Monday, January 25th, 2010

Why do some auto repair shops have cars in lot?

Some auto repair shops have so many cars in their parking lot. All the cars that are parked there are parking spots customers can use. What is the reason I can see as many as 20 cars parked outside of some shops? Are these cars that still need to be worked on or are they customer cars that the owner doesn’t know if they want to repair the car or not?

A lot of times when you get into an accident and your car gets to a shop if your filing a claim they have to wait for an insurance adjuster which could take about a week they can’t start working on it before that because the insurance company might decide to total it also they have to inspect it and give a quote to the insurance company for how much it would cost to fix it after all of the insurance stuff is taken care of then they can finaly take care of the problem and return your car. If your not filing a claim then they still have to Inspect it and give you a quote to see if you can afford to have it fixed

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 12:25 am and is filed under Auto Repair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “Why do some auto repair shops have cars in lot?”

Cassidy Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 5:38 am

If you cant pay your auto repair bill most car repair shops wont return the car to you until you pay that bill so that my guess as to why there are so many cars park in front of these places.
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Beatnik Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 6:07 am

Could be any or all that you stated. Sometimes extended work on cars are awaiting parts or owners need to come up with the payment for repairs. Sometimes, if damaged in an accident they await an insurance adjuster for the claims.
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Copes Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 6:42 am

They are mostly cars either waiting to be fixed or are fixed and need to be picked up.
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ken k Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 7:22 am

all of the above/and finished ones that the owners are trying to get the money to pay/
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Heerema Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 7:34 am

In addition to the previous answers (which account for most of the parked cars), some vehicles are likely parked there as rented out parking. I know a mechanic who charged our company (monthly fee) for parking our trucks on a portion of his lot. Also, repair shops will often sell used cars for a fee, by displaying the car and giving test drives. Also, most shop owners have a spare truck or car in the lot they might have as a fixer-upper, or use to plow/salt their lot. It pays to have a shop’s lot completely utilized.
References :
personal experience and father-in-law is a mechanic and shop owner.

Nick H Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 8:14 am

A lot of times when you get into an accident and your car gets to a shop if your filing a claim they have to wait for an insurance adjuster which could take about a week they can’t start working on it before that because the insurance company might decide to total it also they have to inspect it and give a quote to the insurance company for how much it would cost to fix it after all of the insurance stuff is taken care of then they can finaly take care of the problem and return your car. If your not filing a claim then they still have to Inspect it and give you a quote to see if you can afford to have it fixed
References :
Prior knoledge

chow hound Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 8:43 am

Hi Tom, mostly customers cars that have not paid, or are waiting on parts or approval, some lot queens are hopeless abandoned causes the garage owner hasnt disposed of hoping for a last minute approval, its cumbersome to apply for a lien against the vehicle and its only worth a couple of hundred bucks. some guys will just let it rot on site. Its one of those problems that never goes away until the city complains, then they clean house overnite.
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William Says:
January 25th, 2010 at 9:05 am

it could be cars waiting to be repaired, cars that are finished and waiting on the owner to pick it up, cars that the owner does not have all the money to pay the repair bill, cars waiting for the insurance agent to look at so they can cut a check, cars waiting for parts to come in, police impounds if the shop has a wrecker service, and cars that have been abandoned by owner and the shop is waiting for a title so they can sell it.
References :
i am a shop manager and mechanic, 10 years experience

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