The time to find a great repair shop is not when the tow truck arrives. At that point you're in no mental condition to make such a subtle choice.

Car care is a lot like health care. You need a general practitioner and a series of specialists. Your general practitioner's greatest asset is his or her diagnostic ability. Speed and price are also major factors, but the good diagnostician usually gets it done fast and at a reasonable price. The last thing you need is one of these guys that troubleshoots by serial replacement. Try to get a general practitioner within five miles of your home. If you're lucky enough to live in a car care hub like Reseda, CA. try to get a general practitioner within pushing distance of your house.

As much as possible, your general practitioner should be self contained. The guy who took care of my Dodge Coronet once sent my carburetor out for a rebuild. Unfortunately, the carb shop had much lower standards than my mechanic. Even after several trips to the carb shop, and some angry words, my car never ran like it should have.

You also need several specialists:

• Radiator shop
• Tire/shock/brake shop (brakes might best be done by your general practitioner)
• Transmission shop
• Heavy duty engine repair shop
• Battery vendor

The best way to find good shops is word of mouth. Ask your friends who they use, chat with those shops, and evaluate them as described in the Judging a Shop article earlier in this magazine. When anyone mentions car repairs, ask them who they're using and how they like them. It sounds like a lot of work, but it's nothing compared to calling your boss and explaining that you can't come in because your car is in the shop for the third time this month.

An excellent way to find good shops is to become involved in the repairs of family and friends. Often you can help them choose a good shop, and later use that shop yourself. For instance, I found Cool Shift Transmissions while getting a second opinion on my wife's car, and you better believe if I ever have transmission problems I'm taking my car to Cool Shift.

Retaining a Good Shop

The only constant is change. Mechanics move on or start their own shops. Service managers move on. And relationships change.

Certainly the first technique for retaining great repair shops is to treat all the personnel with respect. There's nothing like mutual respect to foster long term relationships. On the other hand, the customer who yells, screams, threatens, and continually tries to grind the shop on price soon finds himself getting worse service or told politely to get lost. You pick a shop because they give you respect. They choose to stay with you for the same reason.

People move. I had a spectacular mechanic named Mike at a gas station on Lincoln Blvd in Venice, CA. One day I drove in for a minor repair and found he had gone -- nobody knew where (or at least would not tell). I had a great mechanic named Robert in Reseda. One day I went there for a repair only to find out that his shop had burned down, and nobody knew where he went.

When you find a great shop, find the one person who makes it great, and make it clear to that person that if he moves he should let you know where he went so you can follow. Reiterate that every time you see him -- hand him your card every time.

Have Alternate Shops

Despite your best efforts to retain great shops, things change. A shop gets bought, and the new owner ruins everything. A key person retires. Personal or financial hardships come to the key person.

Sometimes you just need to switch, and when that time comes it's a good idea to have several alternatives. So even though you have a great shop, continue to familiarize yourself with other shops.