Tip #1 Incompetent shops that provide wrong diagnositcs
Let’s start with a fact of life about your vehicle. If it was build after about 1992, it is full of computers and electronics. A computer controls the engine. Another controls the transmission while another controls the brakes and others control doors, lights, climate, suspension and a number of other things. A problem in one system, such as brakes, may show up as a symptom in another area, such as the transmission. The troubleshooting skills of ten years ago have become nearly worthless unless the shop and technicians have kept up with current technology and invested in the specialized diagnostic equipment to test today's vehicles.
These advances in vehicles has resulted in shops and technicians splitting into three different groups:
- Cheap repair shops that are capable of replacing parts that
are visibly damaged.
These shops, and their mechanics, rely on seeing parts that are obviously damaged or they go into a guessing game as to what is not working. This often results in replacing a lot of parts that are not damaged - parts and labor that you pay for. - Dealers where the general repair approach is to read the computer and replace whatever part is indicated. This works sometimes but far too often, the computer simply can not correctly identify what is really going on with your vehicle. Again, the consumers ends up paying for a lot of swapped parts they didn't need and the associated labor.
- State of the art, independent shops. These are the places where the technicians have real diagnostic skills, have kept those skills up to date and have access to modern diagnostic equipment. This is how we operate at AAMCO of Lee's Summit and we feel this is the best way to get you back on the road with the right repair and the right price.
Skipping diagnostics with modern vehicles is rarely a good idea and usually end sup costing you money with unneeded repairs.