Sometimes taking your car to the mechanic can be unnerving, especially when you do not understand or know a lot about cars. It can be hard to explain problems and noises that are not normal to the car. Here are some basic tips to help in when trying to explain things to the mechanic or service writer of your local garage. They can also help you understand what the garage is explaining to you about your car.
1. When you here a noise or are trying to explain that something is happening on a certain side of the vehicle remember that the sides are determined from the drivers perspective. Simply meaning that the left and right are from the prospective of sitting inside the vehicle, the driver's side is the left and the passenger side is the right.
2. If you feel a vibration in the vehicle explain how you feel it and when. Let them know if the vibration is in the steering wheel, under your feet, or if you feel it in the seat. Does it happen all the time, just when your driving, or only at certain speeds?
3. When your car is making an unexplainable noise give as many details as possible. Describe the noise to them, where you are hearing it, and when. If you cannot do this, ask the mechanic to go for a test drive with you so you can point out the noise in question.
4. If your vehicle is hard starting let them know when. Is it just in the morning, after the vehicle sits for a while, or all the time?
5. When you vehicle is leaking fluid let them know where the leak was. Was it in the front of the vehicle under the motor or in the back? If at all possibly let them know what color the fluid was as well.
6. Always leave contact numbers where you can be reached in case the garage needs to get a hold of you. There are many reasons that the garage may need to get a hold of you. They could need your approval to go ahead and fix the vehicle, they may have found a problem different from the one you addressed, or they may just need to verify some information.
There are many variables when it comes to diagnosing a vehicles problem. The more information your can accurately relay to your mechanic the better chance they have of accurately diagnosing the correct problem and getting it fixed for you.
1. When you here a noise or are trying to explain that something is happening on a certain side of the vehicle remember that the sides are determined from the drivers perspective. Simply meaning that the left and right are from the prospective of sitting inside the vehicle, the driver's side is the left and the passenger side is the right.
2. If you feel a vibration in the vehicle explain how you feel it and when. Let them know if the vibration is in the steering wheel, under your feet, or if you feel it in the seat. Does it happen all the time, just when your driving, or only at certain speeds?
3. When your car is making an unexplainable noise give as many details as possible. Describe the noise to them, where you are hearing it, and when. If you cannot do this, ask the mechanic to go for a test drive with you so you can point out the noise in question.
4. If your vehicle is hard starting let them know when. Is it just in the morning, after the vehicle sits for a while, or all the time?
5. When you vehicle is leaking fluid let them know where the leak was. Was it in the front of the vehicle under the motor or in the back? If at all possibly let them know what color the fluid was as well.
6. Always leave contact numbers where you can be reached in case the garage needs to get a hold of you. There are many reasons that the garage may need to get a hold of you. They could need your approval to go ahead and fix the vehicle, they may have found a problem different from the one you addressed, or they may just need to verify some information.
There are many variables when it comes to diagnosing a vehicles problem. The more information your can accurately relay to your mechanic the better chance they have of accurately diagnosing the correct problem and getting it fixed for you.
Comments
Good topic.
LOL you are right a mechanic could easily rip you off as could anyone else in a subject that you are not familiar with. Finding a good mechanic that you can trust is as important as finding a doctor. You can always ask to see the parts that a mechanic replaces or get more than one opinion. In most cases a mechanic wants your repeated business and is not going to rip you off.
This is good basic advice... but more is needed. I could go to a mechanic and say that there was a distinct rumbling noise on the passenger rear side of the car, maybe near the rear tire... and he could still come up with tons of expensive suspension parts that "malfunctioned" and required immediate "replacement"... mechanics these days are crooks. What people need to do is either to some research themselves (online forums for the exact make and model of almost every car in America exist with daily and even hourly posters) or find someone who they know personally who can help.
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