Do you work on cars yourself? It helps if you're at least somewhat knowledgeable about how to do the work you're paying someone else to do or at least know exactly what needs to be done.
Definitely go to visit the place and get real references, not online reviews. Call people and talk to them. People that are happy with the work love talking about their cars. People that are unhappy can't wait to tell everybody they know about their bad experience.
