"2010: Bay Area's Top 5 Auto Repair Shops"
By: ERIKA AYALA
The Associated Press
Monday, April 27, 2010
CALIFORNIA -- Don't you think it is bad enough that you have to spend money on fixing your car? On top of that, you have to deal with crooked mechanics, overpriced shops and a bill that seems to be a lot higher than what you were originally quoted. It’s a scary thought, but unfortunately it happens to people like you every day. To make the whole situation worse, if your mechanic doesn't fix things right the first time, you can end up coming back a few more times or even worse, be stranded by the side of the road. For all these reasons, it's very important that you choose the right shop to service your auto needs.
Car maintenance and most accidents are pretty much unavoidable, but most people have no idea what shops to avoid. That is why at Bay Area Local1x, we value our readers well-being, which is why we are promising to uncover the Bay Area's top places to get your car fixed. We recruited one of the Bay Area's top Master ASE Certified Technicians, Hung Luu, to help us investigate the best shops. Hung Luu, with over 25 years of working experience within 5 different shops, was able to narrow down what traits makes a great mechanic shop excellent. Whatever is wrong with your car or whatever you didn't like about your current mechanic, he has probably seen it all.
Although there are a lot of things that people look for in an automotive repair shop, we have narrowed it down to the top 5 different factors that we feel matter the most. We based our decision and rankings off of 5 different characteristics, which are: Price, Customer Service, Quality, Speed and Reputations. To find out who were our winners, scroll down and find out why
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To qualify, we looked for shops that have been in the San Francisco - Bay Area and have been in business for at least 5 years. We also required that these shops can perform a general range of automotive repair services. That means that all car paint, auto body, tire repair, oil change specialists, California smog check facilities, brake, alignment and muffler shops were excluded. As a requirement, all the shops that we reviewed and inspected had to be ASE Certified, qualified to perform a set of general auto repair services and work on all car makes and models.
General automotive services includes, but not limited to - automotive diagnostics, mechanical repairs, engine repairs, electrical and a/c, transmission service and repair, tires and wheels, oil changes, brakes, tune ups, timing belt, water pump, tire repair, muffler replacement, preventive factory maintenance, starter, alternator, steering and suspension repair, fuel injection & induction service, cooling system and radiator services.
Auto repair shops must be able to service all makes and models. By makes and models, we are referring to - acura, honda, hyundai, infiniti, isuzu, lexus, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, scion, subaru, suzuki, toyota, ford, chrysler, dodge, lincoln, saturn, audi, bmw, jaguar, mercedes, porsche, volkswagen, and volvo.
All shop mechanics must have at least 2 Master ASE Automobile Technicians. ASE stands for automotive service excellence and was formed by the non profit national institute in 1972 to improve the quality of vehicle repair and service. Since then, this industry driven seal of approvement has been the standard and requirement for all top mechanic, service writers and auto repair shops throughout the Nation. To achieve a Master ASE Automobile level of certification, a mechanic must complete the following automotive technician tests: Engine Repair, Electrical/Electronic Systems, Brakes, Automatic Transmission/Transaxle, Manual Drive Train & Axles, Suspension and Steering, Heating and Air Conditioning and Engine Performance.
For more information or inquiries about how we can get ourselves in your side of town, please email us at info@local1x.com
