Your Car:
Car Repair

Here's what you can do to make getting your car repaired easier—and maybe even cheaper.

By John Goepel

1. Develop a relationship with the repair facility. It sounds so California. But, as a practical matter, it's easier to deal with people you know and trust, and who know you. Find a good repair facility before you need it. Then, use it for all your car work.

Dan Scanlan, CSAA's regional manager of automotive services, says, "Building a relationship is very important. It's more important than shopping for price. Have periodic maintenance, such as oil changes, done at the same shop you use for repairs. When you have all your work done at one shop, that shop is familiar with your car's history—and with you—and is better able to serve you."

These days, when customers take their car to a repair facility, they usually speak with a "service writer" rather than with the technician who actually performs the repairs. Ron Camba, who has been the manager and service writer at San Francisco's Pacific Heights Chevron for more than 20 years, says, "Service writers are chosen more for their ability to get along with the customers than for their mechanical knowledge. This can make it easier for customers to deal with a garage. It can also make diagnosis and repair easier because a service writer often is better at eliciting key information."

2. Describe symptoms, don't diagnose. Diagnosis can be complicated. Even with today's electronic diagnostic equipment, service bulletins on the Internet, and highly trained technicians, tracking down the real cause of a problem, especially an intermittent one, can prove a considerable challenge.

"Don't try to diagnose the problem yourself," Scanlan says. "Instead, describe symptoms as completely as you can. For example, rather than saying, 'It needs a brake job,' you might say, 'It pulls to the left when I step on the brakes and makes a scraping sound.' If you suspect a problem with your car, take a few notes you can use when you're talking with the people at the garage."

One old-fashioned diagnostic tool that still works is the test drive—with you along to point things out. "When possible, take the service writer or technician for a test drive, so he can experience the car's behavior for himself," Camba says. "It's always better to make an appointment to take a car in, to be sure there will be a technician available for a ride."

3. Ask questions. "Some people want to know all the details," Camba says. "Others just hand me the keys and say, 'Fix it.' On balance, there will be fewer misunderstandings and more satisfaction if you ask a few questions." For example:

• How long will the repair take?
• What parts may be replaced? What is their function? Why are they being replaced?
• What caused this problem? How could it be avoided?
• Is there any related work that might be cheaper if it were done at the same time?