You’re pretty sure that you are having a problem with your transmission. Now what? As you can imagine, there are disreputable shops as well as great ones but how can you tell the difference? Here are 6 things to look for: 1) Although it is a bit too late once you already have a problem, the first piece of advice is to have developed a relationship with a shop that you can trust. This can be done by visiting a transmission shop for regular maintenance such as a transmission flush or fluid change and seeing if you like them and their level of service. On that note, there is no downside to being proactive with your transmission and having regular services performed, often times, taking care of your car in the first place will prevent you from having to have major repairs performed in the future. 2) Look at the waiting room, if there is one. Is it a dirty place that you don’t feel like being in or is it comfortable, professional and inviting? You may want to look around; chances are if you are in a component shop, you will see numerous certifications and diplomas on the wall. This is, of course, is an indication of the level of professionalism and on-going training that has been completed by the technicians that will be repairing your transmission. A shop may even have letters on the wall written by happy customers, which speaks for itself. 3) Ask around. Check with your friends, relatives and your regular mechanic. It is possible that they have had transmission repair work performed before and they can probably tell you about their
experiences- good or bad. 4) Check the internet. Often times, businesses are rated by their customers on some of the "local" or phone book type sites. One can usually type in "transmission repair" along with the name of your city and the word "recommendation" to find these kinds of results. 5) Deal with a specialist. Often times, a shop that may be able to rebuild a Chevy pick-up transmission might not do so well with your Mercedes, BMW or Audi. See what kind of cars are in the lot and ask the shop if they work on your particular vehicle. In many areas of the country, some European and Japanese vehicles are not very common and you may be better off purchasing a rebuilt transmission online from a specialist and having your local shop install it. 6) Last but not least, go with your gut. If you have a bad feeling about a repair shop, you may be right. In addition to taking the aforementioned steps, don’t necessarily assume that the large chains that you see advertised are the best place to have your transmission repaired. Keep in mind that they are all independently owned and operated so there can be bad apples among them as well. One other thing worth mentioning is about price- rarely is the shop that can quote you the lowest pricing over the phone the place that you will want to go. Typically only two things can happen when a very low price is quoted- the quality may be low to match because some of the parts needed for a long lasting repair had to be left out OR that low price may change to a higher one when you go to pick up your car.
