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

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s are repaired by

auto mechanic An auto mechanic is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more List of car brands, automobile brands or sometimes working with any brand. In fixing cars, their main role is to Diagnosis, diagnose and ...

s and

technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...

s. The customer interface is typically a service advisor, traditionally called a service writer.

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 are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

offered vehicle repair services as part of their full service 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 led 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 An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession. These roles may require some on-site training. Many entr ...

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 dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...

s 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 goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

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 auto repair shop

Independent auto repair shops are businesses that are independently owned and operated. In states regulating a smog or emission test, often, independent auto repair shops offer these tests as well. 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

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 Outsourcing is a business practice in which company, companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to ...

larger or more complex repairs to another repair facility.

Engine machine shop

Shops that specialize in

cylinder head In a piston engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders, forming the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines the head is a simple plate of metal containing the spark plugs and possibly heat dissipation fins. In more modern ...

and

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

machining are called engine machine shops. These facilities utilize large electromechanical machines that are not found in the average automotive repair shop. In the US, 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. In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, roadside tire repair shops are called vulcanizing shops in

Philippine English Philippine English is a variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adjacent Asian countries. English is taught ...

. They specialize in quickly and cheaply repairing

flat tire A flat tire (British English: flat tyre) is a deflated Tire, pneumatic tire, which can cause the rim of the wheel to ride on the tire tread or the ground potentially resulting in loss of control of the vehicle or irreparable damage to the tire. T ...

s by patching punctures with a rubber compound patch.

Muffler shop

muffler A muffler (North American and Australian English) or silencer (British English) is a device for reducing the noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine—especially a noise-deadening device forming part of the exhaust syst ...

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 An exhaust system is used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine or stove. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes. Depending on the overall syste ...

. 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 (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melting, melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Co ...

is often necessary in this line of work.

Auto body

Automotive repair shops that specialize in bodywork repair are known as body shops. Auto body technicians can perform 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 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, car windows, quarter glass and rear windows. This type of damage is often caused by

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), 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 hailsto ...

, stones, wild animals, fallen trees, automobile theft 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 directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...

Mobile mechanics

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. 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, paintless dent 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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