How do I know if the 5 star Google reviews for a garage are actually real or just fake?
Hi everyone, I've been burned before by online reviews and now I'm really skeptical about trusting them anymore. Last year I needed an AC repair on my old car and I found a garage in Mussafah that had amazing reviews on Google. Almost all 5 stars and people were writing paragraphs about how honest and skilled the mechanics were. I went there and the guy charged me 1200 dirhams to refill the gas and change a filter. The AC worked for about three weeks and then stopped blowing cold air again. When I went back he wanted another 800 dirhams for a compressor clutch that he said he missed the first time. I ended up going somewhere else and that mechanic fixed it properly for 500 dirhams. So now I'm looking for an actual Abu Dhabi top rated Infiniti garage for my Q50 but I don't trust the review count anymore. I've heard that some garages pay for fake reviews or offer discounts to customers who post 5 stars before they even drive out. How do you guys separate the real good garages from the ones with fake hype? Do you look at the bad reviews first because those sometimes tell the real story? Or do you ask for recommendations on forums like this one instead of trusting Google? Also is there a way to check how old the reviews are because a garage might have been good five years ago but changed ownership or mechanics since then. I really need to find someone reliable for some suspension work and I don't want to waste another 1000 dirhams on a place that just talks nicely but does bad work. Please share your methods for finding a genuinely good mechanic in Abu Dhabi. I really appreciate any advice you can give.