The first and one of the fundamental points is the choice of the service station where you are going to get serviced. If the car is under warranty, then, of course, all work must be done at the official service center of the brand. However, when all warranty obligations expire, you can try to find either a better quality service station, or a cheaper one, or one that has both of these advantages at the same time. You can choose endlessly, but there is one piece of advice: before finally moving under the wing of a new "garage", you need to go there to replace, for example, brake pads and see in what conditions, how and at what price the services will be provided. Be sure to pay attention to how the reception specialist works. In the best case, he should be ready to provide you with any information regarding the cost of repairs. The receptionist is obliged to warn you that the final cost of repairs may be higher. For example, if when replacing a CV joint boot it turns out that the elements of this joint are on the verge of failure, then they will also have to be replaced, and this will increase the time of work and its cost. A good service center will warn you about this. The availability of all necessary consumables in stock also adds to the positive ratings of the car service. Also, do not forget that you have the right to provide your spare parts and operating materials, and no service station has the right to refuse you this. By the way, friends, do not "fall for" all sorts of bonuses from the service, since no one will work at a loss, this is a fact
It is necessary to pay attention to the following point: at a normal service, before starting any work, the seats and steering wheel of your car should be covered with clean bags - so that the mechanics do not damage or stain the interior trim. Be sure to pay attention to whether all work is performed with a professional tool. This is an indicator of quality. It is also worth finding out from the car's operating manual about the places to install the jack. Not noticing that the side was bent when lifting the car initially will add a financial burden to you the next time you visit the service, since it will be impossible to prove that you did not bend the sides. Pay attention to how and with what the wheel nuts are tightened. And if at the post this operation is performed "by eye" and without a torque wrench or pneumatic impact wrench (with the ability to set the required tightening torque), we strongly advise against visiting such an establishment. Another subtlety: look at how the wheels are laid after their dismantling - if the outer side is down, then there is a possibility that the service is not professional. After all, restoring the damaged surface of the disk can cost a lot of money.
Now let's look at the trip to the service station itself after you have made your choice.
You need to prepare for a visit to the car service. Wash the car. Remove all unnecessary items from the interior, turn off the alarm, unscrew all the secret nuts and put them in a visible place.
So, you've driven to the post, and the most interesting part has begun - direct communication with the mechanic. You need to establish verbal contact with a complete stranger, who may meet a dozen or even two people like you in a day. Simply explain in an understandable way what is not working in the car as it did before, and also try to convey to the person the problems that arose due to defects. It is very important not to diagnose yourself and not to give any categorical recommendations. Since many services operate on the principle of never saving on the customer's money, your request: "It is necessary to replace all the silent blocks" will be fulfilled immediately, even despite the fact that the car on the "old" ones can drive another fifty thousand. Ask the mechanic to listen to the engine himself (diagnosed the chassis), and then decide together which parts must be replaced and which ones must be repaired. It is necessary to agree on the list of replaceable elements on the spot and stipulate who will purchase them. If the service takes responsibility for the quality (especially complex) parts, it is better to entrust their purchase to him, even if this will make the repairs a little more expensive. When purchasing parts yourself, remember that the service in this case is only responsible for their correct installation, so a rupture of some rubber element after a hundred kilometers should not surprise you if this element was bought two or three times cheaper than the original part.
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Another useful piece of advice: just before going to the service, take the time to study at least superficially the operating and repair instructions for your car, so that you can, albeit superficially, get to the heart of the matter. This will increase your authority in the eyes of the mechanic and give him an incentive to work more carefully, and also eliminate overpayment for performing any unnecessary operations.
If you want to see the progress of the work, you can be present during the repair. And remember, following the letter of the law, no service center has the right to refuse you control over the entire process of servicing your property. Often, no one resists, but the conditions of being in the areas of vehicle maintenance are different; you may be required to wear a yellow vest or enter a specially designated area - beyond the yellow line. During the repair process, certain problems may arise, for example, defects that were not noticed during the inspection may be revealed, the elimination of which will not be difficult. In this case, the mechanic is obliged to agree with you on all issues not discussed during the initial inspection, so that you, as the customer, have a choice: to do or not to do, to change or not to change.
When you are at the service station, you should watch the work being done unobtrusively: you don't need to stand over the mechanic's shoulder, and it will make you feel calmer. Because if you see a mechanic hitting the hub of your car's wheel with a hammer, you can willy-nilly pounce on him with criticism, like, "hit yourself on the head..." although the repair technology allows for such operations. Be prepared to answer all the mechanic's basic questions. For example, what kind of oil is in the engine, when certain parts were changed, or how the car behaves in a given situation. It would be a good idea to clarify the issue of guarantees that the service is ready to provide for the work performed. This should be done during the preliminary calculation of repair and maintenance costs. You should not bargain or enter into disputes after all the work has been completed and the final repair amount has been announced. To prevent this from happening, you should ask in advance for the most detailed calculation for all the proposed work.
And if you do not understand something in the document provided, do not be afraid to ask and clarify what this or that amount is charged for. And lastly: after the repair, you are required to give back or at least provide the dismantled old parts that were replaced. Once again, I would like to draw attention to how useful it is to know your car. Namely: its main parameters, for example, the volume of engine oil, coolant, what oil and liquid should be poured and in what containers they are supplied to the market. This is necessary so that after adding four liters of engine oil, you can take the remaining liter. The service is obliged to return it to you by law. Upon completion of all work, you must accept your car from the mechanic of the service center. He is obliged to demonstrate everything that was done or not done in accordance with the invoice, the indicated amount of which was confirmed by you and certified by the service technician. So, that's not all, since there are a million situations for each car out of a million, but, armed with these simple rules, you can, with a greater degree of probability, protect yourself, your wallet, nerves and car from the incompetence, unprofessionalism and greed of employees of some car services.