r/Explainlikeimscared • u/DisastrousProcess812 • 23h ago

How to take my car into the shop

My car hasn't been checked over in at least a year or two and when I was driving the check engine light came on. I hear all the time about car technicians misreporting what's wrong and either not finding what was wrong or pretending things need replaced when they don't. I'm sure that's a very small percentage of car technicians but how do I make sure that doesn't happen to me? Thanks!

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u/OutAndDown27 23h ago

You could take it to the dealer rather than a general mechanic, where it's often a bit more expensive but I feel they're more reliable because the mechanics at the dealer are working within a much larger corporate structure where there are more likely to be checks and balances as well as a way to escalate an issue.

You could also take it to a few different shops and compare what they tell you - it's unlikely that multiple shops would lie about the same issues, so you can see if they all bring up the same problems.

You can ask around with friends, family, and coworkers if they have a reliable shop, in addition to checking reviews online.

You can ask a more knowledgeable friend or family member to look it over or come with you; as a woman I always worry mechanics assume I don't know about cars and think they can get one over on me, and the problem is that they're right lol. So sometimes I bring my dad.

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u/DisastrousProcess812 23h ago

Thanks! I'll probably take it to the dealer then because taking it to multiple people seems like it'd take forever and be expensive

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u/Veeka 22h ago

Better yet, why not buy a cheap OBDII scanner (<$30 on Amazon), plug it in, and check for yourself? If you don’t know where the port is to plug it in, YouTube videos for your specific make/model can help. I keep a scanner in my car at all times.

And then for your mechanic problem, maybe ask friends/family where they go? Start with something small like an oil change and work your way up if you like the quality of the service.

I’ve been going to the same mechanic for 10 years. It terrifies me to go elsewhere, though I’ve had a few small emergencies that I let others handle and make note of their quality of the work.

Hope that helps. You got this!