So I’m curious: What is the real difference between taking a car to the dealer vs. taking it to an independent garage? What is their motivation? What is the upside or downside to sticking with one or the other? These probably seem like obvious questions, but I’m new to car ownership & could use some…

As stated above, the single biggest difference is price. That’s the effect of (usually) higher labor rates at a dealer, as well as their insistence on using only OEM parts, whereas independent shops will use universal parts that do the same job without the same cost. You also would go to a dealer fo…

Price is the big difference. The upside of going to the dealer is that they are more likely to use parts, fluids etc…that are made specifically for your vehicle. A dealer will in theory, also have the most experience working on your vehicle. You save a lot of money though if you can find a trustw…

Thanks! We have a problem that may be related to a Service Bulletin, but we won’t know for sure until they take the engine apart. So I guess we’re playing the odds, in a way. There is no guarantee they will care about the Bulletin, but hope springs eternal…

Dealers are no better (or worse) than independent mechanics for almost anything you might need done on your car. They will almost always charge more per hour and often more for parts and supplies. They also tend to look at repairs a little different than the independent. A dealer may well recomm…

IT ALL depends if your vehicle falls within the bulletin guidelines.

Xebadaih, your post reminds me of a chuckle that I get when I see shop signs that say, “We specialize in import and domestic”. I have seen several. To the O.P. Dealerships are required to have their techs current on training. Indies may or may not be. If they don’t know how to fix a particular …

find a new reply PLEASE! copy and paste is getting old. thanks!

The dealer normally has a higher labor rate due to necessity. A dealer has many, many expenses an independent shop does not. It’s not always a given that the dealer is higher in price even with a higher per hour rate. On average a dealer may stick closer to the flat rate time book than an independen…

Dealer vs. garage: what's the dealio?

Maintenance/Repairs

jsutter May 8, 2008, 12:14am 2

Mostly cost. The dealer will cost substantially more. As for the quality of the work, that comes down to the experience of the individual mechanics at the dealer/shop. Both can hire good and bad tecks.

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Dealer vs. garage: what's the dealio?

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