. So far, every mechanic shop I’ve worked with has been filled with genuine and honest guys. I grew up working on cars, so I know how the process goes. First off, I strongly believe that most mechanics are honest. I want to start this out with a quick disclaimer. I also have some information about finding an honest one in the first place. In this guide, I put together 15 ways to know if your mechanic is honest. If your mechanic is dishonest, then leave their shop and find an honest one. Ideally, your mechanic will explain things to you, answer your questions, and try to save you money on repairs or replacements. Look for red flags during your regular interactions with them. To find an honest mechanic, you need to screen them a little bit.

Unless you have a lie detector in your trunk, how are you supposed to know if your mechanic is honest? Finding an honest mechanic is a great way to ensure your repairs are done correctly, timely, and at the right price.
