auto service rating?

bit

BTW, does anyone know any reputable auto service in San Diego? or is there any website that rate auto services in each city? Thanks a lot.

seelig

find out who is recommended for a service, i usually ask around. but when i can't find anyone who knows, i end up calling the local BBB. they usually have a list of business establishments that are known for customer satisfaction. if you use their advice, just remember that they only recommend on the basis of customer feedback, so don't blame them if you use someone from their list and it doesn't work out. it's tough for the consumer today, cause there are quite a few lowlifes out there. i'm in the central valley, but have friends in your area, and i've heard some good horror stories.
good luck

armtdm

Go to this site and there is a link where they provide customer feed back on shops allover the country. Worth a look

http://cartalk.cars.com/

Mr_Shiftright

I find a problem with customer referrals sometimes. They will often refer a shop that is nice to them, rather than having a clue as to whether they are competent or not. But it's certainly a good place to start. For instance, I've been told that certain shops in my area are good (people are always asking me to recommend one) and I go there and the place is a living horrifying pigpen. I would never send anyone there, I don't care if the man is a genius who runs it. Sloppy shop is not a good sign. Fact is, the guy who runs it was a helluva nice guy but I could tell his work habits were for 1960s cars, not 2001 cars.

Here's what I look for:

1. personal referral
2. Very clean orderly shop
3. Credentials and/or recommendations displayed (diplomas, AAA recommendations, etc.)
4. Clean record with local Better Business Bureau
5. Years in business
6. Type of cars in the shop and on the grounds (to see if they work on cars like yours)

armtdm

the BBB has become a useless tool since they became gun shy of lawsuits and all you get when you give them a call is that there was a dispoute filed and it has been rectified. No concept of what the issue was etc. they are now a useless tool of the businesses that pay the fees! Never ever had them do anything about a claim except refer it back to the shop in dispute.

Mr_Shiftright

All true, BBB is business supported and very wishy washy, but....that being said, if you get ANY kind of message from BBB about complaints, you can be sure the place is pretty bad I think. You need to read between the lines at the BBB. You have to run a somewhat problematic repair shop to have had multiple complaints filed against you with them...so one complaint isn't bad but multiple complaints with the BBB is a red flag--even if you don't know what they were about.

seelig

the BBB is only a STARTING point, as i saw the original poster asking where to get refferals to a good repair shop. it doesn't mean that the shops they recommend are going to be the best or neat and tidy. that part is a no brainer, and if someone takes pride in their car, it's up to them to decide whether or not they want to take it to the local slob shop. the only real refferal i would go with is the one from someone who has used a shop with great, and i say GREAT results. but if someone is clueless and comes here to ask where to go, i still say the BBB in THEIR area, is a starting point. since BBB is supported by business owners, they are not going to be able to go back and review every operation, but they do keep a fairly updated profile of those who do shoddy business in the areas they cover. which also means they will give you a couple of SUGGESTIONS for places to check out. it doesn't mean that they are 100% positive that the establishment is going to work out. other than that, does anyone have any positive input for the original poster?

Mr_Shiftright

He seemed to be asking for a rating service.

I believe AAA still offers their repair shop guarantee...they list about 600 shops...the contact # is 1-800-6450-4288.

If you own the type of car that has a local or national club associated with it, they would also be a good source of info. You could do a www.google.com search for that type of club.

Also, many metro newspapers do a "Best Of" every year, you could call and ask them if they've done one for repair shops.