An automobile repair shop (also known regionally as a garage or a workshop) is an establishment where

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

s are repaired by

auto mechanic An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or mor ...

s and

technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use ...

Automobile Repair Shop, Jangi, near Reckong Peo, H

Types

Automotive garages and repair shops can be divided into following categories:

Service Station

* First appearing in the early 1900s, many

filling stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasolin ...

offered vehicle repair services as part of their

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * Fu ...

operation. This once popular trend has declined significantly over the years as many locations found it more profitable to exchange vehicle service bays for grocery isles, which ultimately lead to the emergence of the quick oil change industry.

Lubrication/Safety Shop

* Commonly referred to as a quick lube or express service shop, this type of facility specializes in

preventive maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure, and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

and safety inspections rather than repairs. Product sales are typically limited to automotive fluids, belts and hoses. With a focus on basic procedures, labor is often performed by entry-level technicians which simplifies the business overhead resulting in a less expensive service as compared to a traditional automotive workshop.

New Car Dealership

* In the United States, new car dealerships have service departments that are certified by their respective OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to perform warranty and recall repairs. Customer-pay repairs can also be completed, however most service departments tend to only work on the vehicle

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

of which they are a dealer. Dealership technicians must complete additional training provided by the OEM, and in doing so become specialized and certified for that particular vehicle make.

Independent Repair Shop

* Independent repair shops are businesses that are independently owned and operated. These may also include regional or national chains and franchises. It is rather common for a dealership technician to start this type of competing business after leaving the employment of a new car dealership. Independent automobile repair shops in the US may also achieve OEM certification through manufacturer sponsored programs. *

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

law (The EC Block Exemption Regulation 1400/2002 (October 2003)) permits motorists more flexibility in selecting where their car is serviced. Maintenance and service work does not have to be done by the dealership providing that the independent garage uses Original Equipment 'Matching Quality' parts and follows the manufacturer's service schedules. The Block Exemption Regulation (BER) covers service and maintenance during the warranty period and prohibits vehicle manufacturers’ warranties from including restrictive conditions.

Fleet Shop

* A shop that is dedicated to repairing and maintaining a particular group of vehicles is called a fleet shop. Common examples of a fleet include taxi cabs, police cars, mail trucks and rental vehicles. Similar to a lubrication/safety shop, a fleet shop focuses primarily on preventative maintenance and safety inspections, and will often outsource larger or more complex repairs to another repair facility.

Engine Machine Shop

* Shops that specialize in

cylinder head In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinder (engine), cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas ...

and

cylinder block In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...

machining are called engine

machine shops A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecules ...

. These facilities utilize large electromechanical machines that are not found in the average automotive repair shop. Engine machining is typically performed by an ASE certified machinist in order to correct worn or damaged engine components as an alternative to component replacement. Performance engine building is another popular service frequently offered by this type of workshop.

Tire and Wheel Shop

* Some repair shops specialize in tires and wheels. These businesses usually have a large inventory of tires and aftermarket wheels, some of which may be on display while others require special ordering. In addition to parts, common labor services include tire rotation, balancing and repair as well as wheel alignment which can prevent premature tire wear.

Muffler Shop

* A muffler shop, also called an

exhaust Exhaust, exhaustive, or exhaustion may refer to: Law * Exhaustion of intellectual property rights, limits to intellectual property rights in patent and copyright law ** Exhaustion doctrine, in patent law ** Exhaustion doctrine under U.S. law, i ...

shop, is a business model that concentrates solely on the engine exhaust system. These facilities utilize large tubing benders which allow a technician to fabricate a new exhaust system out of otherwise straight lengths of pipe.

Welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as br ...

is often necessary in this line of work.

Auto Parts

* Some auto parts stores or motor-factors also maintain

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

operations. This is not common in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

but more common in the US.

Auto Body

* Automotive repair shops that specialize in bodywork repair are known as body shops. They offer paintwork repairs to scratches, scuffs and dents, as well as repairs to the bodies of vehicles damaged by collisions. Many body shops now offer

paintless dent repair Paintless dent repair (PDR), also known as paintless dent removal, describes a method of removing minor dents from the body of a motor vehicle. A wide range of damage can be repaired using paintless dent repair as long as the paint surface is i ...

and auto glass replacement. Automotive repair shops that specialize in auto glass repair are known as auto glass repair shops. They offer auto glass repairs to chips, cracks and shattered glass. The types of glass they repair include

windshields The windshield ( North American English) or windscreen ( Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elem ...

, car windows, quarter glass and rear windows. This type of damage is often caused by

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

, stones, wild animals, fallen trees,

automobile theft Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reported ...

and

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and #Defacement, defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owne ...

Online and Mobile

* Online automobile repair shops (mobile mechanics) provide doorstep repair services and home delivery of new and used auto parts of different late model and classic cars whose parts are not widely available in the market. * Online automobile service

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...

Openbay Openbay is an online marketplace for automotive repair and maintenance services and a provider of SaaS Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centra ...

is providing consumers choice and convenience when it comes to getting their vehicles serviced. Consumers are provided with choice in service centers to select from; service department at a car dealership, independent automotive repair facilities such as Meineke, Midas, AAMCO, GreaseMonkey, Goodyear, All Tune and Lube, and many others. Choices also include mobile mechanics such as Repair Smith and Wrench where service is performed at a location you dictate (home, office, other). * In countries such as the UK, the mobile car body repair sectors has experienced high growth by way of mobile SMART Repair companies providing mobile car body repair services, such as Bumper Repairs, auto body repair,

and paintwork defect repairs to private and commercial consumers, typically within the industry framework of refinishing vehicle damage on a localised basis, where the area of damage being repaired is not in excess of an A4 sheet of paper.

References

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