What's the deal with dealerships?

[cawimmer430]

Dude, Miata has never seen a stealership since I got it.

Well duh! It's JAPANESE after all. Consumer Reports Certificated, baby!  

[AutobahnSHO]

I think the right independent mechanic is just as good or better than a dealer but still significantly cheaper. Are there a lot of bad ones out there? Yeah, absolutely.

I have gotten to the point where I pretty much just go to a dealer. It is definitely more expensive, but it's also easier, and I feel better that the job is getting done right.

FWIW, my family has NEVER done regular service on cars beyond oil changes (and the timing belt on the Subaru, per my insistence), and it hasn't caused any problems.

IMO the dealership employes mechanics with 0-5 years experience, 10 at the most.  They can follow the book and are experienced with cars which are 0-5 years old. Before bigtime problems develop.  They do scheduled maintenance and recall work.

People who own cars older than that don't generally take them to the dealership- as noted the work costs much less other places. Other places which employe mechanics who might have 0-30years experience. Find a good one and they know from EXPERIENCE, not a book!, how to diagnose issues and fix cars. I had a "lousy anti-Cougs shop" tell me from just describing a noise what the problem in my Honda was- waterpump needed replacing. They did the work for 1/3 the dealer charged.  They always had a waiting list to get in.

[SVT666]

When I go to a dealership the technician can only fix the problem if the computer tells him what's wrong and only if the problem is occurring right that second.   I go to an indie garage down the street and tell him what the issue is and he says, "oh yeah.   Most of the time it's X,  but if I find its not X,  then it's almost guaranteed to be Y. "  He makes the repair and I pay him and leave.   After leaving the dealership I drive around for two years with an intermittent problem the indie shop would have diagnosed within minutes.   That has happened to me.

[850CSi]

When I go to a dealership the technician can only fix the problem if the computer tells him what's wrong and only if the problem is occurring right that second.   I go to an indie garage down the street and tell him what the issue is and he says, "oh yeah.   Most of the time it's X,  but if I find its not X,  then it's almost guaranteed to be Y. "  He makes the repair and I pay him and leave.   After leaving the dealership I drive around for two years with an intermittent problem the indie shop would have diagnosed within minutes.   That has happened to me.

No bro you own a car you can't afford to get serviced by the pros. Sell it, buy a Camry you can afford to service at its proper location.

-Ayn Rand

[GoCougs]

When I go to a dealership the technician can only fix the problem if the computer tells him what's wrong and only if the problem is occurring right that second.   I go to an indie garage down the street and tell him what the issue is and he says, "oh yeah.   Most of the time it's X,  but if I find its not X,  then it's almost guaranteed to be Y. "  He makes the repair and I pay him and leave.   After leaving the dealership I drive around for two years with an intermittent problem the indie shop would have diagnosed within minutes.   That has happened to me.

Is this the same tech that told you that you needed a $500 hub service every 15,000 miles?

[GoCougs]

No bro you own a car you can't afford to get serviced by the pros. Sell it, buy a Camry you can afford to service at its proper location.

-Ayn Rand

There is a certain type of argument which, in fact, is not an argument, but a means of forestalling debate and extorting an opponent?s agreement with one?s undiscussed notions. It is a method of bypassing logic by means of psychological pressure. It consists of threatening to impeach an opponent?s character by means of his argument, thus impeaching the argument without debate.

- Ayn Rand

Sorry you feel so burned but you asked for it .

[TurboDan]

He's going to be a business owner, not a tech at some indie shop.

Sorry, don't believe your second paragraph.

Call Land Rover of Monmouth in Ocean Township, NJ and ask how much to install a trailer hitch and wiring in an LR2...

Why would I lie? I'm pretty sure there was an entire thread about it at some point here. 

[TurboDan]

He let us hang out in the shop with him and we got to see what was up with the car as he was working on them.

Same here with the local Land Rover guy I found. Really cool guy, loves cars and sharing his knowledge.

[TurboDan]

There is a certain type of argument which, in fact, is not an argument, but a means of forestalling debate and extorting an opponent?s agreement with one?s undiscussed notions. It is a method of bypassing logic by means of psychological pressure. It consists of threatening to impeach an opponent?s character by means of his argument, thus impeaching the argument without debate.

- Ayn Rand

Sorry you feel so burned but you asked for it .

Isn't this exactly what you did by making a snarky "driving cars they can't afford" comment that was designed to impart psychological pressure on others in this thread as a means of forestalling qualitative debate on the virtues of dealership versus independent shops?

[850CSi]

There is a certain type of argument which, in fact, is not an argument, but a means of forestalling debate and extorting an opponent?s agreement with one?s undiscussed notions. It is a method of bypassing logic by means of psychological pressure. It consists of threatening to impeach an opponent?s character by means of his argument, thus impeaching the argument without debate.

