Mr. Meehan has summed it up quite well, but I want to add a few points.
Dealer prices tend to be high, but they also frequently include services that many independents do not include.
For instance, there are still some folks (including mechanics) who believe that brake fluid never has to be changed. Unfortunately, that could be a fatal error.
Since brake fluid is hygroscopic (meaning that it absorbs moisture from the air), after three or more years, your brake fluid can be significantly diluted with water. The result is damage to brake parts–including the very expensive ABS pump–and potential loss of braking power on long downgrades when this diluted brake fluid can actually boil. The boiling fluid results in loss of braking ability. Thus, I change my brake fluid every 3 yrs/30k miles. In reality, most Japanese car makers specify this service, but many independent service facilities will skip this procedure in an effort to keep prices low.
Secondly, in an effort to make their cars appear to be virtually maintenance-free, many car makers have omitted the very vital transmission fluid change. This also needs to be done every 3 yrs/30k miles (whichever comes first). The higher price quote from the dealership very likely includes a trans fluid change. Lower price quotes may skip this service.
Skipping this service will inevitably lead to transmission failure anytime after 90k miles, with trans failure on non-serviced transmissions being fairly common by 120k miles. In case you don’t know the cost of rebuilding/replacing a transmission, let’s just say that it is about 6-8 times higher than the total cost of three trans fluid changes at 30k, 60k, and 90k miles. You DEFINITELY need to have your trans fluid changed at 105k miles if it was not done at 90k.
Additionally, some independent shops will use generic, Chinese-made “white box” filters when replacing your air filter, fuel filter, oil filter, and transmission filter. These “white box” filters have no manufacturer information on the packaging, and give you no assurance whatsoever that they meet proper filtration standards. In plain English, most “white box” filters are junk–pure and simple.
So–feel free to shop around at indy mechanics regarding price. Be sure to ask for a price comparison using the dealership’s list of service procedures. Otherwise you will be likely to get a lower price estimate that actually includes far less than the dealership includes. Also, ask to see the brand of filters that a shop uses. If you see unmarked white boxes, politely thank them and leave–never to return.
Since an indy shop has much lower overhead than a dealership’s service department, you should be able to get a lower price for the same service procedures than the dealership’s price quote. Just be sure that you are actually comparing “apples with apples”, rather than comparing “apples with oranges”.