Finding a new garage

marcarm

Need some major work done on my car. I have used 'whocanfixmycar.com' and one of the quotes that has come back is very agreeable.

I know that cheaper does not necessarily equal better, but I have checked out reviews (of which there are a few as it seems to be quite a new garage) and other info I have found shows the guy who owns it has over 2 decades of experience in the trade.

The quote has been broken down into parts/labour which both are a lot cheaper than my local trustworthy garage.

So, with an agreeable price, at least 10 reviews online, none lower than 4/5, collection and delivery and everything looking good, is there anything that would put you off using them?

Strider590

I'd have to check out the business model of the website, there are many sites like that for recommending tradesmen, but most of them take money from the tradesmen to actually put them on the site, so all impartiality goes out the window.

In some case your lead to believe that your the websites customer, when in fact your the "product" being sold to dodgy traders.

marcarm

This one you put what you need doing and it sends the job out to loads of different garages and they price the job and get back to you, so as far as I can see the website is not recommending anyone at all, you have the prices and are free to contact who you want to.

Think it is similar to that carwow website, I put in my car details, said what needed doing and it got sent to about 10 different garages, and 5 of them got back to me with a quote

The reviews I have got from at least 3 different websites including this one.

EssexExile

I needed a specialist to repair a car many years ago. I phoned a chap who seemed to fit the bill & specialised in the model I had. Even better he lived in the same village as me so he popped round & gave me a quote. All seemed well so a few days later he picked the car up & off he went. Weeks passed of phone calls & excuses & eventually I got fed up & went to his workplace. It was a falling-down wooden shed behind some shops & his main business seemed to be keeping the local taxis going on a shoestring.

Go & see the place first & see what sort of establishment it is.

AdrianC

Strider590 wrote: »

I'd have to check out the business model of the website, there are many sites like that for recommending tradesmen, but most of them take money from the tradesmen to actually put them on the site, so all impartiality goes out the window.

In some case your lead to believe that your the websites customer, when in fact your the "product" being sold to dodgy traders.

Well, who'd have thought it...
https://www.whocanfixmycar.com/terms
The garage are liable for a "success fee" if you use them...

Strider590

AdrianC wrote: »

Well, who'd have thought it...
https://www.whocanfixmycar.com/terms
The garage are liable for a "success fee" if you use them...

Or perhaps more concerning...

In order to have your Listing published in the Service and in order to submit Quotes for Jobs, Mechanics must become a member by paying the applicable annual membership fees

marcarm

Strider590 wrote: »

Or perhaps more concerning...

But the quotes are not just for independent garages, I've had quotes from main dealers and long established garages through there.

Is it not just a way of the garage reaching a wider audience?

Strider590

Ok, for example Crapfit offer certain cheap services, but the catch is they find other work to do, they upsell. What's to say the cheapest quoting garage isn't going to do that?

The best garages don't need to rip people off, they don't need to advertise, they don't need to use sites like that. The best garages are fully booked weeks ahead and build a customer base over many years of providing a good service.

AdrianC

marcarm wrote: »

Is it not just a way of the garage reaching a wider audience?

Yes, of course it is.

But are the site choosing their "recommended" garages by reputation and quality, or by willingness to pay?
Are GOOD garages in need of that route to market, or are they busy enough by personal recommendation that they don't need to pay?

marcarm

AdrianC wrote: »

Yes, of course it is.

But are the site choosing their "recommended" garages by reputation and quality, or by willingness to pay?
Are GOOD garages in need of that route to market, or are they busy enough by personal recommendation that they don't need to pay?

That makes sense, but as far as I can see they don't recommend any of the garages, the job is just sent out to all the garages in my area that are on the site.

The garage I'm looking at, I can see no tangible reason not to go with them. They have a clean tidy workshop, reviews on several sites are good, they have responded quickly and professionally to my messages and all their details check out on companieshouse etc. They will also collect and deliver which is a bonus as I don't want to drive it far at the moment

It seems as though they are a lot cheaper on the labour side, they said £295 for labour and it takes 7 hours so that is just over £40 per hour, the parts seems to be roughly the same price there than the other places I've looked at.

I just want a good job at a reasonable price, and there are so many cowboys out there I just go out expecting to be scammed or for them to do a bodge job with 2 bits of duct tape and a hammer!

Herzlos

Would a good, busy independent garage have time to price up online jobs on the off-chance?
Are they likely to low-ball and try to bring the price up after the fact?

I'd have a look for reviews elsewhere (it may be an honest mechanic offering a good deal), and I'd check what the parts are supposed to cost from a reputable supplier (is he fitting genuine OEM or reputable pattern parts or the cheapest ones he can find?).

If you're not sure, stick to your local trustworthy guy, there's a reason you trust him already.