Trusting garages

[obi_waynne]

Do you use the same garage every time or do you shop around.

Have you built up trust in a garage? What sort of things build or erode your trust in a garage?

It's a shame that a lot of the motortrade have been given a bad name by the mionority of rip off merchants.

I think though that if we take our car in for a service and the next day our door starts rattling we blame the garage? Why do you think this is?

 

[turbonutter69]

If the cars been to the garage an then something happens after it's always the garages fault lol. I dunno why but it usually is... There is a garage at the end of my mums street that we take all our cars to for the Mot. They know us well and even pass my car with the rainbow sidelights still in. If they think they should fail it they don't. They just advise it as they know it will get done straight away. I do really trust them as I've built a relationship with them. Plus I used to work there with the mechanic that does my Mot's. An I use to go to school with the other 1....

 

[stamford]

I trust our local village garage, he runs on reputation alone, so he does my MOT's. However I do all of my own work as I do not believe in paying their labour rates.

At times we have to trust main dealers for some work that is part of the warranty etc or because we do not have the specialist tools. I did this once at a Vauxhall dealer, I got shafted and complained bitterly, after the manager reading my letter he couldn't do enough. Helps being an engineer and filling the letter will engineering speak, they don't stand a chance!

 

[turbonutter69]

I trust our local village garage, he runs on reputation alone, so he does my MOT's. However I do all of my own work as I do not believe in paying their labour rates.

At times we have to trust main dealers for some work that is part of the warranty etc or because we do not have the specialist tools. I did this once at a Vauxhall dealer, I got shafted and complained bitterly, after the manager reading my letter he couldn't do enough. Helps being an engineer and filling the letter will engineering speak, they don't stand a chance!

Nice 1... I agree about doing repairs on the car at home. The labour charge alone is ridiculous. I'd rather buy the parts an do it myself. I'll even buy some special tools if I ain't got them. Sometimes works out cheaper doing that than paying labour charges...

 

[BAD63R]

There are some DIY i'll do myself but every now and then I like to take the old gal to a proper garage so I can keep the service history tickerty-boo. The garage I use is very trustworthy and even do profile of your car on first visit, that way they know all about the car and dont over charge for something that doesn't need doing straight away. That way if I was to ring and say I had a problem with something, from the profile they can work out what might need sorting. Brilliant place, oh and did I mention that this place has one of the only quarter of a mile rolling roads in the country??? Amazing peice of kit. He can set room temps, up hill resistance on the rollers and even program bends into it, so you can go ragging round the Nurburg ring without actually going abroad lol. Air temps and road resistance for bends and hills make it so you can race any track without actually racing them. I know it's not the real thing but it's a bloody good piece of kit

 

[prevtec]

i dont bring the car to the garage all the time,id shop the scrapyards for parts if needed, then fit them myself, i would however bring to the garage for seirious work such as timing belts.
it is important to build trust with any customers, so a garage is no different
and been ripped off dosent ensure trust, neither if the job is done, then something else is wrong
i know of garages that dilibrety makes cars have problems so to get extra money, scumbags

as turbonutter said, he uses a local garage and knows the mechanics there
this is what id recommend to anyone as you know your car will be looked after, not get it back with more problems

 

[stamford]

Brilliant place, oh and did I mention that this place has one of the only quarter of a mile rolling roads in the country??? Amazing peice of kit. He can set room temps, up hill resistance on the rollers and even program bends into it, so you can go ragging round the Nurburg ring without actually going abroad lol. Air temps and road resistance for bends and hills make it so you can race any track without actually racing them. I know it's not the real thing but it's a bloody good piece of kit

That's got my interest, got a link for them?

When I have used rolling roads I have stuck to two, one is old skool and has his business from home, he's an ex-rallycross and autograss racer, very good and very methodical, he does alot of classic cars.

 

[Prince]

I only use certain garages that I trust. In fact, none of these garages are actually in Northampton!

 

[gendox]

haha my ex girls grandad has a garage i use him he is a good mechanic and is a mechanic because he likes fixing cars not for money or because he couldnt be somthing else i like that but if i had to use a garage i didnt trust i would check my car before also MARK the parts thats are coming off so you can see if they have !!

Also any other tips & tricks ???

 

[prevtec]

haha my ex girls grandad has a garage i use him he is a good mechanic and is a mechanic because he likes fixing cars not for money or because he couldnt be somthing else i like that but if i had to use a garage i didnt trust i would check my car before also MARK the parts thats are coming off so you can see if they have !!

Also any other tips & tricks ???

well if i went to a garage, i pretend im interested in cars and ask them to show me the parts that came off and show me how they work

i am interested and i know what parts should have been changed, if somethings missing, i ask about it

 

[obi_waynne]

It was a shocker when Watchdog put hidden cameras in a car and filmed the "work" that was done.

Its a shame because you can get a good garage and end up with the Youth Opportunity Trainee Escapee scheme working on your car.

I get wound up if they over/underfill the oil. This is one of the most basic things and if they get that wrong then I'm not going to trust them with anything else.