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Imagine yourself stranded in a desolate place at an unearthly hour when your new car or a motor bike getsbogged down and refuses to move. No amount of wringing hands in despair or ruminating over the hard luck is going to help. What matters in such situations is some fill the gap knowledge of auto repair and a few tools and spares or accessories to make the machine run.
Even if one is not trapped in such an unfortunate situation, the cars and other automobiles that you own require periodic service and repair which may prove costly if you do not possess adequate knowledge about their functioning, mechanism and repair. Knowledge is rightly said to be a power. Some unscrupulous auto mechanics may take undue advantage of your ignorance and present hefty bills for small repairs. They may even declare a functioning part dysfunctional and recommend its replacement to make money out of your lack of knowledge.
Here are some points that need to be borne in mind before entrusting your valuable vehicle for repair.
Ask your mechanic to inspect your vehicle and prepare a list of the repairs needed and an estimate of the repair bill. Insist on its written rather than a verbal estimate. Your final bill must not exceed by more than 10 percent of the original estimate. Always ask for the damaged parts to be shown and also insist upon getting back the replaced parts. If you are unsure why the part should be replaced, make further enquiries about the specific damage and why it occurred. It will make you cautious against making similar mistakes in the future. It is advisable not to dispose off the returned parts in a hurry, but retain them for further inspection by some other mechanic to cross verify their dysfunctional state.
Ask the mechanic at the repair shop to supply you the genuine factory manufactured or original equipment-OE- part to replace the old one. There may be an abundance of duplicate parts in the market. Insist upon the warranty of the part and its free replacement without additional service charges.
Do not allow yourself to be taken in by the low repair bills. A mechanic may charge you less on one item, but more than make up for it by overcharging on the other items. So the cheapest option is not always the best option.
The best course would be to get a second option by checking around a few other shops. A comparison shopping will give you a fairly accurate idea of the repair bills. Sometimes a simple tweak here and twist there solves the problem and an unscrupulous mechanic may raise a huge bill and fool you.
A Toyota Avalon (V6 engine) would soon die after the start with the check engine light remaining on. When referred to one mechanic he diagnosed that the engine needed a idle air control motor and air mixture sensor to the tune of $1,100.00 dollars. The car owner took it to another mechanic who removed its idle air control, cleaned and reassembled it and then cleared the trouble codes from the PCM. This fixed the problem.
It is a good idea to read some auto repair book or manual, or, consult some website on the internet on auto repair and the day to day maintenance of your car. At times the basic knowledge acquired from such cheap sources can save huge bills in repairs.
A car owner never changed the oil but always checked the oil level and replenished it. The bad engine oil broke down and failed to lubricate the surfaces on the valve train components besides affecting the camshaft, cylinder head and cam followers. The replacements and repair charges approximating $1500.00 could have been avoided with an elementary knowledge about oil change that is easily available from the auto repair and maintenance books or websites.
When surrendering your car to a mechanic, check his qualifications, current license and certifications - like an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) seal.