When you have to take your car in to a garage for a repair, service or MOT, there is a level of trust that you have to have in the garage to do a good job and not charge you for work that doesn’t need doing. This can be a very intimidating time, as you have to really rely on the information that they tell you being correct.

When looking for a reputable garage, you can only really go off reviews either online or by friends and family. The chances are if the garage isn’t acting responsibly then someone will talk about it and they will build up a bad reputation.

If you have taken your car in and are really concerned about what they have said needs doing, you can of course get a second opinion. This may cost you a small amount of money but you may have a chance of claiming it back through the courts if the garage has been dishonest.

If you have an accident in your car or it is damaged another way you will be asked to take the vehicle to an approved repairer for an estimate to be done for the repair work. The garage will send the estimate through to the insurance company and ask them if they authorise it to be repaired or to write the vehicle off. If the car is an older one, on many occasions he car will not be worth repairing according to the insurance company so they will write it off and pay you out a sum for the vehicle. Sometimes you may be given the option to buy the damaged car back off the insurance company at a quite cheap price to have the repair work done yourself. Before considering this it is often advised to take the estimate to the garage of your choice and ask them how much they would charge for the work. It may be that you or a friend / family member is able to take on the project. Work out if it is worth while doing this of are you better to just have the money and buy something else.