Specialty auto repair shops are great; no, they really are. You have experts in each one that knows exactly how to fix the car parts on which these shops focus. You can never go wrong with these shops, except when your car has been plowed through by a few other cars and trucks on the highway. Then you need a general purpose auto repair shop, because this is where a general purpose repair shop really shines. Here are four benefits a general purpose auto repair shop has over the specialty shops.

One Convenient Location for Everything

A general purpose shop has everything you need to restore your vehicle in one location. Considering the amount of damage your vehicle has, that is essential to its restoration. Instead of going to a tire and wheel shop for just the tires and wheels, going to a body shop to repair body damage, and going to a transmission shop to repair the transmission, you will only have to go to just one shop. Most people have a general mechanic they like to use. If you do not because you have been taking your vehicle to specialty shops all along, now is a good time as any to find a general auto repair shop.

Less Expense

If you took your smashed-up vehicle to every specialist your vehicle would need before you could safely drive it again, you would pay a higher price to each specialist for his/her contribution to a restored car. Specialty shops, while great for singular problems, still cost a bit more than a general purpose repair shop. That means you would be paying just a little extra for and to every specialist you involve with your car's repairs. That does not include the towing you would need to get your vehicle to every specialist shop until the car could be driven to other specialist shops. That could be a lot of towing fees right there!

All of the little extras and towing fees aren't necessary when your car is in the general repair shop. Everything is completed and billed on a single bill. On top of that, some general mechanics offer a discount to new customers when the bill goes over a certain dollar amount. That adds up to some serious savings.

If Something Goes Wrong, You Know Exactly Who to Ask

It is not typical for anything to go wrong with a repair job on a car when the job is complete. However, a general mechanic's shop offers you something a specialist shop cannot—the knowledge that you can get to the bottom of the issue in a hurry. If the shop had more than one person working on the engine while the body work person and the wheel person were working on the vehicle, the lead mechanic or owner can check the records, and find out exactly who did what work on what day.

Then the lead mechanic/owner can have another engine mechanic fix the issue, usually for free. In a specialty shop, everyone does the exact same job and works on the exact same parts, so there exists the unknown factor of who might have been responsible. It cannot be narrowed down quite so easily.

An in-House Second Opinion

A general repair shop has so many different mechanics working for it that if you do not like the professional opinion of one mechanic, or the unprofessional behavior of another, you can just get a second opinion or get a different mechanic. Your vehicle stays right where it is. You just request someone else to look at it or work on it.