Finding a good auto repair facility is always a concern, especially when your vehicle breaks down. Just who do you trust with the second largest investment of your life? It is important to look for the Blue Seal of Excellence or an ASE Certification.

ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) tests and certifies automotive professionals in all major technical areas of repair and service. This long-standing certification program was designed to give consumers a more effective way of evaluating car repair and service professionals. ASE certifies the technical competence of individual technicians, not their repair facilities. These individual technicians must pass difficult national tests developed by industry experts with oversight from ASE’s own in-house professionals. These tests are then administered by ACT, the same group known for its college entrance exams. There are specialty exams covering all major areas of repair. There are eight tests for auto technicians alone: Engine repair , Engine performance , Electrical systems , Brakes , Heating and Air conditioning , Suspension and Steering , Manual Drive Train and Axles , and Automatic Transmissions . There are also tests for collision repair, paint technicians, damage estimators, parts specialists and others.

Auto repair centers with at least one ASE certified technician are permitted to display the ASE sign. Each ASE professional is issued a personalized document listing his or her exact areas of certification and they are also issued an appropriate shoulder patch. Technicians are also issued certificates that employers often post in the customer-service area showing each individual technicians accomplishments. Employers also display the blue and white ASE sign. Shops employing 75% of service personnel with ASE certification are entitled to a special “Blue Seal of Excellence” recognition from ASE.

We wouldn’t go to a doctor that didn’t display their college level degree on the wall, so why would we take our vehicles to a technician that isn’t appropriately qualified to service it? Car owners and the service and repair industry regard ASE certification as the standard measure of competency and a guide to quality auto repairs. Its important to be certain that the technician that will be repairing your vehicle is certified in the correct area as well, not just generally trained. Most technicians specialize in one area or another so its wise to ask your auto repair center service manager for a technician who is certified in the appropriate area. We wouldn’t ask our eye doctor to fix a sore throat, so we wouldn’t want to ask a brake man to fix our air conditioner either.

Keeping in mind that our vehicles are the second largest investment, we want to get our money’s worth when our vehicle is in the garage. Before we take our vehicle to any garage, we should make sure we have done our research and know that we will be getting the very best service. It is up to us to make certain that our investment is well taken care of and the maintenance schedule is appropriate. Modern vehicles are wonders of engineering, it is necessary to follow periodic maintenance if we expect to get the most from our vehicles.