Auto dealers vs. private shops

[c214dick]

With 32 yrs in wholesale parts distribution with VW I was taught to support the dealers whenever possible because they were our bread and butter. I know it was rather naïve of me but I always tried to support dealers with any vehicle I bought including my 2003 Dodge which was purchased new.
Recently I had problems with my truck and took it to the dealer where purchased. I was quoted $5600 for all work needed. After some dickering they agreed to shave off about $1000 with all sorts of discounts which made me wonder just how much of the work was required.
I agreed to have them do some of the more routine maintenance including valve adjustment, gaskets, differential, etc. After shopping around I found two shops to do the other work suggested by the dealer. All additional work required was verified by my son before going to the shops. Additionally we needed a left front wheel bearing assy which was not part of the original dealer quote.
At the end of the day all work, including that done by the dealer was $2000 less than the original quote. I forgot to mention that the dealer wanted to replace the water pump, again, which was confirmed by the radiator repair shop as ok. The dealer also missed the wheel bearing which would have been another $1000 on their estimate instead of the less than $500 charge at the repair shop.
I guess it pays to shop around. Thanks to my son, Brad and Larry at the two repair shops my confidence in my truck has been restored.

[Tom S.]

The auto repair portion of any dealership does two kinds of repair: warranty and non-warranty. The warranty repairs are paid for at factory rate. That means if the factory says it takes 2 hours to do a repair, that's all the shop gets paid, whether it takes them 1 hour or 5. Many factory rates are cut to the bone and may require special tools to meet that rate. So not only is the mechanic under the gun to perform in a given time, he may have to make an investment if he can't make due with the tools he has.

Where am I going with this? Factory rate leaves enough to pay for the mechanic (mostly) but little to cover overhead, especially when there isn't enough warranty work to keep all the mechanics busy and they are standing around idle. So dealers supplement this by charging higher prices for non-warranty work. In many cases, a lot more. Chances are the mechanic you go to will not be supporting a large building with the number of bays the dealership has, nor of course will he have to contend with factory rates. So he can offer better rates than the dealer does. The downside to this though is the dealer techs are trained to work on your specific vehicle and not 20 other brands, plus they see a lot more of your specific vehicle type and are therefore more in tune to what problems may be waiting to occur and how to correct them.

Many dealers have recognized this problem and have lowered rates on some of the simpler items like oil changes, but this varies vastly from dealer to dealer. Also remember that dealer repairs may come with a warranty that can be used at other dealers if you have a problem with the repair while on the road.

But after all this, there are dealers who gouge none warranty customers.

[JandC]

It makes you wonder about some of the dealerships out there. I have a buddy who has worked his whole lifetime in different service manager positions. I won't mention his current dealership because he has worked for several and a lot of them conduct their business the same. Many dealerships encourage their service folks to "find" additional issues with customers vehicles to increase repair bills. He usually doesn't last long at those dealerships because they are high pressure and it drives him crazy always trying to push for extra work that maybe doesn't need to be done. I think you are correct when you say it pays to shop around.

[DQDick]

We're lucky out here in the boonies, our Dodge dealer is fair and honest. One of the problems in cost of repairs, however, is Dodge parts. Over the years he's saved me thousands, particularly when I had to replace an engine, by getting the parts elsewhere (the rebuilt engine even had a longer warranty than Dodge's would have). Frequently repair parts come from NAPA down the street which is a doubly good deal. When more money stays in town more folks have money to spend at the DQ.

[kdeiss]

Once you establish yourself as a customer they will take care of you.I drove 35,000 to 40,000 miles as a salesman I would always have my sevice done by the Dealer.On more then one occasion they helped me out when I was out of Warrinty.They would tell me "You take care of us we take care of you"

[bigred715]

When they find out you have a warranty or "extended" warranty they can find all kinds of things wrong and know in most cases it will be paid for. Had a "bad wheel bearing on my truck that I wasn't aware of and they replaced to the tune of over $500 when they knew that I had extended warranty. They wanted $500 to replace 2 power steering hoses and I told them no. Replaced them myself for 1/2 the price. Not a fun job but worth the savings. The Diesel Place website I belong to said DON'T replace with stock fittings because they will leak again in short period of time. Dealerships TRY to hose you in my opinion.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

We're lucky out here in the boonies, our Dodge dealer is fair and honest. One of the problems in cost of repairs, however, is Dodge parts. Over the years he's saved me thousands, particularly when I had to replace an engine, by getting the parts elsewhere (the rebuilt engine even had a longer warranty than Dodge's would have). Frequently repair parts come from NAPA down the street which is a doubly good deal. When more money stays in town more folks have money to spend at the DQ.

