Car needs a service? How to take the stress out of dealing with auto shops over repairs

It’s pretty unlikely that any of us wake up in the morning and think to ourselves, “Gee, what I’d really like to do today is to go and get my car serviced!”

Even for those that have some mechanical or technical inkling, and without factoring in the financial side of the process, dealing with any kind of auto repair or maintenance is potentially stressful.

A 2014 online survey by U.S.-based auto repair resource site autoMD.com found that, when ranked against a list of experiences, women disliked getting their car fixed more than going to the dentist; for men, car repair ranked just slightly better than dental visits.

That’s not exactly the warm and fuzzies.

Some of this animosity and trepidation is deserved. According to a 2022 J.D. Power study, the Canadian auto service industry was expected to have a $10.9-billion market value that year; individual visits at dealerships averaged $394, $247 at aftermarket shops.

Even on an individual basis that’s no small potatoes.

Just as in so many other retail and service settings, the risk of overpaying is real.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce that risk.

Improving your auto repair experience starts with finding a trustworthy, capable facility, be it a dealer, chain, or independent shop. (Full disclosure: I’ve worked as a technician exclusively at privately owned independent shops for my entire career.)

The best way to find a service provider you’ll be comfortable with is through referrals from friends, family, co-workers, or neighbours. Online sources, such as Google and Yelp, can provide valuable guidance. But they aren’t 100 per cent reliable, as there are ways for unscrupulous operators to skew the ratings. Organizations, such as CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) and the APA (Automobile Protection Association), can also provide recommendations.

Even if you have a newer vehicle and feel that you have to take it to the dealership for service (you don’t — more on that in a moment) or you’re simply more comfortable keeping it in-house, depending on the marque or brand and your location, you may still have options.

While the automakers set out standards and practices, dealers are still franchises with their own management, and there are often differences in how their service departments are run. Those personal recommendations and the internet can, again, prove valuable in choosing.

You do not have to return to the specific dealership where you bought your vehicle. An exception is when the dealer includes oil changes or services that have to be performed at that location as part of the sale. (Automaker-provided services that are included with all of that company’s models, such as BMW Canada’s “No-Charge Scheduled Maintenance,” can be fulfilled at any of the brand’s dealers, for example.)

Bear in mind that, although only a dealership can perform warranty or recall work on your vehicle, any accredited auto service provider can carry out the maintenance to satisfy your warranty requirements, provided the proper parts, fluids and procedures are used, and records are kept to document this.

You should understand the differences in the way some shops and providers operate in the manner in which they pay their technicians (mechanics). Your key take-aways should be that service advisers are almost always paid commission, and that, in many shop environments, (usually, although not always, in the larger and corporate ones), technicians’ pay structures reward fast completion times and the generation of profitable work.

While I believe most people to be honest, both practices incentivize the sales of maintenance, parts, and services that might — how shall I say this nicely? —— considerably exceed the manufacturer’s or industry’s requirements.

Not that this can’t just as easily happen at an independent. Although it’s true that these are also businesses where work performed directly benefits the owner, these privately owned shops tend to place a far higher value on customer retention and long-term relationships. This could be because they don’t benefit from corporate advertising budgets or being associated with (warrantied) new car sales. More likely, it’s because their name and reputation is directly tied to their business.

Wherever you choose to go, you should be aware that laws are in place to protect you, although they do vary from province to province.

“Part VI: Repairs to Motor Vehicles and Other Goods” of Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act sets out that consumers have the right to an estimate, and that this estimate cannot be exceeded by more than 10 per cent in the completed repair, and minimum warranty periods of 90 days and 5,000 kilometres for any labour and parts paid for (which most service providers will tend to exceed anyway) are also stipulated.

Do note that that estimate does not have to be provided for free. But you must be informed of any charge for it beforehand, and, except under specific circumstances, it cannot be added to the repair’s final cost.

Most important of all: you have the right to decline any repairs.

Ask a Mechanic is written by Brian Early, a Red Seal-certified automotive technician. You can send questions to wheels@thestar.ca