Are you the owner of a vehicle? If you do, you have probably needed repairs at some point. The stress involved with finding a reputable auto repair service is enough to drive anyone crazy. Luckily, this piece includes lots of tricks to help get you a great mechanic.

Battery Charger

Keep a good battery charger in your car. Dead batteries happen a lot, and you can provide assistance to others if you keep a charger on hand. Make sure you learn the points on your car where the battery charger should be connected.

Don’t underestimate how important it is to have some kind of emergency kit within your vehicle. This kit should include specific tools for charging your battery, changing your tire, etc. Add some blankets, a flashlight and some batteries in case your car breaks down at night.

When you take your car to the shop, ask plenty of questions about your vehicle. Make sure that you are specific with your questions when you pose them. You can save a lot of money when you know how to prevent problems.

Keeping your car washed will help prevent rust. Your car will rust out but you can easily delay this process by washing off salt and chemicals. Protect your paint with regular waxing.

Go through your automobile’s manual and make sure to mark important pages. Do not hesitate to let your mechanic know about what you learned from the owner’s manual. The manual may give you information to help you easily fix a problem.

Get OEM components. These parts come from the manufacturer of your car. It’s cheaper to get the generic parts, but the quality may not be the same. They may initially be a deal, but the generic parts may make you pay more in the long run.

Do not leave valuable items in the interior of your car if you need to leave it at the repair shop. The mechanic might need to move these things so they can do the job, and they won’t assume responsibility if anything comes up missing. Remove all items from the trunk too.

Make sure that you always keep a spare tire and jack in your vehicle. The majority of new cars have them automatically. They are extremely helpful if your car experiences a problem while you are out on the road and you don’t want to call a tow truck. It will be quicker and less costly when you do it yourself.

Replace your light bulbs on your own. In some vehicles, this repair is easier than in others. But, if you can do it yourself, you will save money. Ask your friends and relatives if they can help with this small repair.

Find out how much a mechanic charges for the repair, including labor, before you hand over your keys. Some fees may not be readily apparent, so make sure you know exactly what they are. You need to understand how and why you are being billed for your car repairs. Some shops will give an estimate on the repair time based on manufacturers guidelines. Some minor repairs might be considered as an all day job by some manufacturers.

Wash your car all winter long. While it probably doesn’t seem like there’s a point, winter time can be damaging to your vehicle. Salt and sand can tear away at the surface of your car. Wash your car thoroughly and dry it to keep ice from forming on it.

Find technicians to do your auto repair tasks instead of your dealer. You should be able to find reliable mechanics in your area, either by going to a repair shop or an independent garage. If you’re comfortable with a tech, use him or her.

Every time you get gas, you should also check the pressure of your tires. Look at them and be sure they don’t have anything embedded in them. If you see anything wrong with them, get the problem fixed right away. It’s dangerous to drive on faulty tires.

Think about snapping some photos of your car prior to taking it to the auto body shop. Some shops might strip your car to justify billing you for more repairs. You should make sure you keep track of the way your vehicle is looking just in case something like this were to happen.

Don’t try to diagnose complicated issues. Cars are complex and it takes expertise to fix them. A minor issue can spiral into a huge dilemma. Allow the diagnosis to be made by a professional, when possible. Provide them with every detail of what happened and what was heard, but let them provide the final diagnosis.

Many people don’t actually read their car manual. There is a lot of information in this book that can help you. You can learn a lot about preventative maintenance and small repairs in your manual.

Check fluid levels and fill them yourself. This is easy. You can do these routine maintenance jobs yourself. Mechanics aren’t required. You must know how to do certain things, and then you can grease up those hands.

Keep track of all your vehicle repair and maintenance receipts in an accordion folder in your car. You can divide them by type of repair and maintenance or use a simple reverse chronology system in which you place the most recent repair receipt on top. Keeping a detailed record of all the repairs made is very useful and can help your mechanic diagnose recurring issues very quickly. This will also come in handy if you decide to sell your vehicle and want to let the buyer know about how much you invested in the vehicle.

Finding a good, reliable mechanic to fix your car can cause you a lot of headaches. Be sure to use the tips mentioned when you are in need of a good mechanic. The right effort and investigation can really save you the struggle later on.