How To Build Trust With Your Mechanic
Posted March 19, 2014 by Ken Kupchik
Your relationship with your mechanic can last for years, sometimes decades. Maintaining and repairing a car is part of owning one so if you don't have the benefits of public transportation or Lance Armstrong biking abilities, you need to find a mechanic that you trust. Whether you get your car serviced at the dealership you bought it from or at a local shop, handing your car keys and money over to someone you don't have faith in is asking for trouble.
So how do you build trust with a mechanic?
Building trust takes time. If someone's able to perform quality, timely work for a fair price and do it on a consistent basis, you'll trust them with your business. Unfortunately, one bad experience can break the trust in a relationship a lot faster than it took to build up.
Are there any ways to build trust quicker?
Yes, there are some ways to speed up the process of finding a mechanic you can trust, or at least stating the relationship off from a strong foundation. Here are some things that you can do to start:
Get a referral from friends and family. Referrals help because they allow you to benefit from the trust that someone else has already built up over the years. Always let the mechanic know who referred you to their business.
Research online reviews. Checking out a shop's online reviews on websites such as Angie's List, Yelp and Mechanic Advisor will give you an overall idea of what you can expect. If there are multiple negative reviews saying the same thing, steer clear.
Ask a lot of questions and pay attention to how they're answered - A good mechanic that you can trust will have no problem answering your questions. A mechanic that you might have problems with will be evasive, unclear and possibly rude. Do not trust someone on your car that makes you feel uncomfortable or like they're doing you a favor.
Ultimately, trust takes time to build, but you can save yourself a lot of time by doing research up front. The cost of ending up with a terrible mechanic is far worse than not taking the time to use the resources available to you.
