Like death and taxes, car repairs are an unavoidable part of life and with the costs involved in keeping a car in good shape increasing all the time it is important to know the best strategies for avoiding unnecessary expenses.
Some of these savings can be made simply by following maintenance schedules for your vehicle but more importantly knowing how to deal with the repairer when it comes time for a visit to the repair shop.
From being a self employed motor mechanic for the last six years of my life and hearing tales of woe from vehicle owners on an almost daily basis I can comfortably say that there are more dishonest shop owners in our industry than we would care to admit.
Unfortunately when the consumer is totally uneducated to the way these repair shops work they are often taken for a ride, simply because they have no choice but to believe what they are being told by the repairer.
The key here is knowledge.
Arming yourself even with the most basic information about how your vehicle works and what to look for in a repairer has the potential to save you thousands of dollars on your repair bills.
Many repairers will take your lack of knowledge about your motor vehicle as an invitation to fill your head with stories of additional repairs need to be carried out and why these repairs need to be done immediately when this simply may not be the case.
Quite a few workshops also employ tactics that encourage you to take your car in for a discount service that may seem great value on the outside but often times it is merely a way to get your car in their workshop so they can up sell you on a host of other 'necessary' repairs.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for making a living from the service you provide but how can you be sure that what you are being told is the absolute truth? Sure there are honest mechanics and workshop owners out there and if you have been lucky enough to find one I suggest you treat them like gold.
If they value your business and their reputation I am sure they will treat you just as good however if you have not been so lucky now is the time to educate yourself and start saving your hard earned dollars instead of lining the pockets of these not-so-honest operators.