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My dealer does all my work! Mlost components are covered 3 years/36000 miles, my hands stay clean, and, mine at least, is in line with good shops around here price wise.
I had a coworker who at one time was a GM certified mechanic. His rate was less than half of the dealer's rate. Over the years I must have saved well over a $1000 over the dealer.
It has been 45 years since I have had a vehicle under warranty. I take my cars as SUV to a local shop, one that not only can I trust but that they trust me. I can arrange to pick up by car after hours and then go in an pay when it is convenient for me. They will even install used parts and when I was driving a 20 year old SAAB, used parts are some times all you can get. They will even suggest I get the part myself when it is hard for them to do so.
My RAV is going in tomorrow for some minor work and an oil change and they will contact me if anything major needs to be done but if they see small items to fix they will do that and charge me but as I say I trust them and they have given me great breaks in the past, if it is a $35 extra job every second year I don't think they are doing it to rip be off. On top of that when my wife takes in a vehicle they do not treat her like she is dumb and not understand things.
I cannot even get the same price on a key fob at the local Toyota dealer, gone in three times and three different prices and they did physical damage to my friend's daughter's RAV and would not admit to it.
If you trust your dealer or trust your local mechanic stick with them, trying to save a couple of dollars with some one you might be leery with is not a good investment in time or money.
What is your opinion on this? Worth the extra cost of going to your dealer for repairs or shopping around for the best price/private repair shop? Years ago I decided to go with dealer repairs because I often found one repair shop would blame the previous one for a shoddy repair on a car. My reasoning was if the dealer did all the repairs the burden was on them.
Having recently been quoted what seems an extravagant price for a rack and pinion replacement I'm rethinking my strategy. What do you think? More info on this link:
Cost difference is usually imaginary. You must compare what you get at the Dealer vs Steve's Auto Service.
I'll pay for factory service. Same with Yamaha outboards. There's a lot of training and special tools involved.
Pay the man! Don't be so cheap!
You will have to do research on whether good independent shops exist for your car, depending on where you live. If the reviews are good, I encourage you to develop a relationship. I service my 15 year old Acura at a Japanese independent shop and sister's 11 year BMW is serviced at an independent German mechanic in town. Both are very honest, reliable and would never go to the dealership considering the age of both of these vehicles.
Thank you all for the great responses! I feel more informed to go ahead with this repair, but probably not at the dealer. I'll have to do some research and call around to some of the reputable shops in my area. The comment about spending half the value of my car on a repair was an eye-opener. Appreciate it, and all the other comments!
I have two independent shops that I use exclusively -- one has a mechanic who knows my engine inside and out, so he changes the timing belt and troubleshoots any problems I might have with the injection system or turbo; the other shop is just a few miles from my home and that's where I go for other mechanical stuff, brakes, suspension, etc.
My daily driver has been to a dealership fewer times than the fingers on one hand, in the 11 years since it went out of warranty. A couple of those occasions were entirely satisfactory, but one turned out horribly, which would have soured me on dealerships anyway if I had not already grown to rely on independent shops.
Changing Oil, Abs Sensor,/Brake Pad Sensor, Brakes, Transmission Fluid, Oil Change, Rims/Tires, Headlights, Lights, Car Starter, Oil filter you can do by yourself and save money you need of set tools and 4 wheel jack.
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