Automobile repair shop

An automobile repair shop (also known as a garage) is a repair shop where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and electricians.

Types

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

Repair shop

A repair shop may refer to:

See also: Maintenance, repair, and operations

Ausbesserungswerk

An Ausbesserungswerk (abbreviation AW or Aw) is a railway facility in German-speaking countries, the primary function of which is the repair (and formerly also the construction) of railway vehicles or their components. It is thus equivalent to a 'repair shop' or 'works'. It is also referred to as Centralwerkstatt (central workshop) or Hauptwerkstatt (main workshop). During the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) period between the two world wars these facilities were called Reichsbahnausbesserungswerke (RAW) (Reichsbahn repair shops).

Terminology

Whilst the term Ausbesserungswerk was used by the former Deutsche Bundesbahn in West Germany after the war, the railway workshops in the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany continued to refer to them as Reichsbahnausbesserungswerke until 1992. The term Hauptwerkstatt was also commonly used by state railways (Länderbahn) or private railways and they are still called that today, for example, in Austria. In general the Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) today uses the term Werk (works); these facilities belonging to the DB Instandhaltung Gmbh (DB Maintenance Co Ltd).

Auto mechanic

An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, car mechanic in British English and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic with a variety of automobile makes or either in a specific area or in a specific make of automobile. In repairing cars, their main role is to diagnose the problem accurately and quickly. They often have to quote prices for their customers before commencing work or after partial disassembly for inspection. Their job may involve the repair of a specific part or the replacement of one or more parts as assemblies.

Basic vehicle maintenance is a fundamental part of a mechanic's work in modern industrialized countries while in others they are only consulted when a vehicle is already showing signs of malfunction. Preventative maintenance is also a fundamental part of a mechanic's job, but this is not possible in the case of vehicles that are not regularly maintained by a mechanic. One misunderstood aspect of preventative maintenance is scheduled replacement of various parts, which occurs before failure to avoid far more expensive damage. Because this means that parts are replaced before any problem is observed, many vehicle owners will not understand why the expense is necessary.