By this time someone should be ready to assist you, take the time to notice the hygiene of the person helping you as well as any other employees you see.
By this time someone should be ready to assist you, take the time to notice the hygiene of the person helping you as well as any other employees you see. This will generally let you know what kind of work they do. Don't be afraid to ask questions. How long have you been in business? The longer the better. How many employees do you have? This will let you know if they can get your vehicle done in a timely manner. Do you have liability insurance? This will let you know if you will have a hassle if something happens to your vehicle while in their care. Do you have your own towing service and night drop off? this will let you know what to do if you break down in the middle of no where or at night.
These type of questions and the manner they answer will let you know how important you are to their shop. Remember first impressions and gut instincts are your best weapon against getting ripped off. Ask what the hourly rate is, most shop's will have this posted. Ask how they handle diagnostic charges, most shop's charge to diagnose a repair. You have to remember there are two parts to a repair Diagnoses and Repair. This is how most services work, even services that repair trucks, such as https://tacomatruck.repair. Always before starting repairs
the vehicle or truck first diagnoses the vehicle. In some instances your problem will be repair during the diagnoses and some customer's think the shop is trying to rip them off when all they wanted was diagnoses..If the customer would realize that a repair has two parts they are coming out ahead in this instance. Diagnoses also keeps people form having the shop tell them what the problem is and then the customer going home and fixing it themself or having a friend do it cheaper. Warning this practice usually gets you in trouble and winds up costing you more in the long run.
Finally, most good shop's have a policy that if they said it was fixed and then it wasn't they take care of it. You have to remember that a certain problem my have several components involved, one of those parts may have been the problem and the mechanic replaces it and the problem is fixed. Then 3 day's later the customer has the same problem, that doesn't mean the mechanic didn't do his job, because it was fixed when you left. Mechanic's don't have a crystal ball or magic wand, they can only fix what they find broke at the time the are looking at it. If you are having a major repair ask for an estimate never tell a mechanic just to fix it without knowing the full cost, even the simplest job so it seems can become very costly.
Remember most states have laws concerning estimates and overages. The state I live in has a law that states any repair over $300.00 has to have a written estimate with parts and labor listed and must be signed by the customer, and the final bill cannot exceed the estimate by 10%. It is your responsibility to find out your state laws concerning estimates and repair shop's. You can call your Attorney General's office to find this information out. Remember getting an estimate and then calling around to find a cheaper quote is only asking for trouble. There is no way of completely knowing 100% if you are getting ripped off, but if you follow the steps I have outlined you will greatly increase your chances of not getting ripped off and becoming a horror story. If a mechanic cannot or will not provide you with the information you request then that probably is not a place you want to do business with. A good shop should be helpful and informative.
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