Questions to Ask Your Car Mechanic

21st century resources have made it possible for us to find the best restaurants in a new city to the most affordable salons. You only have yourself to thank for that. If it isn’t for consumers everywhere, you wouldn’t know whether to rust a shop or not. It saves a lot of trouble from going through a bad experience someone before you had. Nevertheless, experiences are still objective, which is why it’s important for you to still do direct research when looking for a service like someone to work on your vehicle. A car mechanic is pretty much a car doctor, so you definitely want to make sure that your vehicle is well taken care of. With this in mind, here at Toyota of Orlando, we’ve compiled a list of questions you should ask when choosing a potential car mechanic.

#1) Have you worked on my vehicle’s make and model before?

Think of any job interview when the interviewer asks “What relevant experience do you have for this position?”, question one is the car mechanic equivalent. You want to make sure the person working on your car knows every part of your car from bumper to bumper so that they handle your car with a lot of TLC.

#2) What associations do you belong to?

Besides taking care of your Orlando Toyota, a car mechanic is supposed to be up to date with particular codes, standards, regulations, etc. across the automotive repair landscape. The largest organization in the U.S. is the Automotive Service Association. It’s a non for profit org that’s been running for 64 years and focuses on the advancement of “professionalism and excellence int he automotive repair industry”.

#3) Are your employees ASE certified?

ASE stands for the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence, and they’ve worked to improve the quality of vehicle repair by testing and certifying car mechanics since 1972. It doesn’t hurt to check and see if your Orlando Toyota’s mechanic is ASE-certified. Think of it this way, you wouldn’t let an uncertified person in a white coat perform surgery on you, right? At least we hope you won’t. You should take care of your Orlando Toyota the same way you take care of yourself. 

#4) Do you provide free estimates? Can I get a written estimate? 

There are repair shops that offer free diagnostic exams to determine the issues with your Orlando Toyota. There are shops that charge for this service. Before anything is done, ask your car mechanic if the service is free, and if it’s not ask if there’s a flat rate, hourly, are there additional costs etc? Also make sure that the repair shop provides a signed, detailed, and written copies of the estimate before they beginning to work of your Orlando Toyota.

#5) Do you offer warranties for your parts and services?

Be sure to check that the repair shop you’re seeking service from offers written guarantees on parts and labor. Depending on your needs and vehicle’s needs, this is a great convenience to have. Some auto body shops will have discounted repair costs for parts even after the warranty has expired—point is, ask what they have to offer.

If you need to get your car repaired, we highly recommend going to Toyota of Orlando (not being completely biased here!). We have highly trained professionals that know the ins and outs of your Toyota. And not to mention we only use state of the art equipment and genuine Toyota parts! Stop by and get your car checked at 3575 Vineland Rd just off I-4 near the Millenia Mall.