Auto and mobility guides

Give every garage the same four things: the symptom, and the model, year and mileage of the car. Then ask the same four questions: the hourly labour rate, how many hours they are quoting, which grade of parts they use, and whether diagnostics is included. The quotes become comparable immediately.

For safety-critical work such as brakes, suspension and timing, usually yes. For wear items and comfort parts, good aftermarket often does the same job for considerably less. Ask for the part manufacturer to be named in the quote rather than just the word part.

When a second fault is found during the strip-down, provided they call you and you approve it before the work happens. Extra work written in afterwards is not. Agree up front that anything above a set amount needs your go-ahead.

The registration document, proof of compulsory insurance and the service book. A pre-check beforehand is usually worth it: the most common fail reasons, bulbs, brakes, tyres and exhaust, cost a fraction to fix in advance of a re-test.