This mostly applies to American made vehicles. Once again check your warranty and owner’s manual for details and don't be afraid to ask questions.
The things you should have when calling repair shops are the year, make, model and engine size. When calling about tires, check your owner’s manual for your specific tire size. Some times this can be located on the inside driver's door. Repair shops need this information to give you some type of estimate over the phone. Remember every car and truck have different prices on parts and labor. Don't forget to ask what their shop hourly rates are.
Tune-ups in my opinion are either minor or major. Minor tunes up on today’s cars are basically just spark plugs replacement. The reason I say that is, most of the newer cars, idle speeds and timing are computer controlled. There are no adjustments needed. So if you are having a problem such as missing, hesitating, stalling, and hard to start, ninety percent of the time a tune up wont help it. Now if you are having any of these problems ask for a diagnosis first and find out what the problem really is and get an estimate. A major tune-up is one that will cost you more money and you will need to determine if you are going to keep the car another 100,00 miles.
I will go a little deeper in my future posts. Happy Driving!
