Not exactly. Spark plugs are $120, plus shop supplies, plus sales tax.
The oil change was quoted @ $109, did that include waste disposal fee, shop supplies and sales tax?
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Yeah, then I understand! I was looking at the original quoted post where you indicated this-
Across the street from Toyota is an independent shop, so I asked them for a quote: $336 for spark plug ( using OEM spark plugs )
Well, I was going on the actual $ reported in the posts.
$336 versus $700 would be an expensive swim session in my book.
And an Uber back and forth doesnât put a huge dent in that savings either.
But thatâs why both businesses exist and are operating- everyone has their preferencesâŠ
Hopefully, his dealership provides free loaner cars in addition to a shuttle bus.
Nice waiting rooms with good snacks, nice chairs and free loaners need to paid for by, guess who? You!
Our local Audi dealer service has all those things. Plus lattes, expresso or just really good coffee, free wifi and a big screen TV. My local indie shop doesnât have those.
Wanna guess which is cheaper?
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They probably have a nice cushy couch too, someplace you can lay down to recover after they present you with their laundry list of recommended repairs and maintenance items 
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The shop across Toyota that quoted me $336 didnât feel right, and Nevada felt the same way. If I remember correctly, Nevada believed the shop misunderstood my car model and thought my car was the non-v6 model.
It was the only shop around here that quoted me such a low price compared to the many I went to.
Doubling the cost for two spark plugs doesnât make sense. I looked at RepIrPal and the cost estimate in NYC to change plugs was much more like the Toyota cost than the Lexus cost.
The Lexus IS300 rear-wheel-drive has a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine, IS300 AWD has a 3.5L V-6. I suspect most people would be unfamiliar with the difference in powertrains.
I donât understand why many indie shops donât at least provide free wi-fi, a big TV , coffee/espresso, and water (hey, theyâre cheap and tax-deductible!). Even chains like Discount Tire in my area donât have comfortable seats, a TV, or wi-fi. I get that space is an issue for many shops. I grew up working in our family shop in the 80âs/90âs and we had couches, coffee, water, and an oversized tube TV. You had a better chance of throwing your back out moving the TV than you did working on customer cars. 
If I had to guess⊠and the pros here can confirm or denyâŠ
It seems to me auto service shops donât want their customers hanging around and rubbernecking and maybe bothering the mechanics. And asking the service writer when it will be done.
The dealerships want you hanging around and looking at the pretty new cars (or test driving a loaner) to get you thinking about a new buying a new car from them.
The only indy mechanicâs shop that I would use is still located in the building that the family erected 76 years ago. The âcustomer waiting areaâ consists of three old chairs that are sandwiched into their tiny office.
With my luck, Iâd be the second customer to go into the waiting area to find the other customer sitting in the middle chair. Kinda like walking into the menâs room with 3 urinals and only one guy is there - using the middle one!
Youâre probably right but any shop that wants to inconvenience their customer for their own benefit could use a refresher on good customer service. Easy enough to tell the customer that insurance prohibits customers in the shop area.
It would be interesting to know how frequently that happens. Maybe more than I suspect.
There are two shops our family uses. The one we use has a comfortable waiting area with coffee. It is separated from the garage by the front office and parts storage. I think the building was built to the ownerâs design wishes. The one my daughter and her husbandâs family use is shop only with no waiting area.
The dealership that i currently use has a service facility that isnât adjacent to the showroom. There are a couple of other dealerships in the area that have a similar arrangement.
Our local Ford dealer is like that. The waiting room is large but not fancy. I have used them for recalls only. I can easily walk home from there so no need to wait.
Many dealers I have frequented⊠mostly the parts depts⊠the showroom is quite close to the service waiting room.
Back when I worked in a dealership, at least once a month a salesperson would come out to the shop floor and tell me to stop after I finished up just the repairs I had started. This was because the customer got talked into buying a new car.
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Folks who have worked in sales know it usually possible to sell almost anything, just a matter of finding the right customer. I sometimes sell stuff at the local flea market, and always find it amazing what sort of stuff folks will buy. Itâs unpredictable though, the stuff I think will sell fast often doesnât sell at all , and the stuff I think has no chance is the first to go.
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I have seen new car salesmen standing outside the entrance to the shop as customers were lined up waiting to check in (write up work order), offering them deals for a new car⊠lol
Those are lazy salesmen
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