Never ask to have the car inspected for free.
Remember back in school when someone ended up having to do all the work for the whole group? It is not a pleasant experience, so why would you try to get someone to do work for free?
Sure, for you it may sound like it is no big deal, since if something is wrong with the car, you will get it repaired there. But for a mechanic, it sounds like about 10 minutes of their time and expertise being given away for a job they may not end up landing.
A lot of customers end up garage shopping in order to find the best price, and there are also people who end up just wanting to know the issue so they can try to fix it themselves.
So you have a really low chance of being given a free inspection, and the garage may also think you are not a trustworthy customer if you keep insisting.
In a lot of places, mechanics end up cutting the diagnostic fee from the total bill if you end up getting your car repaired with them, so you should not worry about it!
The baseline and the best advice I can give you is to find a garage and a mechanic that you trust and with whom there is a good level of respect between you.
Do your due diligence before you call or visit a shop so you know they are trustworthy, and then try to remain loyal to the shop if you like their services.
That way we will recognize you easily, and becoming a valued customer generally comes with perks!
Having been a mechanic for the past couple of decades, I know how to spot a problematic car from a mile away. If you want to know what the best car in my book is and which cars I would never recommend anyone get, check out this article here!
