[wrenchmonster]

Howdy. Hey guys. I just thought since SO many of you are having problems with your mechanics that I would touch base on a few signs of a good shop. A good shop will be a clean shop. Clean building exterior, waiting room, and clean shop floor. A good shop will not be full of only young guys or old guys, but will represent a good range of experience. A good shop will have qualified techs/mechanics who are ASE certified and are required to wear a uniform and be hygenic. Remember there are 8 ASE certs, you only need one cert and 2 years of experience to be ASE certified. A really good shop will require all their techs to be or become Master Techs. Furthermore, good service writers will give the work to the tech who is certified on the system to be worked on. That is, don't let the guy certified on brakes be performing engine diagnostics. A good shop will pinpoint the problem in the system, and not perform "shot-gun mechanics", that is, replacing the entire system to "hope" that solves the problem. A good shop will have a good service writer who is willing and able to explain the problem to you. Don't expect them to teach you automechanics, but they should listen to everything you have to say and not be rude. A good shop will be well equiped, with all the proper tools to do the job, this includes an information system like ALLDATA or Mitchel-on-demand. A good shop will not have a 400% mark up on parts. And most importantly, a good shop will stand behind their work. Also, if you have a bad experience, let the manager know. You vote with your dollars, and if they want continued business, the manager will make it right. If you guys are working on the cheap, your best bet is to go to a community college automotive program. That is where I learned my trade, and the policy was that they get the vehicle for as long as they want, and there are no labor charges, only paying for parts. Furthermore, the community college employees master techs and won't let any s&%t go out the door. My 2 cents.

-Kevin

 

[2eyefishclaw]

Hey wrenchmonster: Just wanted to say good job and to all who read it follow it because it is the truth all of it and if anyone feels any different then they are the ones that should probably not be working on these vehicles.

 

[TROOPY]

sounds dead on, I dont know of any cc's around Maryland that do service though....I think they just work on their own stuff. I bet its realy hard to find shops like you describe almost anywhere, I do love the utopian aspect of it though. Thanks for the advise, you sound like a real sharp shooter! 8)