why do customers distrust dealerships for repairs?

Question

you have no problem bringing it to them for the "free" warranty stuff, but when it comes to maintance you take it to guys who dont have any training on your make and model...

please dont say that the dealer is more exjpensive - you get factory trained techs and factory parts - and there oil changes are less then jiffy lubes

anyhow - after "down the road motors" cant fix your car - guess where he takes it?

Answer 1

The cost of the "free" warrenty work is figured into the cost of the new car by the manufacturer. So you were correct to use it in quotes. It's not free and never was. I've take every car I've ever had to an independent mechanic because he charges less. The dealerships charge more to cover the costs of all the advertising they do. Do you shop where you pay the most for all your goods and services? Most people don't. It's simple economics. As long as an independent mechainic has a diagnostic computer and the know how, he can do everything the dealership can do at a much cheaper price. I've never taken any of my cars to the dealership except for the "free" repairs.

Answer 2

Well, we've got a Nissan Pathfinder, and we trust the one of the local Gemini places a lot more than the local Nissan dealer. That dealership is the same place where I had a salesman tell me they had a mandetory $250 charge for etching the VIN onto the windows - only that's around a 500% mark-up and they didn't even bother actually doing what they charged me for. It's where the salesman claimed a truck with an obviously bad clutch was all right, that I just must be out of practice driving a stick shift. In short, I've experienced car salesmen at the dealership who would tell me anything to get me to buy a car. Why should I assume they hold their mechanics to a higher standard of ethics than their salesmen?

This is one specific example - there are other dealers that I do trust, and some independants I don't. I just place a permium on the company's ethics and want a mechanic I can personally trust.

Answer 3

becuae of the key word..FREE everyone loves free... but hate the PAY word.

they take it usually to places that are cheap and convient for them.... and the dealers are usually competively priced with the independants on oil changes

dealers can be known as ripoffs but I've seen independants that rip people off more, but the dealer is the big bad dealer who makes money and can afford not to rip off in some peoples' eyes I beleive.

It more depends upon the actual mechanic than the shop as a whole

Someone said all the best techs are independants... Sorry ..wrong answer ... How I know? I do this for a living... Each mechanic will usually have specialties that he is better than others at... I have independant shops I am friends with who know way more than I do and I go get advice from personally... But I have dealer techs who have seen the same problems more often and are usually trained in the subject.... I find for most work like brakes and all, most independants and franchise companies work great and do a job comparable to a dealer if not better at times...

Usually when the crap hits the fan and the independant can't fix it, it's sent to the dealer who basically has to fix it and can't "pass it on" like a independant can

the prices are usually higher as there is usually more overhead costs at a dealer than say a true independant shop and not just in advertising....someone has to pay those people who greet you and take you home ... Usually the dealer's prices on labor are on average in a town and compete with the gemini's and pep boys

The dealer gets the parts from the same places as the independants as well as the manufacturer with all the discounts and tax free also.. the independants make money by charging list prices for those parts too (ask them for the prices they pay... they will probably tell you to go get lost)..the dealer does the same thing but charges the list on the manufacturers parts that he then has to warranty (the independants depending upon the person, will either eat the cost of labor if the part goes bad or will charge you for it as no one pays him to take it off if the part is bad)

want to call people crooks.. investigate first... some are, some aren't .. some do make mistakes when trying to fix highly complicated cars these days (do you argue with the doctor if he misdiagnosis?)

independants that are trustworty usually charge a little more than other mechaincs but will have the training and tools to fix a car right.

...and to the questioner... where are those factory techs sometimes? most dealers are roughly half to 3/4 factory trained

Answer 4

Painting all dealers and independent garages with a broad brush and saying "Dealers are crooks and independents are not" is a BIG mistake.

Certainly there must be good dealers and how could all the independents be good little angels that fix cars perfectly, everytime.

The best we as car owners can do is follow the routine maintenance schedule and pay attention to signs fo problems.

One time I took a car of mine into an independent garage for a clutch and 45 minutes later he had my transmission in a million pieces telling my how I need a new transmission. I KNEW HE WAS LYING and I should have kicked his butt right then. Instead, I just said fix my car. I was working and going to school and didn't have time to deal with it. $1,000 later I received my car. The car shifted fine, but a couple of days later I was driving the car around and it started to smell like burning gear oil.

I jacked the car up to drain the transmission of gear oil. There was not one drop in it.

My ex-girlfriend had a brand new Accord that she neglected. It finally needed new pads and rotors. $600.00 is too much to pay for that. The work was done at the dealer.

With the exception of a timing belt and smogs I NEVER take my cars to anyone if I can help it.

Oh yeah, dealers cost more money. Almost exclusively.

Answer 5

In my area the dealer is expensive. He gets parts the same place I would. Example. My 98 Ranger needed a new motor. Longblock was 1675, labor at the dealer was 3200, the guy who usually fixes stuff for me was 1200 and he was the guy that trained all the dealer techs at the local 2 yr college.

Answer 6

I don't distrust dealerships for repairs, I go there when it is a job I know should be done at the dealer. For everything else I go to the friendly and personable garage for repairs and the auto maintenance place for my oil change I have given my business to for alot of years. They are the hometown businesses and I am loyal to them and I am free to see what is going on with my car at those locales while it is worked on.

Answer 7

I work at Mazda/Ford i would only bring my car to dealer, Me and the other techs know all there is about Ford makes, we can easily fix your car and know how to do it, and word to the wise, the markups aren't just for s... and giggles, they pay for our training and tool sand know how, when you pay a tech and then complain its to much, try to fix your car yourself and see how easy it is, i mean come on your paying us more just like you would a doctor and a lawyer we are trained pros's also the timing belt is not a piece of cake job they are a pain specially in a v motor, you do one in 2 hours and then see if it hold up on the road.

Answer 8

A lot of us independents have as much training and equipment as the dealers, and gladly stand behind our work. You make it sound like everyone but the dealer is under a shade tree. And yes, we are cheaper. We don't mark the prices up on parts like the dealer does, and we don't have to set your vehicle off to the side while we get the latest load of new cars in to be serviced so they can hit the lot because that's where the profit is.

As far as "factory parts", where do you think I get mine? Same place Ford and GM get theirs, except I get them wholesale and tax free.

Answer 9

People just don't care about their cars enough. They don't care if they are getting trained professionals and factory parts. They want to save 20 bucks! Average oil change at pronto or whatever is like 12.95. Average at a dealership is 25.00 maybe? Especially when something goes wrong, or you need more expensive work, like a brake job. People just don't want to spend extra money on maintenance.

Answer 10

It's not a matter of trust.

I took my car to the dealer for a timing belt, and they quoted me a price of $697.

COME ON! that's a job that ANY half a$$ed backyard mechanic could handle.

The local garage that I have dealt with in the past and found them to be competent, said they would do the job for $250. LESS THAN HALF what the dealer wants.

Any further questions?

I know you must work for a dealer, right?