Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Best bet, unfortunately, is a dealership.
There is a decent level of accountability.
It may appear pricey, but most legitimate and respectable shops are charging the same labor rate as a dealership. But, the difference is the dealer is going to use OEM parts which are often much more pricey compared to aftermarket. There is normally no getting around that.
With a private shop you have the option of using aftermarket or OEM. That is where you could save a few dollars. Most dealers have a diverse workforce so there shouldn't be too much racism added to the price.
Best bet, unfortunately, is a dealership.
There is a decent level of accountability.
It may appear pricey, but most legitimate and respectable shops are charging the same labor rate as a dealership. But, the difference is the dealer is going to use OEM parts which are often much more pricey compared to aftermarket. There is normally no getting around that.
With a private shop you have the option of using aftermarket or OEM. That is where you could save a few dollars. Most dealers have a diverse workforce so there shouldn't be too much racism added to the price.
No issue for most good independents to get OEM parts, agreed. A good independent will also tell you if it matters. Sometimes aftermarket is better.
Many independents charge by the hour, not a shop hourly rate where changing a wiper blade costs 30 minutes of time.
I have yet to see where an independent doesn’t charge at least 10% less than the dealer as an hourly rate.
Mom and pops can be great too. Can also not be great.
Just check for references/reviews etc...
I would always choose a local small business over dealer/big box providing the quality and professionalism is there.
Mechanics in general are very unreliable. Most are dishonest. Most overcharge
I always laugh when my local guy went on to buy 8 homes on long island. Believe me it wasn't because he was an honest business man. He padded bills to the tenth degree to be so we'll off. He was and still is a thief.
I wouldn't say most are dishonest. There are alot no doubt.
I'd say many are incompetent. If they lack the skills to properly diagnose, they just keep throwimg parts at it until eventually the problem goes away. Hopefully.
Sometimes all the parts in the world can't help if you can't properly diag.
Best bet, unfortunately, is a dealership.
There is a decent level of accountability.
It may appear pricey, but most legitimate and respectable shops are charging the same labor rate as a dealership. But, the difference is the dealer is going to use OEM parts which are often much more pricey compared to aftermarket. There is normally no getting around that.
With a private shop you have the option of using aftermarket or OEM. That is where you could save a few dollars. Most dealers have a diverse workforce so there shouldn't be too much racism added to the price.
Don’t mind paying a little more. However, I called for a timing belt & water pump for my wife’s SUV. (She brings her SUV to the dealer since she owned: 2011.) Dealer wanted $1525. My mechanic who I’ve been using for 10+ years told me $895. First words out of his mouth was “we use all OEM parts, not aftermarket”
Again, $100 +/- No big deal. But almost double is nuts!
Don’t mind paying a little more. However, I called for a timing belt & water pump for my wife’s SUV. (She brings her SUV to the dealer since she owned: 2011.) Dealer wanted $1525. My mechanic who I’ve been using for 10+ years told me $895. First words out of his mouth was “we use all OEM parts, not aftermarket”
Again, $100 +/- No big deal. But almost double is nuts!
It's shop hours that do that. Look at the book, for example it might say 8 hours to replace a timing belt for a certain model.
It doesn't matter if it takes the mechanic 3 hours, the customer is billed for 8. This of course evens out the time where something goes wrong and the job takes 12 hours, but on average the dealer comes out ahead - which lets them use the "excess" to help cover overhead people like the service advisors.
The independent charges by the hour, but it's usually a "not to exceed" type of quote. He bases it on what he really thinks it will take (say 4 hours), but if it goes over they usually don't charge more.
A good independent who knows your model of car will almost always be better than a dealer mechanic, unless that dealer has a mechanic with many years of experience. A bad independent will always be worse than a dealer mechanic.
Checkpoint Automotive seems to be a fair and honest mechanic from my experience and from everything i've read online. Took him a car and he looked at it while not charging me anything to do an evaluation and went out of his way to tell me about a potential warranty fix. Brought it back for some minor work and the price was fair and the service was done right.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
