Repair shop honesty

[martinglen]

I took my truck to a shop with an issue I'm having to be repaired. After 4 days they couldn't figure out the problem. I'm taking it to a different shop next week. Should I tell them the first shop couldn't figure out the problem?

 

[97RangerXLT]

Eh, my thought is no. Tell them as much as you can to help analyze the problem and let them do their work. If they fix it, then you know which shop to take it to going forward.

AJ

 

[martinglen]

Makes sense. Thanks for your reply.

 

[19Walt93]

It might help them to know what was done so they don't waste time chasing codes the first shop set during the process. My shop would often get vehicles that other dealers didn't/couldn't/wouldn't fix and we'd end up undoing their work to find the actual problem. Just telling them the other guys didn't fix it might be helpful, telling them exactly what was done would be more helpful. It's possible- and actually likely- that a shop could be perfectly honest and just not competent.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I read some good advice on finding a decent shop. Tell them your general problem, if they immediately try to sell you parts, walk away. If you get head scratching, questions, and maybe a diagnosis recommendation, you are off to a good start.

 

[rumblecloud]

i'm extremely fortunate in my area. I have found two reliable and trustworthy repair shops while fixing restoring my Ranger. One is old school and the other a little of both.

 

[RonD]

Tell the new shop about the unsuccessful repairs, and any parts list that was provided by the first shop
You don't want to pay double for parts or tests

The goal is to get your vehicle working as it should, so any and all info is of value in diagnostics
Its not a "game" on who is better, unless you are doing it for Automobile Association reviews, lol

I assume its an intermittent issue so may not be able to be diagnosed until there is a full failure of the system in any case