When it comes to helping you with personal money matters, you know that you can count on us! And, when your car needs some major or minor repair, we want you to have a mechanic you can count on.

So we'd like to share some of the secrets we've learned for picking a good, reliable mechanic. We enlisted the help of our friend Bob Cerullo, expert mechanic, car-repair shop owner and author.

First of all, the easiest way to find a reliable mechanic is to ask. Ask friends. Ask everyone! Ask about the quality of their mechanics' work, the prices, and if the work is guaranteed. Ask what happens if the car acts up soon after it's been in the shop. If the car has to go back, does the mechanic make it a high priority?

If you don't have anyone to ask, you still can find a good mechanic. Just follow these five Dolans' rules:

1. Avoid places that pay mechanics on commission. If the mechanic makes more money by making more repairs, he's always tempted to cross the line between car-repair fact and fiction. Go someplace where the mechanics are on salary and have a stake in their shop's reputation.

2. Beware places with big advertising budgets. More money spent on advertising means one of two things: less money spent on mechanics' salaries, mechanics' tools or auto parts, OR more money charged to you, the customer.

3. Look for a well-established independent shop. The best mechanics want to fix engines, not be salesmen - so they find places where they can focus on what they enjoy. Some open their own shops, some get jobs at independent shops. Once in business, they have a reputation to protect. They count on satisfied customers, repeat business and good word-of-mouth. They don't have the advertising support or the income stream of a dealership - so to stay in business, they must keep their customers happy.

4. If you go with a dealership, talk to current customers. You may feel more secure bringing your car, particularly an expensive or rare model, to the dealer. No problem - just be sure to look before you leap. Ask the people in line at the service department how they like the service they've gotten. You can often find customers lined up in their cars at the dealership on a Monday morning.

By the way, you don't have to go to a dealer for regular service to keep your warranty in force. Just use equivalent-quality name-brand parts, get your car serviced at recommended intervals and document it. Putting in Champion spark plugs, for example, does NOT void a car's warranty, and it's illegal to say it does (so this is a good "honesty test" for any mechanic). The parts just have to meet specifications and be a name brand.

5. Find a good mechanic before an expensive emergency strikes! Start with a small job, like an oil change and lube. Use the opportunity to hang around, ask questions to learn about both your car and your mechanic, see whether the shop is clean, runs smoothly, has happy customers.

Follow these guidelines, and you should get good service at a fair price. Now we'd like to show you car repair rules of the road to help you after you've chosen a good mechanic:

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