Car Repairs- are you "loyal" to a shop? When to shop around?

[joemilitary]

So I know all the good YM'ers keep their cars for at least 12 years or I think 200,000 miles, that's the rule isn't it?

Well my one car is approaching the 10 year mark and I got hit twice for repairs.....the most current repair is the whole AC needs to be replaced (for about $1,000).....and I am in a warm state so this needs to be done

My question is- where do you all take your cars for repairs?  (obviously not the dealer, I know that much)

And at what point do you "shop around?" 

I know I may be over paying for the AC right now, but new to the area and have a lot going on (movers coming back and forth, new job, etc.) so this one I will suck up, but curious your strategies and at what point you "shop around"?

also my car (2005 Hyundai Tucson) is just about 10 years old (purchased in Dec 2005) and has about 130,000 miles....how much longer would you think to keep this car?

thanks

[Ryan]

I trust the mechanic I take my car to.  They are really really close to my house and they have been in my area for a long time.  The closest I'll come to shopping around is if I'm having recall work done on my car at the dealership and they tell me I need brakes and/or new tires.  I'll get a quote from them and then take it to my guy and get his quote.  His quote is always much lower....is it lower than another shop?  Not totally sure.

And actually, when this happened the last time he told me I would be ok for another year with my brake pads so I just got the tires replaced.

[andi9899]

I have taken my car to the dealer. Reason being that they have a prepaid package with so many service visits and it was just as cheap as going to a smaller mechanic. Plus they know what is recommended at what point by the manufacturer. When they say it's time for new tires, I go to Sam's because it's way cheaper. Need new brakes? I have a client with a repair shop that does good work at a fair price that I recommend to everyone. So I really do a mix of the two.

[alabamagal]

When we were in GA there was a Goodyear franchise that we went to. The manager was there for 20 years and always treated us well. The assistant managers were also there for a long time. We never had issues there.

When we moved to AL we tried localGoodyear and did not like them at all. The manager was too bothered to talk to us. Back when we were house shopping and in a hotel we woke up with a flat tire and limped to the Firestone franchise right in front of the hotel. They saw us within5 minutes and repaired the tire. I was expecting to buy a new tire. More recently we took our car to see if we needed new tires. I thought we needed 2 and they said we only needed 1. Obviously honest so now we will use them.

[tskeeter]

Aug 3, 2015 9:51:38 GMT -5 joemilitary said:

So I know all the good YM'ers keep their cars for at least 12 years or I think 200,000 miles, that's the rule isn't it?

Well my one car is approaching the 10 year mark and I got hit twice for repairs.....the most current repair is the whole AC needs to be replaced (for about $1,000).....and I am in a warm state so this needs to be done

My question is- where do you all take your cars for repairs?  (obviously not the dealer, I know that much)

And at what point do you "shop around?" 

I know I may be over paying for the AC right now, but new to the area and have a lot going on (movers coming back and forth, new job, etc.) so this one I will suck up, but curious your strategies and at what point you "shop around"?

also my car (2005 Hyundai Tucson) is just about 10 years old (purchased in Dec 2005) and has about 130,000 miles....how much longer would you think to keep this car?

thanks

My auto repair shop priorities rank this way.


Know what you're talking about and don't try to BS me.

Do the job right.

Charge a competetive price for your labor.


In this vein, I use a variety of shops for various things.  The tire shop I use was selected for competetive prices on tires and convenience to home.  Ditto for the alignment shop.  The general repair shop was selected for their knowledge and their ability to do the job right the first time.  They aren't the cheapest in town, but when I need skill and quality, they get the work.  For body work, I use a shop recommended by the general repair shop.  For the work that doesn't require knowledge, skill, and quality, I do those jobs myself.  No sense paying $400 to replace a $20 oil pan gasket.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I have a mechanic.  He doesn't do alignments or body work.  But he does an excellent job with everything else at a fair price. 

[kittensaver]

Yes, we are very loyal to our car mechanic. A trustworthy repair shop is right up there with a trustworthy plumber, electrician, housekeeper, gardener, handyman, etc etc etc. Service people have the ability to make your life either much easier or pure hell - so if you have a person or shop you trust I would (and do) treasure them.

As far as how long to keep your car? You should tell me. I have a 2004 Ford Escape that just hit 204,000 miles. Last February I put about $4,800 into some major repairs (the PCM module and the fuel pump), and three weeks ago sprung for new brakes and tires (all 4) to the tune of $1,100. I'm TOTALLY allergic to consumer debt/monthly payments so I keep putting off a new car. I'm hoping this one gets me to at least 250,000 or even 300,000 miles. But I know that now with these recent repairs, I'm "at the end of the road" - meaning any new major repairs will finally outrun the resale value of the car. And I've been told (and have read) that this is the gold standard: when the cost of the repairs is more than the resale value of the car, it's time for a new one.

Good luck whatever you decide. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I trust my mechanic.  It's my dad.

If he can't do the job I go to whoever he recommends.   Start asking around and see who people recommend for the services you need.

As far as how long to keep a car, the care before this one was a 1993 Ford Taurus.  It was 10 years old when I bought it adn it went another 11 years before the breaks rusted out.  At that point i scraped it.

Do not recommend going that far when keeping a car, but I was a poor college student at the time.   That car was held together solely by my dad's skill and force of will.

We'll see with the 2005 Impala.  It's got over 200,000 miles on it and is stll going strong so I see no reason for that to be my benchmark.   I'll probably use roughly the same timeline as I did with the Taurus, start looking for another car when this one is getting to be a hassle and repairs are adding up faster than I can drive it.

