If you're looking for “where can I fix my car near me?” You can try local repair shops, check with your insurance company, review what the Better Business Bureau says, and get multiple quotes before making a final decision.
Your vehicle needs to be checked up regularly to continue driving properly. Like any human who needs to visit a doctor frequently, your vehicle is the same.
It is never recommended to ignore any problem in your vehicle because it can easily get complicated and require much higher repair costs.
Regular maintenance and major repairs are necessary for your car to ensure and expand its lifetime.
Finding the right mechanic and the right location to fix your car can be challenging, especially for inexperienced drivers.
This article walks you through all the details you need to have in mind when searching for “where can I fix my car near me?” It serves as the ultimate guide that covers all necessary details.
At the end of this article, we will also answer some of the basic and most frequent questions about the same topic.
Where can I fix my car near me?
Whether you got involved in a car accident or your vehicle needs regular maintenance, there are certain steps that you need to follow to find the right repair shop and get the problem resolved fast and for the lowest costs.
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Reach out to your insurance company
The first step immediately after getting involved in a car accident or having an issue with your vehicle is to reach out to your insurance company.
Whether it was your fault or it wasn't during the car accident, you have to get in touch with the insurance company and explain what happened to them at the end of the day.
Depending on the insurance type, you might get full coverage for all repairs, and your insurance company can take care of all problems.
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Check local car repair garages
Once you discuss with the insurance company, it is time to find the best repair shop around you.
Your easiest way is to use word of mouth. Check around your local town or city and see what repair shops are there. Get multiple codes for car service and go with the one that provides you with the best offer.
Before deciding on your local car repair garage, it is important to check for the following items:
- Ask if the mechanic is ASE certified, indicating that he has the required experience to fix your vehicle without causing any significant damages safely.
- Check whether the repair shop is affiliated with the AAA, which indicates that they are trustworthy
- A good idea would be to visit a repair shop with the same brand you're carrying. This way, you trust that the mechanic has the necessary experience to deal with the same vehicle and will not introduce any major issues to your car.
- Check if the repair shop provides any warranties. Sometimes if you have major repairs, the warranty can come in handy if something happens to the vehicle. On the other hand, if all your repairs are minor, it might not be necessary to get any warranty.
- Check for the repairs shop online presence. Read through the customer reviews. You never want to deal with a repair shop that does not have the best customer service, right?
- Get multiple quotes from different repair shops and go with the one that provides you with the best offer.
- Understand their timeline. Sometimes some of the repair shops located in urban areas might be busier than others which means that you have to wait for a long time before you get your vehicle repaired. Thus, if that's the case, you might need to go with a slightly higher offer to get your job done faster.
- Check the type of parts that are going to be installed in your vehicle. Some of the repair shops might use secondhand or aftermarket parts, which should not be very expensive but might introduce future tier vehicles.
- Ask the mechanic to show you any major issues in your vehicle. It might be worth researching for repair costs online and comparing the repair shop offering you for these certain issues.
- Check whether you are interested in local mobile mechanics who come to your house or office to repair your vehicle. To do so, you can search on Google for local mobile mechanics near me. Tons of examples will pop up immediately, and you can choose the one that works best for you.
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Try the Better Business Bureau
Another important step you need to take is to check for any complaints reported to the Better Business Bureau.
The Better Business Bureau allows customers to report complaints about certain companies. Some of these complaints might indicate significant issues which you don't need to deal with.
The Better Business Bureau can provide you with a general idea about whether you should select this repair shop or you should go for another one. However, this does not mean that it is great if the company doesn't have any complaints. You might also need to consider looking into customer's reviews at larger platforms like Reddit or any other forum.
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Never have the dealership fix your car after the warranty expires
The cheapest and fastest option to get your vehicle fixed is through a dealership if you still have a running warranty.
However, the situation flips 180 degrees if your warranty expires. The dealership will be the most expensive location to get your repairs done. This is because they have a much higher hourly rate and their parts are usually more expensive.
On the other hand, if you built a friendly relationship with your local garage, you can get your vehicle fixed faster and for the lowest prices.
