You need to have automotive repairs, car maintenance and oil changes on a regular basis there is no getting around this fact. The trick in protecting yourself against scam type car repairs is being ready to ask the right questions and getting good answers from your shop.
Keep in mind that many auto repair shops and mechanics are going to try and pull the maximum amount of money from your pocket. They wake up every day like most of us and ask themselves how can I make more money today. Then you walk through the door and they smile. They are glad to see your money.
How to Reduce Car Repair Bills
Your job will be to cut through the pork and pad to find out what car maintenance is really needed. We have already talked about rule #1. If it’s not in the owners manual as scheduled maintenance and it’s not broken then don’t fix it.
In fact we learned that when it comes to auto repairs the more the mechanic touches your vehicle the more chances he will have to break things that weren’t broken. Unfortunately human error can cause additional problems and may actually reduce the over all reliability.
If you go into an auto repair shop for your regular oil change and your vehicle was running fine be suspect when approached about tune up items and fuel system services. Chances are if these car repairs needed to be done there would be a tell tale sign like a service engine soon light on or a rough running and maybe a stalling condition.
Repair Shops Hate the Owners Manual
Do yourself a favor and sit down with your owner’s manual. Read and learn about the recommended car maintenance items as related to your current mileage. Many car owners never read a single page of this manual.
Surprise the shop by quoting information from this very important free gift from your cars manufacturer. The owners manual can be near the top of your most effective defensive weapons against car repairs that are not required at that time. When the shop says you need a catalytic converter service you can ask him to show you this car maintenance in your owners manual.
Sidebar: There is no such thing as a catalytic converter service. In fact most of the automotive manufactures offer an unadvertised extended warranty on the catalytic converter itself along with the electronic control module.
Most manufactures now offer 7/70 coverage or 10/100 on all emissions related components. This is in fact imposed by the US governments clean air act. The manufacture must go the extra mile in all things related to vehicle emissions.
Now back to the point I am trying to make on this subject. You do not want to approve auto services that are recommended by a automotive repair shop and not by your vehicle manufacture.
I will get into the owners manual in more depth in upcoming articles but for right now I can tell you the automotive repairs and maintenance recommended in the owners manual is already near overkill.
The manual already leans in favor of the auto repair shop and the new car dealers service department. Do not go even further and approve services that are early or not recommended at all.
This will only add money to the auto repair shops bottom line and could effect your vehicles reliability in a negative way. This is a page pulled from my free E-book. If you would like more information and read some more free examples return to my page about the auto repair business.
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The best way to avoid auto repair scams is to fix your own car. I put together a video that shows you the first step. See how this is now in reach for most people with the new generation of online software programs. If fixing cars is not your style see how you can verify car repair pricing using web based repair estimates.
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