The Ultimate Guide To Select The Right Car Workshop
Lesson #12. By [Automovill.com] powered by {DigiMusk.com}
Your car is your asset, your luxury and your one of the wisest investment till now. Taking her to any workshop for service is quite a big decision. While buying you were so cautious, we do understand the same goes when it comes to choosing the right workshop for her.
There might arise confusions when you listen to different quotes at different workshops, and you end up calculating twice. We at Automovill trust in guiding you for the best of your car. We believe more in educating our customers than seeking the service upfront. We receive about 5–6 cars per day and most often the new customers come after a lot of calculations.
Thinking this might be the case with any car owner, we bring you the ultimate guide to choose the right workshop for your car. This guide’s framework will enable you to ask the right questions and this will connect the right dot.
1. Look for referral / word of mouth
Yes! Look out for friends/ family who have got their cars serviced at least once. They will have their own share of experience with the pricing, the customer relationship with the vendor, and the service quality. Most often good workshops run on referral more than the advertisements. This will save a lot of your money and time as well. You can also look online and choose 2–3 based on your locality and ask around.
2. Ask right questions
The day you own a car, start prepping yourself with the every possibility of your car. Keeping yourself aware about the car issues will help you to identify the right problem and this in-turn will help you to save yourself from any mis-guidance or overcharge by mechanic. Follow good car blogs that focus on educating you about the car details.
3. Look for online reviews
Even if the local workshop doesn’t have a digital face, it would have an online review. Experiences directly from the people who have taken the service will help you to consider the workshop. However, we suggest you not to go entirely on the reviews as their might be paid reviews (both good and bad). In such a case, look out for the ratio if 80% of the reviews are good, opt-in for the workshop.
4. Don’t be price sensitive
Yes everyone wants the right investment of money but don’t opt-in only if the quote is too low. Look for the quality first. There might be market scenarios when a service center if not doing good will quote very low in order to get the customers. Don’t fall into this trap. Measure other options as well.
5. Ask for written estimates
While asking for the service quote, do ask for a written estimate of the entire service. If the workshop hesitates to provide you any document, then it might be a warning sign on their pricing. Do insist again and even afterwards they deny, walk out of the workshop!
6. Ask if they provide free-pick up & drop
Your car can stop working for a while, but your work can’t. As time is always limited, you can avail the free pick-up & drop service being provided by most of the car workshops these days. You can even consider this as the decision making factor if you juggle between two options.
7. Ask for service warranty
Most of the workshop services have warranty. Do ask and keep yourself updated. Ask for documentation and the timeline of warranty. This will save your money on the re-do service if at all you would require.
8. Take a minor service soon
Before any big emergency, consider taking a minor service soon. This will help you to identify the workshop service criteria and can help your determine your future prospects.
9. Ask if they will use new parts or old parts
In case if your car needs any part replacement, ask if the workshop will use a new part or an old part. Accordingly recheck the quoted price. If you find any discrepancy, look out for another workshop.
10. Repair or replacement?
Quite often car owners are up sold for replacement whereas the issue could be repaired. This creates a considerable difference in the pricing. If the minor issue can be repaired, save yourself for hefty payment for replacement.
11. Do they specialize in your car brand?
Few workshops specialize in particular car brands services only. Do ask before if they offer services for your brand, if not ask their recommendation for other good workshop. Generally workshops have a network of referral system among themselves. If one workshop doesn’t have the bandwidth, they send their own customers on certain commission to other workshop.
12. Different labor rate for different types of work
Few of the workshops charge different for different types of work. In such a case, look out for bandwidth of the workshop. If they have more human resources, they might charge their labor rate lesser and vice-versa. More human resources might also mean, more number of cars in the garage and this in-turn will affect the quality of the service.
13. List of satisfied customer reference
Ask if they can provide coordinates of satisfied customers. Not that you will bump into those customers, but you might reach out to them in case if you have any questions. A good workshop with a good rapo with its customers will not hesitate in providing you the details.