The nice thing about local garages is that you can talk directly to their mechanic. In the dealership, you will not be able to see who's working on your vehicle and having our conversations with him.
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Search for “who can fix my car reviews.”
A good tip in finding the bus place to fix your car is to look through customer's reviews. What are you landed on at a specific repair shop, or you're just doing general research? It is recommended to look at what people are saying about the mechanics around your area?
You might even need to input your vehicle's make, model, and year to get some ideas about specific mechanics experienced in this type of vehicle.
Sometimes your issues might be repaired without needing a repair shop. In other words, it can be a minor issue that you can fix on your own, which means that you can save a ton on labor costs.
The Internet is full of available tutorials and videos on YouTube that can help you walk you through a step-by-step process to help you resolve the issue if it can be resolved without any professional mechanic assistance.
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Can I repair my car after an accident?
Did you know that there are a lot of car repairs that you can do on your own? With a huge and advanced technology nowadays, you can get connected with many online tutorials and techniques to help you resolve the problem by yourself.
For example, if you spend some time learning how to change your vehicles' oil or replace the windshield wipers, you can save a ton of money every time they go bad. Similarly, it doesn't hurt or learn how to change the spark plugs or the headlight bulbs you can do independently.
If you fix things on your own, you only have to pay for parts and eliminate labor costs.
While fixing your vehicle by yourself is great, if the damages are major, there is a high risk that you will introduce significant issues to your car, which will cost you much more than having a professional mechanic fix it.
Post, unless you are very sure that you can do the job, it is never recommended to do it on your own.
Check online on specific recommendations about certain car repairs to see whether you will be able to fix it by yourself or not.
How can I fix my car for free?
While it might not necessarily be free, you can get your vehicle fixed without paying immediately on the spot.
In other words, if you can get a personal loan or alone from auto repair wonders, you can get your vehicle fixed without needing to pay immediately on the spot.
You can also try your insurance company. Many times, people think that certain repairs might not be covered under their current policy, but it's not the case. Thus, the first step for you when looking for how to fix your car for free is to check with your insurance company and see if they cover these repairs or not.
Some certain credit cards might cover auto repairs, fellas; you might need to check those as well.
Is it worth fixing my car? When to give up on a car?
It depends. According to automotive experts, if repair costs get closer to 75% or more from your vehicle's value, it's not worth repairing it.
Think about it this way: if your car is worth $7000 and it requires repairs of $3000, you need to do the math and see when fixing your car, will its value go up to $10,000?
If not, it's not worth repairing it, and you should better select and use its value towards a better vehicle.
How much is too much for car maintenance?
As we already mentioned, if repair costs get closer to 75% or more from your vehicle's value, it is considered too much, and you should not proceed with the repairs. Instead, you should sell this car and buy a new one.
What is the average cost for car repairs?
The average cost might differ from vehicle to vehicle but, most release data indicated that people require about $500 to $600 on average.
Of course, depending on what type of problem you have and how reliable your vehicle is, the price might differ significantly.
It also depends on where you get the job done. For example, if you decided to go with the dealership, repair costs will be much more than going to a small repair shop or fixing the problem yourself.
How much does it cost to repair a damaged car?
It is very hard to provide an exact number because the cost differs significantly depending on your vehicle's type, condition before the accident, and severity of the damage.
Some statistics show that fixing small or misshaped auto bodies ranges from $50 to $1500. Of course, this number also differs significantly depending on your vehicle's type and condition.
The bottom line
Car repairs are essential, and there will be a point of time where you must search for where can I fix my car near me?
The best method is to have your vehicle fixed by your dealership if your warranty is still running. However, if it's expired, you need to check your local repair shops and confirmed that this shop has the best mechanics and the greatest customer reviews.
Sometimes it might be worth fixing your vehicle if repairs are not complicated.
However, if your car's repairs are getting close to 75% or more of your vehicle's value, it is never recommended to spend any time or effort repairing it.
Instead, you should reach out to Cash Cars Buyer, who guarantees to buy your vehicle no matter what. Our company accepts all vehicle types and condition whether it was completely damaged in a flood or a car accident, we will still buy it.
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