When your car breaks down there are numerous places you can go for repairs. In order to get the repairs, you can go to three different types of places. You can either bring your car to the dealership, an independent mechanic, or a national repair chain. With so many places to choose from, how can you be sure you are going to the one that works best for you?

In most cases, the dealership will have a higher labor cost than other repair shops. Labor usually makes up half of the cost of the bill. Labor costs added onto the repair costs can make the bill very costly. However, you should take into consideration the type of car you own and be sure if you take your car elsewhere, that they can actually fix the problem for you.

Some later model cars have intricate electronic systems, and unlike authorized repair shops, independent mechanics will not always have the necessary diagnostic equipment to obtain the error codes required to make the repairs that are needed. Therefore, an independent mechanic may take longer to diagnose the problem than a dealership mechanic would. Since the problems take longer to diagnose, you will be paying the extra labor costs for the extra hours put in to figure out the problem. However, if you find a mechanic you can build a relationship with and that you can trust to make necessary and quality repairs, it will be your best option.

Regardless of where you take your car for repairs, if you purchase an auto warranty for your car you can significantly reduce the cost of your repair bill.