My old mechanic, a four-bay garage, always had time for emergencies–usually no more than a day or two. I get the feeling that they left a few slots open every day for emergencies.
Since I moved, the new place I go to not only has a week lead time for emergency repairs, they actually take a week off for Christmas. It’s like they don’t actually care that their customers depend on their cars. and just fill up every slot they have as soon as they can, regardless of urgency.
Is always having time available for emergencies a usual practice or an unusual one?
I lived in a pretty small (sub 10k pop) town for years, and there were 3 garages. The one for general engine stuff was always crowded. The body and tire shops on the other side of town were way quicker even if the work itself took longer, since you really didn’t have to wait.
Bigger city now, and it’s not really an issue. Loads more garages and repair shops. Though, this may also be due to the fact this city is crazy about cars and not just because it’s a larger city.