Repair Shop Tip: Get the Part
Thursday October 4, 2007
A recent article published in a New Hampshire journal made me think to share this tip. When you take your car to be repaired at a shop, ask the mechanic or manager to save any parts he replaces while repairing your car. When you pick the car up, the parts he gives you should match what's on the bill. Feel free to ask them to explain what's what if you aren't already familiar. If you have reason to be suspicious, or you're just the paranoid type, you could even take the old parts with you and look them up to be sure they go to your car.All this being said, you can trust 99.9% of the shops out there. Don't let the few bad apples spoil it for you. It's easy to find an internet horror story, but many are half-truths, and either way they're few and far between.
Be sure to ask the mechanic to save the parts before you leave the car for the repair. If not, you might be asking somebody who has been under a greasy hood all day to dig through the shop's dumpster. Talk about not cool! By asking ahead of time, you pretty much guarantee an honest parts list since even a crooked shop owner wouldn't be dumb enough to knowingly light that fire.
Comments
Great idea - I think it’s the law in some states. It used to be in CT. I got brakes replaced recently but never thought to ask for the parts. It would be great if you could find out where it is required by law.
I have spent the last 23 years in mechanical work. Im am an ASE L1 Master Auto Tech. How can you not mention that ther are parts which have a core value?
You don’t have to keep the part necessarily, just confirm its identity and damage for personal verification.
i do not know what is defective in a part. i must take the word of the mechanic.
it strikes me that i keep seeing national chain store operations that are exposed by television programs doing those false things to customers cars and they are still in business. the tv show has them on film not doing things that they charge for or causing damage. i keep seeing their advertisments.
Please send these people who want to have bad parts returned to them to my shop. I will gladly give them the old parts saving me of dis[posing of them and of course they will have to pay any core charge on parts which have a core value from my jobber.