One of the most common questions I hear is, Where should I take my car to get it fixed My answer is to take it to a repair facility that (1) has a good reputation (ask friends and neighbors where they take their vehicles), that (2) is affiliated with a group such as AAA andor has ASE certified technicians, and (3) appears to be clean, friendly and competently managed. The shop should also adhere to the Code of Ethics and repair standards put forth by the Motorist Assurance Program (MAP).

Most repair facilities are honest and are NOT trying to take advantage of you. Sure, there are some bad apples in the the repair business, but there are crooks in every kind of business from home repair scam artists to top business executives. From what I’ve seen, most auto repair problems are due to misunderstandings or miscommunication between the motorist and repair facility (they thought you wanted one thing and you got something else, or they misunderstood your problem), or they misdiagnosed your vehicle and the technician replaced the wrong part(s). In other words, they didn’t try to rip you off or cheat you. They misunderstood you or did not perform the correct repair.

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