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How to Find Automotive Repair Shops in Your Area
If you need to find automotive repair shops in your area, the Internet is a great resource. From the comfort and convenience of your home you can find out all the pertinent information about repair in your area. Auto repair can be a sensitive issue. Your number one priority should be finding a mechanic you can trust. When choosing a doctor, you want one who gives you peace of mind and in whose abilities and advice you have faith. A mechanic is a car doctor, so the same principals apply. It’s easy enough to locate an auto repair shop. You can do that with a phone book. What’s not so easy, though, is finding one who is reputable, experienced and gives honest estimates. Everyone has heard horror stories about untrustworthy auto repair shops, so it would behoove you to do a little research on your own, relying more on peoples’ first-hand experience than on the sales pitch of the repair shop itself.
One of the best resources on the web for locating a mechanic in your area can be found at www.cartalk.com. You may or may not be familiar with the nationally syndicated radio program Car Talk, but if you’re not, it is a weekly program hosted by two brothers and mechanics that possess an encyclopedic knowledge of almost every car imaginable. Their show is produced with non-mechanics-ordinary people with cars-in mind, offering advice for purchases, diagnostics, and to debunk any conventional and often false wisdom relating to automobiles.
In keeping with the online age, they have a website that offers their knowledge and recommendations 24 hours a day. This should be your first stop when searching for a reputable auto repair shop. Under the tab labeled “Actual Car Info”, scroll down and locate a link titled “Mechanics Files”. There you will click on the link “Find a Mechanic.” At this point, the search narrows. Enter your five digit zip code, and, if you wish, enter the specific make of your car and the maximum distance in miles you wish to extend the search.
You will then be provided with a list of mechanics on file about which people just like you have posted. These are testimonials, not advertisements. Each mechanic is rated in eleven categories, including honesty, competence, location, convenience, and timeliness, to name a few. Their ratings are representative of the experience of other customers, so what you are reading are accounts of their satisfaction, or lack thereof. This website doesn’t necessarily show every mechanic in your area, only those people have gone to and posted about, but it’s of tremendous help when you need to narrow down your choices. If you are looking for first-hand information about a mechanic, www.cartalk.com offers an excellent service with you-the customer-in mind.
Finding a good auto repair shop needn’t be a troublesome experience, requiring you to drive all over town conducting interviews with potential mechanics. It can be done from your home and with the online resources available to you, you are sure to find a mechanic you can trust with your car and your pocketbook.
