You Should Buy Trust, Not Price
At Orinda Motors, we hear the question about what something would cost sometimes 20 times a day. And why not, that is generally the only question most consumers think to ask.
Unfortunately, having a phone conversation about what anything costs typically leaves questions impossible to answer accurately. Without knowing more specifics (like VIN#, tire or rotor sizes, size of motor, type of transmission, type of drive, etc.) than most consumers can easily find, the repair/service facility would be guessing, and guessing isn’t fair to the consumer or the facility!
Certainly, there are some things that can be priced. Things like basic alignments, oil change services and inspections fall into this category, but after that it becomes very difficult to impossible to be fair to either party.
In order to properly estimate anything other than the above-mentioned black and white services, all repair/service facilities need to see your vehicle to give you a proper estimate for repairs. There are simply too many variables to give accurate estimates over the phone! Find a facility that you trust and stick with it.
Finding a facility that you trust is the next big hurdle. What do you look for? Is it the least expensive labor rate, the least expensive parts or the length of warranties?
You should take your car to a place that would elicit good answers to the following questions: Does the business spend the time needed explaining things to you in terms you can understand? Does the business only use quality parts? Is a warranty 24-months or 24,000 miles minimum? Is there a nationwide warranty? Is access for you convenient? Are reviews good to great?
Notice nothing here was about price because price is relative in its importance; it is not (or should not be) your most important consideration. Look at the aforementioned items first, not price; you should be buying trust, not price.
Look for a facility that makes you feel safe and secure in your decision to use it. You are not buying the same thing from facility to facility!
And for those of you who may think “auto-repair” is easy, think about this for a minute: There is more computing power in most new vehicles nowadays than there was in the Saturn rocket that sent man to the moon!
