The Importance of Finding a Good Garage
Ellie Dyer-Brown
Thursday August 28 2025
6 min read
For every bad garage, there are many other brilliant ones with honest mechanics trying to get your car back on the road. At FixMyCar, we believe that the best garages deserve more work, and we want to help you find them.
What makes a garage good?
Good garages are run by competent, friendly experts who have extensive mechanical knowledge and access to the best tools. They carry out high-quality repairs with the correct parts for your car, and their work may come with a warranty to give you extra peace of mind.
When you visit a good garage, their commitment to high standards will be apparent from start to finish. They will:
Take the time to explain the work that needs to be done
Answer any questions you may have
Maintain good communication throughout the repair
Provide an invoice that clearly outlines what you are paying for
Why choosing a good garage is important
Your choice of garage will affect your wallet, your safety and your peace of mind. Here’s why it matters:
Fair pricing: A good garage offers transparent pricing and only carries out work that’s needed, helping you avoid overpaying or being upsold unnecessarily.
Safety: A low-quality repair or a problem that’s been overlooked can cause serious problems on the road. A trusted garage will identify issues early and fix them correctly, keeping you and your passengers safe.
Reliability: Work that’s done correctly will mean fewer repair visits in the future.
Clear communication: A good garage will explain issues using language you understand, give you honest advice and keep you in the loop at each stage of the process.
Less stress: You can relax knowing your car is in safe hands.
How to find a good garage
Matt James, FixMyCar’s Garage Network Manager, provides his eight top tips for finding a garage you can trust.
1. Research average prices
Before contacting a garage or requesting a quote, research the typical costs for the job you need done. FixMyCar has plenty of price guides to help you understand the costs involved in car repairs and maintenance. Once you have a rough idea of the price for a particular repair, you can use this information to determine whether a garage quote is reasonable.
However, if you get a quote that seems too high, it's worth asking the mechanic who provided it for a price breakdown. It might turn out that the required work is slightly different to what you thought, or the problem might be more complex. It's up to you to judge whether you think the explanation is reasonable.
2. Get a quote in advance
Asking for a quote can tell you more than just the cost - it also gives you a feel for how a garage communicates. If they reply promptly, provide a clear breakdown of the costs and come across as friendly and approachable, that’s a good sign you’re in safe hands.
3. Read customer reviews
Reading customer reviews is one of the best ways to get a feel for a garage's trustworthiness and reliability, and we'd always recommend doing it before booking.
Many mechanics rely on reputation and word of mouth to generate business. If someone you trust tells you to avoid a garage, you'll probably do so. Likewise, if you see many drivers leaving negative reviews, this is a bad sign. You can also see how garages communicate with customers by reading any replies they have left.
You can view the ratings and read reviews of garages on FixMyCar before you choose which one to make a booking with.
4. Check accreditations and awards
There are many accreditations that garages can get to demonstrate their reliability and the quality of their work. Examples include the Good Garage Scheme and the RAC Approved Garage Network. Mechanics often display these accreditations on their website and in the workshop, giving customers extra confidence.
FixRated is FixMyCar’s approved garage network. Membership is awarded exclusively to garages that meet the highest standards, so you can book with confidence.
FixMyCar also has an accreditation system, with badges displayed on garage profiles to highlight top performers and specialists.
In addition to checking for accreditations, you could also look for garages that have won awards. The FixMyCar Awards, for instance, celebrate high-performing garages and mechanics across the country. Garages that have been nominated for or won an award receive a badge on their profile, as shown below.
5. Follow your instincts
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Follow your gut feeling - if a mechanic tells you they can do a clutch replacement for £200 even though the average price for this type of job is usually much higher, there's probably something dodgy going on.
Saving money is important, but at the end of the day, you also want your car to be in safe hands and the work to be done correctly.
6. Ask questions
When you take your car to a mechanic, it’s vital that you understand what's included in the repair. Make sure to ask plenty of questions so you know how long it should take and what costs will be involved.
The more you understand about the work a mechanic does, the more comfortable you’ll be, and if the mechanic is willing to discuss everything, you can probably trust them to do an honest job.
7. Find out what parts they use
When your car needs a replacement part, the garage might fit an original equipment (OE) part - the kind recommended by the manufacturer - or an aftermarket alternative from a different brand. The type of part used can affect both the price and the quality of the repair.
It’s a good idea to ask what kind of parts the garage typically uses and whether there are other options available. In some cases, you might be able to choose between new, refurbished, or even second-hand parts, depending on your budget and the nature of the repair.
8. Use FixMyCar
FixMyCar allows you to compare garages based on price, location and reviews. You can request quotes without ever having to pick up the phone, and if you have questions, you can chat with mechanics online using our messaging service.
Keep an eye out for garages with special badges reflecting their commitment to excellent customer service.
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- Customer help
Ellie is FixMyCar's Content Manager. She has over three years of experience writing about cars and regularly collaborates with automotive experts to provide trustworthy advice for drivers that is easy understand. Her work has been featured in Yahoo! Finance, iNews, The Daily Express and The Sun. She has a BA in English literature and an MA in creative writing from Durham University. Outside of work, Ellie follows F1 and eagerly awaits Ferrari's next era of dominance in the sport. She drives a Suzuki Swift.