ALT-4 Huge Repair Bill when to get a second Opinion on your Car
Unless you have a trustworthy, regular mechanic, the best time to get a "second opinion" on auto repairs is before you get the first opinion.
If your car is acting up and giving you problems and you suspect it may be something serious, ask friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc. for recommendations before it actually breaks down.
Start looking for the right opinion in the first place. You can also call and ask what the shop's hourly rate is because this may vary. The number of hours charged is a "book" number not the actual time it takes to do the work.
Once your car is in the shop and torn apart is no time to go shopping around. In some cases you will still owe the mechanic a fee for taking the vehicle apart and troubleshooting to locate the problem. If the vehicle is not running, you had to pay for the vehicle to be towed there in the first place and you will have to pay to have it towed somewhere else.
Another way to find a good inexpensive mechanic, if you can give up the vehicle for a while, is contact a local high school, college, or trade school that teaches automotive repair. You get the expertise of the instructor and usually they only charge for the parts not labor. This is not available in all areas and there may be others ahead of you.
If you know it is a specialized type of problem (transmission, radiator, body, suspension, etc.) you may want to only check out facilitites that specialize in these types of repairs. Many garages will accept your vehicle to repair it but they then send it to another specialty shop for the actual work and your bill will reflect the extra costs but NOT say who did the actual work. Let's face it -if you see steam coming out of a crack in the radiator it makes no sense to take it to someone who does tune-ups. You'll either end up with substandard work or they will send it out for repairs themselves.
If you do have a a good, reliable, trustworthy mechanic already, use them. Stop in or call ahead and ask. Tell them what is going on and ask their opinion. Do they do that type of work? Approximately how long will it take to repair and what will it cost for the repair? If they aren't going to do the work themselves, ask who they recommend?
If you go into a shop for one problem and they tell you you have other problems, tell them you will be back later but can't afford the repair right now (maybe in a couple of weeks). This delaying tactic will give you time to check them out and find out from a trustworthy mechanic if you really have a problem in the first place. (If this warning comes from your trustworthy mechanic, take his advise. He is only trying to keep you from breaking down later and possibly paying more in labor charges because the labor charges are less if they can fix more than one thing at a time - they only have to take it apart once not twice.)
