Your expenditure on a car does not stop with just its purchase price and fuel costs. Repair and maintenance costs add up significantly to it. These days, car mechanics are charging a fortune. You’ve got to exercise frugality while choosing your mechanic because even if you spend a fortune, you might not get the best quality work done on your car. Mechanics who are interested in delivering the best are rare. These days, you find most of them wanting to take advantage of the vulnerable situation you are quite often thrown into when your vehicle breaks down.

There are some criteria that you need to look into while hiring the services of a garage mechanic.

• He should have a ASE(National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence) or AAA(American Automobile Association) Certification, or a state license
• A neat and well organized garage
• Cordial customer care staff
• A prior-service bill with the estimated costs of repair/maintenance
• A post-service invoice giving a detailed listing of the work done along with the price of each

Ways to Locate a Good Mechanic

• Find out about the reliability and performance of a mechanic by consulting friends of the same income group and lifestyle and go for a mechanic recommended by them
• Don’t be naïve with your demands; you’ll be taken advantage of. Read up the car manual before approaching the mechanic so that you know what services you want specifically. Your mechanic will feel that you are knowledgeable and difficult to be taken advantage of
• Before giving your car for repair work, ask the mechanic to give you a written estimate of the different maintenance/repair tasks that he/she will be doing for the car as well as the costs for these works to be done. If the actual charges are more than the estimated you’ll come to know where exactly the extra expenditure was made. Do not accept a verbal estimate. Always insist on a written estimate.
• Always ask the mechanic to convince you about defective functioning of any car part if he says so. See the part yourself before agreeing for a replacement. If possible, ask for a cheaper alternative.

Watch Out For Pitfalls

• Many times mechanics exaggerate the bad condition of a car which compel you to take their services. For example, when you drive in a car in a reasonably stable condition, they might say that the condition is very dangerous which will compel you to take some expensive and unnecessary repair services.  Always be convinced yourself about the genuineness of the alarm created. In all probability, cars that are stable when driven into a garage don’t have issues that are big enough to raise an alarm.
• Take suggestions for replacement of coolant and power steering flushes with a pinch of salt from your mechanic because most often they suck you in these matters to make money. Always consult your car manual to find out if your car mechanic is raising a genuine concern over these issues.