- Ayn Rand

Sorry you feel so burned but you asked for it .

Dude, almost no one on this forum is stupid enough to actually engage your nonsensical arguments anymore. I thought this was clear.

When was the last time you spouted/trolled some of your I-know-everything rhetoric and actually got a serious reply on the merits of your proposition? People make this mistake with less frequency when they realize they're either getting trolled or talking to a wall.

Same here with the local Land Rover guy I found. Really cool guy, loves cars and sharing his knowledge.

Last time I dropped my car off at my indie, he had around 8 cars probably worth around $400k total, ranging from a 911 turbo to three 928s to a 7-series to an E30 used by a local autocross club.

[TurboDan]

Last time I dropped my car off at my indie, he had around 8 cars probably worth around $400k total, ranging from a 911 turbo to three 928s to a 7-series to an E30 used by a local autocross club.

Same with this dude. He went all through the LR corporate classes for the current models but loves doing work on classics. He's our age and is in the process of restoring a Defender 90 and getting a Range Rover Classic he owns back into shape.

Dude is awesome. He posts on all the LR forums (that's how I found him.. realized he was 20 minutes away from me randomly), and lives and breathes this stuff.

In my town, there's a mechanic named Guenther who specializes in German cars (for obvious reasons). At one point during the summer I needed a shot of Freon (LR2's AC was feeling weak) and I brought it to him. Just going to his garage is an experience. He had a old SL-Class out front, a few old Porsches and a few newer German cars, too. Guenther is in his late 70s and still works at the shop in the summer (he goes to Florida with his wife in the winter) and his son now runs things along with a couple mechanics who have been there for pretty much my entire life. These guys have been life-savers for us. They've even given us some "freebies" a couple times for being long-time customers.

Getting to know a good indie mechanic who lives in your town and, at the end of the day, is just a cool car guy, is golden.

We've always gone to indie mechanics in my family. My dad's been a VW/Audi enthusiast pretty much his entire driving life to this day, and his first mechanic was an Israeli immigrant to America who loved German cars, who got his start after being a mechanic in the IDF fixing tanks during the '67 war. 

[Raza]

Third image when you Google DFTT:

[Raza]

Second image when you Google Enrico Colantoni:

[Raza]

First image when you Google "laaaaame"

[nickdrinkwater]

I have the fluids changed at proper intervals and have done the timing belt/waterpump on all the cars I've owned since I was 17. Have I gone to a dealer for a phantom XX,000 mile service that costs a fortune? Never.

I'm also in the midst of taking some automotive repair/tech classes in my free time to increase my personal knowledge. I'm hoping (with the future investment in quality tools, as well as picking my buddy's brain who's a Mercedes tech) to almost eliminate third party service on my vehicles as much as possible. Stealership prices are a borderline crime, and no way I'll stand for the scam. Plus working on cars as a hobby seems really, really fun!

Now I know what you mean.  That's cool and something I hope to learn in time now that i have more exposure to the inner workings of vehicles.  Do you find that it affects your car's residual value or that you can explain it well enough when selling on?

[sportyaccordy]

Working on cars is fun on a purely voluntary basis (i.e. installing mods). Maintenance? Forget it. Outside of super basic shit like oil changes and brake pads, I'm going to the dealer. Hell I get all my maintenance for the bike done at a shop.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Working on cars is fun on a purely voluntary basis (i.e. installing mods). Maintenance? Forget it. Outside of super basic shit like oil changes and brake pads, I'm going to the dealer. Hell I get all my maintenance for the bike done at a shop.

LOLaaaaaame.

[Secret Chimp]

First image when you Google "laaaaame"

[CJ]

Muffins.  Yeeeee.

[GoCougs]

Ha, ha. My thread now by way of ImmaculateconceptionSPIN.

Just go to the dealer. Jesus.

[giant_mtb]

Detail: $250

I could've saved you at least $100.

[hotrodalex]

Last time I dropped my car off at my indie, he had around 8 cars probably worth around $400k total, ranging from a 911 turbo to three 928s to a 7-series to an E30 used by a local autocross club.

Yup, that's what the shop back in Kentucky is like. 911s, Rolls Royces, BMWs, etc. The guy has been in the business since high school and knows his stuff.

Here in Utah, I have a friend who works at a hot rod shop and is currently fixing my 3er. He (and the shop) regularly works on $50-100k custom hot rods and muscle cars, along with wrecked modern cars (insurance fluff to pad the pockets).

Both shops are a step up from a dealership, and don't cost as much.

[Soup DeVille]

If douches were 53' X 13.5' X 8.5' boxes with red swively tips, my truck would be a douche truck.

1: That would be an enormous douche.

2: Why is your truck red? Isn't it supposed to be white?

[Secret Chimp]

Red means stop. As in stop hatin'.