How To Establish A Great Relationship With Your Auto Service Technician

You build a relationship with your doctor so that there is someone you trust taking care of you. The same should go for your car. Building a relationship with your mechanic is vital in ensuring that you are getting quality repairs from a trustworthy mechanic. For those who aren't handy themselves, this takes on even more importance, as an unfamiliar mechanic could misdiagnose an ailment with your vehicle, causing you more time and money wasted. Here are a few tips to building a relationship with your mechanic:

Appreciate Your Automobile

The first step to building a relationship with your mechanic is to make sure that you take care of your car. Spending their professional careers looking at all cars, from pristine to putrid, mechanics know what a car looks like if someone does or doesn't take care of it. Respect your vehicle and you'll earn the respect of the mechanic who finds enjoyment and pleasure from these machines. Once a mechanic realizes that you are serious about car care, they will be serious about customer service. Why would someone take extra time to make sure that their fix will last forever if they doubt that the car they are working on will last past the new year?

Reckon Realism

When you take your vehicle to the mechanic, don't expect them to work complete magic on your ailing car. You should be realistic in your expectations about your auto repair. It is a mechanic's job to fix what's wrong with your automobile, but it is hard to catch every single issue if they can only spend five minutes behind the wheel. Each car, especially with age, has it's own personality and quirks. A mechanic is a practical professional, so be realistic and expect that all major issues will be fixed. However, that random clunk coming from the engine bay once every six months might not be diagnosed right away. Once you've established a relationship with your mechanic, you'll better be able to solve underlaying issues with your automobile.

Mechanics Love Loyalty

If you want to make sure that you build a good working relationship with your mechanic, make sure you maintain loyalty to them. Going to the same mechanic every time a car needs a fix will, over time, show your loyalty to their service. Shopping around to save 10 dollars on a transmission fix quote might save a few bucks in the short run, but loyal customers often get more attention and their cars get discounted fixes or free repairs that might cost a fortune elsewhere. A good mechanic knows what to charge for a repair, so most quotes won't be too off from each other, which is why shopping around isn't really worth it. When you find a mechanic that suits your automotive needs, take the time to establish loyalty.

Esteem Exactitude

When it comes to helping a mechanic understand the problem at hand, be precise as possible in explaining the situation. There could be hundreds of reasons why there is a knocking noise coming from under the hood, but only one reason why it happens only while at idle or only after driving the car on the highway for 15 minutes. Valuing precision in explaining an auto ailment is key in making a mechanic's job easier, and in turn making you one of their favorite customers.

Following these tips will make a mechanic's job easier, and will help align your expectations as well as help build trust and respect between you and your auto doctor.

Robert Mathius is a Chicago suburb native who currently lives in Tinley Park. He has a passion for the automotive industry in addition to journalism and works to blend his two passions in his writing. Additional automotive reporting by Robert can be found on Examiner.com.