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Understanding Car Issues

When I began thinking more seriously about car issues, it occurred to me that there were a few things I needed to do if I wanted to make things easier for myself in the long run. For starters, I began taking my car in for regular auto service, which really helped out. It was really interesting to see how many different things had to be fixed every time I went in, but when my car didn't have as many problems, I could tell that it was really paying off. This website is all about understanding and preventing car problems by making better choices.

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Understanding Car Issues

Specific Car, Specific Repair: Why Choosing A Brand-Specific Shop Is Best

by Micheal Barrett

The question of whether or not to go to a dealer service center or an independent repair shop is an old one (and a good one), with independent shops often winning the contest because of better prices. However, if you own an Audi, you may want to look into going to an independent shop that specializes in Audi repair, such as Sterling Service Inc. If you're concerned about prices at a dealer service center, you may prefer an independent shop -- but for Audis, you need that brand-specific care because of some quirks that Audis tend to have.

Better Part Choice

Before getting into the quirks, though, there's a major advantage to going to an independent but Audi-specific shop: better part choice. Many independent shops use aftermarket parts instead of original equipment manufacturer parts. However, an audi-specific shop may be more willing to hunt down OEM parts (they'd have to go to a dealer for them) if you so request. While there are many non-Audi shops that might do this, too, the workers at the Audi shop will understand why you may want OEM parts, especially if this is warranty work.

Knowledge of the Future

Audis, unfortunately, do have the reputation for requiring more work as they get older, especially on the electrical system. Because these flaws are generally well-known and predictable, an Audi-specific repair shop will be more aware of them and when they might occur. You can get a lot more help monitoring the car for these problems so that you can fix them as soon as you spot signs of trouble. The repair people at an Audi shop will let you know about what they see and whether or not it's something that could feed into one of those problems later.

Cautious Care

Along with known repair issues comes the potential for abuse -- repair shops telling you that you need to do more and more, and thus give them more and more money. Because the workers at an Audi shop will be familiar with how these models fare over the years, you can get a lot more warning about when your car is reaching the point where replacement is better than repair. The shop will be cautious about giving you more and more bills.

If you're going to drive a car as special -- and notorious, in some cases -- as an Audi, you need Audi-specific care. Seek out a shop that works on this brand of car only because that's going to get you some of the best care possible.

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