We imagine this group has thoughts on the subject!
https://www.cartalk.com/car-owning/trusted-local-repair-shops-vs-dealerships
I think John’s experience is quite typical although I will point out the indie shop sourced a remanufactured alternator for $200 rather than a new one ($600) sourced by the dealer. In some cases that reman unit might be just fine and the indie shop trusts the source. Sometimes, however, a factory part is the better choice. If your trusted shop says “dealer part only!” don’t bring them a random Ebay part from a source no one’s heard of.
Bottom line is; most all of us here recommend local indie shops over the dealers for regular repairs for cars out of warranty. Establishing a relationship with a shop (for oil changes, too!) gets you useful information about your car rather than a sales pitch.
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I’ve spent over 30 years holding every position available at independent shops, from inmate to warden (um, I mean from lube kid to owner) and am now an instructor for an OEM. So I’ll add a couple of notes, in favor of either side, dealer or indy.
Dealers don’t always just try to pad the bill. For example, their experience may show that a certain engine is prone to carbon buildup on the valves, so recommend an intake service even though it’s not recommended in the owner’s manual. Or that a number of differentials fail shortly past the warranty period, so they recommend a service every 30K. Many indy shops also don’t pay for access to factory level service information, so you may not be getting the same level of care from an indy.
But having said that, quality is not necessarily better at the dealer. It was not unusual for the price of a repair at the indy shop I managed to be higher than the same repair at the dealer. Why? My quality and service was better. I would pick up and deliver your car within a certain radius, and the quality of my work was better. You need a power window mechanism for your car and the dealer wants $100 for the part? Guess what, my price for the part is $125 but it comes with 3 times the warranty. Which is better?
The article leans pretty heavy on price, which I can kind of understand, but that’s a short-sighted approach to auto repair. The way to build a customer base is by establishing value for your product. Sure, the shop that advertises a brake job for $199 will get more traffic in the door that the shop that has a $349 brake job, but which is the better job? Quality is one factor (OEM parts vs cheap “white box”), convenience is another. I know for a fact that I had many customers who paid more for the brake job because I provided shuttle service or a loaner car. The article concludes with the idea of using an indy shop unless the convenience of the dealer is worth it to you, but some indys offer that same convenience.
Finally, a word to the shop that replaced the spark plugs, coil boots, and fuel filter for a parts/labor total of $150. You’re not only short-changing yourself, but also the industry in general. That work is worth far more than $150. Part of being in this industry is having a responsibility to constantly improve the image and quality of auto technicians and shops. You can’t do that by working cheaply.
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I don’t know anything about a Subaru, just Acura and Gm. My Acura goes to the dealer and I have always found their work fast and fair prices. Sometime soon they will need to do my timing belt and I wouldn’t have anyone else touch that.
My Pontiac goes to a local guy though unless warranty or key fob programming. Dealers prices have become more competitive and they have all the resources to work on a particular brand. But I just skimmed the article. Wouldn’t really make any difference to me what it said except maybe avoid Subaru.
Have had good and bad experiences with both, more customer service related than repair related. The owner of my trusted independent shop retired, shopped closed.
Current dealership provides great service, competitive prices. I even buy my tires there.
BTW, I did not read the article!
Dealership/inde, it’s a compromise. For most car owners a well-recommended inde shop is probably the better choice once the warranty expires. But I expect there are dealership shops here and there that are as customer-friendly or even more-so than inde shops. It’s going to vary shop by shop. There’s also other options. Some 40 years ago I had an unfortunate experience at a dealership shop, so decided to take care of future car repairs myself, as a diy’er, whenever possible. After several courses of night school auto shop training, seldom have needed to use either dealership or inde repair shops. My 30 year old Corolla has never been in any repair shop at all, even once, except for state required emissions testing.
as a fleet mechanic, sometimes when I need to use outside labor I have to use the dealership, as many things that could be covered by a longer term warranty need to go through the dealership- in case the vehicle gets transferred somewhere else. Chevy warranty is good at any Chevy dealership. Local shop warranty won’t transfer anywhere.
Factory level software is hard to beat from the dealership as well. my resources are limited, as are some of the local shops.
I have a rather good relationship with Chevy, Ford, and some bigger vehicle Dealerships. But I don’t take my personal vehicles to any of them unless absolutely necessary (accident repair were the last time my vehicle was at a dealership when out of warranty.)
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Our trusted local shop spent years asking what the dealer did for them that they didn’t. They’ve acted on what customers told them and have added a courtesy shuttle and a express oil change service for the same if not less than the dealer with the advantage of being located right up the road compared to the dealerships. They’re 3-4x the size they were 30yrs ago and have rewarded our loyalty many times over. Dealer wanted double what they were quoting on a repair.
We’ve used independent shops since the late 70’s with the exception of a few dealer oil changes.
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In 2012 my V6 Accord needed a new timing belt. I priced the work at two well regarded local independent shops and the dealer I bought the car from. The dealer charged the least and I had the work done there. Since then I’ve gone to a local independent shop that has labor rates equal to the dealer but will not charge labor for fixing a misdiagnosis. They are rarely wrong and do good work.
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