It might seem very logical and sensible to rely on expert opinions for highly technical subject areas like our cars, and simply look up to mechanics when things go wrong. But unfortunately as we have it here in Nigeria, questioning or double checking a technical advice from a practitioner is the sensible way to go.

The reasons behind this trend is to avoid situations where you find mechanics twisting their advise in their favor, as it is not uncommon for car owners to receive re-cycled advise which obviously come from the limited experience on the part of the mechanic.

So why do we have to worry about even the tiniest advise we get from an auto-technical personnel?

Hammering on the need to question mechanic advice you get doesn’t mean there are no good and experienced mechanics. However, a fair chunk of ‘sophisticated’ mechanics tow the same line as a lot of untrustworthy ones.

And these factors make it necessary to weigh opinions you get from mechanics by considering the nuggets below.

Cross-reference User experiences: Your most formidable tool to carry this out is the internet which allows you to connect with as many car owners (with the same brand and model as yours).

What does your car manual say? It’s that simple; consult your owners’ manual and find out what your car manufacturer has to say.

Your direct experiences: your past experiences with the auto-technician plays an important role which builds up what most might refer to as ‘gut feelings’. So based on the little or plenty experiences, what does your gut feeling say about anchoring your actions on a mere opinion from that mechanic?

Perceived skill level of technician: it might take another expert in automobile repair and maintenance to accurately ascertain the true level of your mechanics’ expertise. However you could still come up with a sketchy evaluation based on your perceptive level and understanding of how cars work and how they ought to be repaired.

Equipment-Expertise assessment: does your mechanic have sophisticated and necessary tools observed to be commonly used by other mechanics? How long have they had these tools and equipment? Do they get to use these equipment? How well do they employ these tools to solve car problems? These questions should help to examine another angle of their expertise level.

Evaluating auto-mechanics can be a daunting task, but the above pointers can help in making a quick judgement during instances that might require being decisive. These occasions span from decisions like the type of car to buy to even procedures to perform at different times on your car.

 

Source: roadbloggers.com