The Girls' Guide to Car Repairs

Girls, do you ever feel like they're taking you for a ride when you take your ride in for repairs? I used to...and that's when I decided to do something about it. Never again am I at the mercy of some counter guy at the mechanic with dollar signs in his eyes.

Of course, the obvious solution is to take someone with you who knows cars, but sometimes, that isn't possible. (Particularly if you've only gone in for a simple oil change and they "discover" a problem.) Based on my experiences (and believe me, with the car I used to drive, I've got experience), I've come up with five tips that can save you some heartache and moolah.

1. Know your car. You don't have to know where the joints connect to the chassis (or whatever...) but it does help if you know the basic maintenance schedule of your car. Know when the manufacturer recommends a tune up. Know when to have your engine belts inspected and the chassis lubricated. These things can be found in your owner's manual. (I keep one copy in the glove box and another in my house. If you ask nicely, the car dealership will give you two.) Also, join the owner's group online. Go to the website of the manufacturer. They usually have a link.

2. Check your own fluids. I do it once a month. Pop your hood. Everything's labeled all nice and neat. There are four that I check: oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid. Let's go with the transmission fluid, for sake of example. Pull on the labeled component. There will be a long stick (for lack of a better description). Wipe it with a rag. (I keep one in the trunk for this purpose.) Stick it back in for a few seconds and pull it out again. The stick has markings on it at the correct position for full and low (or empty). Hopefully you'll see a smear of fluid somewhere above the empty line. The closer it is to the empty line, the sooner you need your fluids changed.

3. Just say 'No.' I like to take my car for oil changes when they're having a special. "Complete Oil Change for $15 with a free tire rotation." That's where you'll find me. This special price is called a loss leader. This means that the business is taking a loss on this particular service in hoes that once you're there, you'll more than make up for it with other higher cost services. For example, when I last went in for a $12.99 oil change at a national chain of tire shops, they told me that my tires were below the legal tire quality limit (not only was this the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, but my state does not have mandatory car inspections) and that my wheel bearings were shot and could go out at any moment. The total cost of repairs for my car would be (get this) $1700.

Just say no! You can say "No, not today." Plain and simple. Or you can say, "Oh wow! I left the house without my checkbook. Let me come back with it." Anything to get out of the shop and their pressure so you can adequately research what they told you. They may try to scare you into it. ("We had a car that had to be towed off the interstate just the other day with the same problem.") That's okay. If you haven't noticed a problem and you've been properly maintaining your car, your wheel bearings or timing belt or alternator is not going to fail in between the shop and your house. Back to my example...When they told me that, I said, "I'm not prepared to spend that much money today. Just give me the oil change and I'll come back another time." When I got home, I found that for my make and model of car, the wheel bearings are good for 100,000 miles (my car has 30,000) with proper maintenance (I'm a maintenance fanatic). It didn't have any of the symptoms. Plus, I checked my own tires. I didn't need four, but I did need two (which I got from a different store after my experience with them). Not only that, the price for the part was ¼ the price of the part on the estimate they provided at the six auto part stores I surveyed (including the one they claim to purchase their parts from).

Just say no!

4. Pretend you have the knowledge you don't. When you do notice a strange noise or vibration, take some time and drive with the radio off. Take note of everything you notice. Then go home and Google the symptoms. Pick one that sounds good (it doesn't matter if it's accurate), go to the auto mechanic, look him or her straight in the eye and say with the utmost confidence, "I think my rear struts are on the brink (or whatever ailment you select). Could you check it out for me and give me a price range?" When you know some terminology, they're less likely to take you for a mark. Do this at two or three places and get a consensus on the problem and the cost to repair.

5. Pick a place you trust. The shop I went to for repairs on my old car wasn't necessarily the cheapest. This was a place I trusted. Not only were the mechanics and front desk people friendly, they educated me. They would call me back into the garage while my car was up and show me the problem. If a joint was wiggling, they let me wiggle it. If a part was warped, they showed me the warped part on my car and what a new part looked like. Plus, they encouraged me to go home and research it before making a decision. Now that's customer service! You might not be able to find a place like that, but do ask that they show you the problem on the car. If they're good and they care about you as a customer, they will do this. Plus, maybe the next time you won't have to fake knowledge; you'll actually have it!