[tskeeter]

Aug 6, 2015 14:22:14 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I trust my mechanic.  It's my dad.

If he can't do the job I go to whoever he recommends.   Start asking around and see who people recommend for the services you need.

As far as how long to keep a car, the care before this one was a 1993 Ford Taurus.  It was 10 years old when I bought it adn it went another 11 years before the breaks rusted out.  At that point i scraped it.

Do not recommend going that far when keeping a car, but I was a poor college student at the time.   That car was held together solely by my dad's skill and force of will.

We'll see with the 2005 Impala.  It's got over 200,000 miles on it and is stll going strong so I see no reason for that to be my benchmark.   I'll probably use roughly the same timeline as I did with the Taurus, start looking for another car when this one is getting to be a hassle and repairs are adding up faster than I can drive it.

I used roofing tar.  On more than one car. 

[weltschmerz]

I love my independent shop, Bernie's.

They did these undercover tests, where they would loosen a hose or wire and take the car to different shops and dealers. Bernie's came out ahead every single time. Some other places insisted that you need a whole new transmission or pump or bearings or whatever. Not Bernie's.

The place I used to go to was awful. They would see me coming. "Windshield wipers not working? You need a new motor. That will be $350".

Evidently I didn't. It was fuses. Bernie will fix the fuse for me and charge me $14. Sometimes not charge me at all.

[Opti]

Aug 6, 2015 17:11:17 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Aug 6, 2015 14:22:14 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I trust my mechanic.  It's my dad.

If he can't do the job I go to whoever he recommends.   Start asking around and see who people recommend for the services you need.

As far as how long to keep a car, the care before this one was a 1993 Ford Taurus.  It was 10 years old when I bought it adn it went another 11 years before the breaks rusted out.  At that point i scraped it.

Do not recommend going that far when keeping a car, but I was a poor college student at the time.   That car was held together solely by my dad's skill and force of will.

We'll see with the 2005 Impala.  It's got over 200,000 miles on it and is stll going strong so I see no reason for that to be my benchmark.   I'll probably use roughly the same timeline as I did with the Taurus, start looking for another car when this one is getting to be a hassle and repairs are adding up faster than I can drive it.

I used roofing tar.  On more than one car. 

My Dad is a huge fan of duct tape.

[Shooby]

We have a shop we regularly go to. Our 4runner need a head gasket repair that the Toyota dealership said would cost $4k. We called our shop and they recommended another local shop to do the work and we had it done for less than half of that and now it runs fine. Nothing wrong with checking around. But, I like to have some level of trust or comfort with whomever is doing the work. So, I won't necessarily go for the cheapest either.

[Opti]

As many posters know, I don't follow many of the accepted YM rules for cars, although mine is older than the OP's and recently passed 129,000 miles driven.

Whether you keep the car or it depends more on you and your needs IMO than any decent guideline of what everyone should do. I am generally loyal to a shop, however I usually use a mix of at least one independent shop and a dealer for car repairs. Now that I have a BMW and not a Honda, it is more important to use a very good independent shop or a dealer. Letting Firestone or a muffler shop change even my oil could be a costly mistake, so I stick with mechanics with the knowledge and $$$ to buy the computer systems required to fix a BMW.

I found out  I rarely really save money on any given repair for my car whether at the independent shop or a dealer although if I shop it, I can sometimes do better than the typical 1% difference, unless its an oil change which is often a loss leader at dealerships. The independent shop I use is much smaller than even the smallest dealer I use, so they have the time and knowledge to let me know what I can let slide, what is urgent, and what is not. That's why they get the bulk of my car repair dollars and I was concerned about the recent ownership change.

Ask folks in your area, but since your car is fairly common you can just try some shops and see if any shop seems like a place you could trust and be happy with.

[busymom]

We have a local, independent shop that we just LOVE! If it's under warranty, we go to the dealer, but otherwise we go to our local shop.

You've moved recently, right? Ask the locals where to find a good mechanic. That's how we found our little shop. The price is always fair, & a couple of times they've done minor work for free!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

If the car is under warranty, it goes to the dealer for any repairs.  Otherwise, I take it to a local mechanic that I trust.  I don't shop around, because I believe that you need to develop a relationship with your mechanic.  That way, if you have a problem IME they tend to go out of their way to help you.

For instance, I needed a hitch on my car.  I found out when I went back to KY to move that my sister was not going to be able to come down and pick up grandma's bedroom furniture she wanted for her daughter, and I didn't want to haul it to WA.  My mechanic was slammed, and referred me to another place...which was also slammed.  We didn't have time to wait, so he stayed late and put the hitch on my car.  While he had my car, he changed the oil, checked the fluids and made sure it was good for a 2500 mile trip.

He was awesome....I miss him.

[Malarky]

I always say that my mechanic is one of the few who knows both my husband and my ex.  It's been 30 years now.  Love him.  Whatever i need, I get right now.  Old car, pulled in and said "Larry, I'm cold.  It was fixed in ten minutes."     

When I buy new, I go to the dealership for the first year or two.  But my cars are usually way lower milage than the norm so I give up and just do oil changes and maintenance where convenient.  With Larry.  Who cares if I need an oil change, my brakes squeak, my wipers need to be replaced, what the hell is that noise?  Yep, that would be Larry.  

And he takes care of OMFG...WTH did my kid do to this car? It needs to pass inspection, and it was perfect when I gave it to him 6 months  ago,,,DS

 My mechanic.