Car Trouble

What Every Woman Should Know

by Mark Salem

Many women feel a bit intimidated when they take an automobile to the repair shop, but a little homework and asking the right questions can better your odds of getting a fair deal by protecting you from costly misunderstandings and unscrupulous mechanics.

The process starts before you leave home. Where are you going to take your car? Make a list of possibilities and call the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to check their records. Look for how the car repair shop handles complaints, and not necessarily how many complaints they’ve had. Unhappy customers are the ones who typically contact the service, and the repair shop’s BBB records will tell you all you need to know. Would you use a shop that had 36 complaints in one year if 32 were resolved to the customer or BBB’s satisfaction? Maybe. Either way, you’ve gained knowledge.

Next, stop by the shop for an impromptu visit and look around. Are the plaques up to date? Does the shop scream pride, integrity and professionalism? Watch out for messy offices and garages or parked cards in the lot with cobwebs from the ground up. How do the employees treat customers? Do they appear to badger? A visit will give you a better feel for the business.

Just the Symptoms, Please
Once you’ve selected a shop with an impressive record and orderly property, the next step is to communicate accurately with the mechanic the symptoms of your concerns with your automobile. The best approach is to write down the problem and stick to the actual symptoms rather than sharing with the mechanic that your Uncle Buck or co-worker Chuck says you’ve got a bad fuel pump—that is, unless you want to pay for a bad diagnosis and related charges.

Be as specific as possible. Rather than making a general statement such as, “My car won’t start,” include details such as, “When it’s cold, my car will crank over but not catch.” In this case, for example, a technician will likely discern that this nothing to do with the battery or the starter, and he or she can move on to the real problem such as a bad fuel pump or fuel pressure regulator.
Describing the symptoms specifically can save you a bundle in diagnostic fees.

Another example is dropping off a vehicle and asking the shop to look for a leak. A car has as many as 11 fluids in various colors, so it’s far more helpful to include detail such as, “There is a red fluid leak under the center of the windshield.”

Be sure to ask for the range of diagnostic charges, which should be from $75 to $150, and insist on a firm estimate and a list of each part and labor charge. Give one copy of your note to the service writer and tape one copy to the dash for the technician.

Guess Versus Fix
When the shop calls you back with an estimate, find out if the technicians are sure the repair will fix your car’s symptom. A great way to ask this question is, “Is this a guess or a fix?” If it’s a guess, it may still be the best route at this point. If it’s a fix, even better.

The point is, you don’t want the shop thinking one thing while you’re thinking another. And if it's a guess, are they guessing with your money or theirs? It’s perfectly alright to ask, "If this guess doesn't work, who pays the labor to reinstall my old part?" A good shop will admit to a "guess" before you have to ask.

Not only should a repair shop advise you up front of the risk, it should share in some of the costs of the risk. Generally, your two options will be to authorize the repair and take the risk or wait until this problem worsens and becomes easier to diagnose. Either way, it should be your decision.

After Care
Once the repair is complete, get your old parts back and pay with a credit card. If, after 30 days, your symptoms haven’t returned, you can toss the old parts and remember the name of the shop who repaired your car correctly—you’ll want to keep that number in your Rolodex. But if your car still isn’t running right and the garage refuses to refund your $393, you’ll be very glad you paid with a credit card so you can dispute the charge.

In that case, once another repair shop correctly fixes the problem, you can send a letter to your credit card company with copies of both the first and second repair orders. Note that shop No. 1 charged you $393 and did nothing to change or correct the symptoms, while Shop No. 2 was able to repair the automobile. It should be clear that you didn’t get what you paid for from Shop No.1, and you can note that you have the old parts for the dispute resolution process.

Armed with knowledge, you’ll be one step ahead of the car repair process and can make decisions about your vehicle with more confidence. Drive safely.

Mark Salem, host of KTAR’s "Under the Hood" car-care radio show in Phoenix, is an ASE certified master technician.