Empowering You to Make Better Decisions
SAVE TIME AND MONEY KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT
Just like a doctor’s appointment, nobody wants their routine check up to be “eventful”. Getting your oil changed is similar to getting your routine checkup and you never want your oil change appointment to be eventful either. When you find out something is wrong with your car, you may immediately start to wonder about the financial costs and the time burden required to fix it. Just like at a doctor’s office, you deserve to know about anything that was found along with all of your options — in treatment and financing — before making a decision on what your next steps will be.
I believe that every person deserves to know exactly what is going on with their vehicle along with what options are available to them. It has always been part of my dream that we can do just that for our customers at Victory Auto Service!
I love what I do, but it’s no secret that our industry breeds mistrust, and I completely understand why. Over the past few decades, I’ve heard hundreds of stories about shops giving inconsistent diagnoses, failing to give options for “treating” your car’s issues, or simply charging more than they should. This is partially because not all mechanics are willing to take the time to explain all of your options or perhaps they don’t know how to explain your car’s issues in a relatable and understandable manner.
What many shops don’t realize, though, is that explaining the issue thoroughly is a key responsibility to customers like you. You wouldn’t want to hear that your body has a problem and also have a doctor who refuses to explain what the problem is or how it happened. That would be crazy! It’s the doctor’s responsibility to ensure you understand the problem so they can begin to explain what options you have for how to fix it.
You can save a lot of time and money by understanding your car’s issues ahead of time. For example, just because a part is worn doesn’t mean your car is unsafe. By taking time to explain your car to you, you’ll not only understand it more, but we often open up new possibilities that other shops don’t offer. Knowing what to expect is a powerful tool whether managing a vehicle or our bodies.
Some issues we might discover are so small that it might take 30,000 miles until it ever becomes an issue. For other issues, we can offer to repair a part instead of replacing it and monitor the part over time (especially if you come in regularly for oil changes). Unfortunately, we discover misdiagnosed repairs from previously visited shops all the time, such as a harmless seep being miscategorized as a leak or vice versa.
I’ve heard many stories from my customers about how after driving into the closest auto repair shop — or even a dealership, which is not as trustworthy as you’d hope — they were suddenly quoted for a “necessary” $800 brake repair they can’t afford. Then, they get a second opinion with Victory, and we’ll be able to offer a far wider selection of solutions. This makes it more affordable, even with serious repairs.
Not many people know about the hidden costs of jumping from one auto repair shop to the next. We understand that many customers simply want to save money, or they just don’t know whom to trust. Choosing a shop with integrity and a team that is highly trained means that you are never going to get stuck wasting your money on repairs that your vehicle does not need. At Victory we choose to hire highly trained people with integrity. We have Certified Technicians, ASE Certified Technicians and Master Technicians at every single Victory location. To become a certified technician, it takes two years of proven car experience and a specialized exam. To become an ASE Certified technician you have to go through the same amount of training and testing as you do to become a CPA.
After leaving your doctor’s office, you don’t want to feel that you were pressured into taking a specific treatment option that you don’t really understand — you want to feel good that you’ve chosen a treatment based on your informed knowledge. It’s always been my dream that at Victory, we put that power in your hands for your car. Our goal is to give you the very best information possible for every step along your vehicle maintenance journey so that you can make informed decisions about your vehicle without any pressure. The choice should always be yours to make based on informed knowledge about your vehicle.
My team and I are grateful for you, and if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask a technician or give us a call. We’ll be thrilled to help.
- Jeff Matt