How to Get Good Car Repair Advice


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Automotive Forums

Another source of information many people use on the internet are automotive forums. There are hundreds of forums dedicated to specific vehicle makes and models as well as more general automotive forums. Forums contain a wealth of information, but also a lot of misinformation and conflicting information.

The typical forum user will post a question in hopes that other forum users will respond and offer an answer or advice on how to solve the problem. But with all forums, there is no guarantee that anyone will respond or that any responses they do receive will be accurate or helpful. It all depends on the other forum members and who posts a response. Many forum users are quite knowledgeable and can provide exactly the kind of answer you are looking for. Other forum users want to be helpful and may venture a guess or offer an opinion that may or may not be accurate or may be totally wrong. In other words, it may be hard to distinguish good advice from bad advice.

Most forums are moderated to delete spam, rants and off-topic posts and comments that don't belong on the forum. But in most instances, the accuracy of the posts and responses is left up to the forum users. There's no editing or vetting or review of the comments that are posted. Consequently, if inaccurate or incorrect responses are posted to a question, other more knowledgeable users may or may not challenge a post or offer additional information.

We've seen many forum responses degenerate into endless bickering between conflicting points of view. We've also seen a lot of posts that totally contradict one another. There's nothing wrong with a good debate provided the people involved know what they are talking about. But unless there is some resolution to the debate, or some serious fact checking involved, the person who posted the original question may be left confused and no closer to finding an answer than when they started.

 

While you often get what you pay for, I have gained a lot from forum advice, I have mentioned a problem and have been told of known problems and economical solutions.

The best advice I received was to change the brake fluid every 2 years. I found no mention of it in the manual. I did some quick research to confirm the advice and quickly changed the brake fluid in the 4 and 5 year old Mazdas my kids drive.

Take the advice from forum members as suggestions to consider and decide on your own.

It is unfortunate when the discussion gets heated with strong personal opinions.

 

When your automobile breaks down and you can't find a reliable expert mechanic. You go straight to auto forums dedicated to your particular automobile brand. You can get a lot of important information on such boards. But, to be honest, I don't have faith in them, therefore I try to fix their mistakes myself. I'm considering starting my own auto repair shop, lol. Look at this site if you've ever considered it. I'm intrigued, what are your thoughts on it?

 

Opening your own shop is always an adventure and if your heart is set on trying it GO FOR IT.
Forums are complicated and many personalities and experience levels both professionally and DIY. The professionals often times conflict with DIY.

 

I have the worst luck when it comes to cars, My first car a corsa 2011 I spent 3k on lasted 1 year to one day have its body control module go... which is a rare thing to go and an impossible part to replace as its no longer sourced. My luck well that car gets scrapped for 500 quid compare to what I could sell for was crap but we move. I need a car so I sort of panic buy a cheap run around a Ford fiesta spent 900 on it, had 5 months until its mot which its just failed. Now the cars not worth alot and repair wise it needs a new exhaust, corroded break pipes replaces and a couple other things I can't remember there sending me a detailed list. Anyways cost of repairs is around 600-700 the garage has said. They were honest to say is it worth it due to the value of the car. But my issue is I need a car and I'm a clueless girl with not alot of money to buy a new car. Scrapping this car and buying a new cheap run around to likely fail its mot seems silly to me and I hsve no one to check it over for me and my budget wud be a grand. Is it best to get the repairs done and have the Ford for the next year with no problems. And if I am to sell it before its next mot how much do you reckon I could get from it from selling privately?

 

Find a shop that your friends or if it fits your fellow workers and see who they use.

It is "better" to find an honest shop to just give you a qualified inspection and cost to do the labor. In the USA there is what is called a flat rate service advisory which has a large data base of service procedure and how long it takes to replace a part or do a service. As for parts you either pay for the shop to get the part and they will charge you at least what they paid but more than likely bump the coast up from the retail value in your area or you can get the parts yourself and take them to the shop. But ask about their exact policy regarding customer supplied parts.

 

The first step should be to throughly investigate any used car you are considering buying. However, any extremely low cost car will likely need a good bit of work to get it running and reliable. It sounds like you are buying cars that need work, getting some of it done, selling them and moving on to the next in the series. The person that buys the cars from you goes through the same thing.

I would likely keep the one you have if the mechanic thinks it can be repaired and will be fairly reliable after the repair. You should compare the cost to repair to the cost of the next car PLUS a couple thousand in repairs that one will need.