One might say the most challenging part of being your The Auto Guys service advisor in St. Thomas is diagnosing a problem before it can be fixed. Cars are made up of a bunch of complex systems. There usually could be a number of reasons for any given symptom. So itâs challenging to track down the actual cause of the problem. And it can be frustrating for the vehicle owner because it can take time and money to get to the bottom of a problem. If itâs not something obvious, itâs easy for the customer to focus on the fixing and not the diagnosing.
Let us introduce you to something weâll call Customer Detective Work â that is helping the The Auto Guys service advisor find clues to whatâs wrong. We start with the detective basics: What, Where and When. Play along with me. You come in and your car is making a funny sound. Whereâs the sound? Around the right front wheel. What kind of sound?  Kind of a clunk, clunk sound. When do you hear the sound? When I turn and accelerate. Right and left? Forwards and back? You see where weâre going. Youâre gathering additional information to help the technician know where to start. Based on your car and your service advisor’s experience, theyâll know where to look and can start with the obvious suspects. You can see how that would be more helpful than dropping the car off at The Auto Guys with a note that says âmaking a funny noiseâ.
When you think you need to bring a vehicle in, make some notes about the problem. Rather than just saying âitâs leakingâ tell the service advisor the color of the fluid, and approximately where under the car you see the puddle. Things like the car is stalling or sputtering are often very hard to diagnose because theyâre intermittent. They may not happen every time you drive and may not be happening when you actually bring the car in to your auto service center. So, it is a big help for you to describe whatâs happening in as much detail as possible.
Your The Auto Guys service advisor will need to be able to duplicate the problem if possible so they need to know details, like âIt stalls after itâs been driven for about 20 minutes and I go over 80 kilometers an hourâ. If the tech can experience the problem personally, they’re better able to make an auto diagnosis and repair. And, then test to see if the repair solved the problem.
Stop by or give us a call.
The Auto Guys
135 South Edgeware Rd.
St. Thomas, ON N5P 4C4
519.631.7117