Funny and true story about parts. In 1978 I bought a new Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4. It had "Full time" four wheel drive and was a real gas hog. A couple years afterwards, a third party vendor came out with a kit to change it to part time 4wd, but the kit required changing the tail shaft of the transfer case. The transfer case, BTW was made by New Venture, who were a joint venture between GM and Chrysler. OK, off I go to the Chevy dealer. The part is an order only item and is $175. Across the street I go to the GMC dealer. The same part is order only and $135. Hmmm, well since it's also used by Chrysler, up the street two blocks I go to the Dodge dealer. The part is special order, but only $90! And they can get in three days. So my 1978 Chevy ended up with a Chrysler part in it.

[bethandkevin]

quote:Originally posted by JandC

It makes you wonder about some of the dealerships out there. I have a buddy who has worked his whole lifetime in different service manager positions. I won't mention his current dealership because he has worked for several and a lot of them conduct their business the same. Many dealerships encourage their service folks to "find" additional issues with customers vehicles to increase repair bills. He usually doesn't last long at those dealerships because they are high pressure and it drives him crazy always trying to push for extra work that maybe doesn't need to be done. I think you are correct when you say it pays to shop around.

When I worked at the dealership, upselling was encouraged. Canned or packageded maintenance items were just becoming common. My philosophy is and always has been to make my living repairing what was wrong with a customers vehicle and pointing out things that were likely needed down the road. When I prepared an estimate, it was prioritized by the nature of the repair from most important to least. Seldom did I recommend packaged maintenance unless it related to a repair or was truly needed. In today's shops, the service writer is selling these jobs without even looking for their need. I one has a GM vehicle written up for a coolant flush. After checking the acidity and protection level of the coolant, I dragged the writer back to the vehicle to show them the sticker on the surge tank stating "filled with 5 year/150,000 mile Dexcool"(the car was 3 years old with about 40,000 miles on it). Another was written for a Transmission flush and filter service. When I looked at the vehicle history, it had been done 6 months prior. I refused to do both jobs and was backed by the service manager. The writer was left to explain why the car didn't need the services that he recommended. Unfortunately, it illustrated honesty that the writer clearly didn't have. I left the dealership partly because of these practices, the service manager was fired a couple years later for "low sales numbers". Unfortunately, when most of us walk into a service area, all the writer sees is $$$$$$$'s.

[Tfthorp]

DQDick I have to agree. Here on Long Island the Ford dealer charged me $400 more than The dealer in Vt that I use for the same job. The dealer in Vt quoted me the same price and when I went to pay I questioned why it was so low. He told me when they quote it they quote for all parts but they didn't need them all hence the lower bill. My repair shop for life!!!! To bad their sales dept. didn't return my phone calls. Ended buying from another dealer. But still use them for service.

[Slufoot733]

Sadly it's been my experience that dealers are not to be trusted. Both my vehicle and my RV dealers have screwed (or tried to) me over on several occasions. In the case of my RV dealer he gave me the run-around on the hydraulic slide problem I had until the warranty ran out....then he didn't remember anything about it. My local vehicle dealer always find things that need to be replaced or repaired that are just fine. I don't even go there any more.

It pays to shop around and find someone you can really trust. I don't mind paying for a service.....but dang it , I expect to get that service.

[mlh]

I use the dealer when I haft to and a small shop when I can. We have a great small shop they are good and HONEST and charge $40 per hour. I dont know how they work for that.
Lynwood

[1retired06]

I worked my way through UTEP in El Paso, at a Chev dealership, and I got 20% of all parts above and beyond the work order that I could convince a customer to buy. After 10 months I could not look in the mirror, and finished my college education while working as the Parking Lot Manager at Gillespies' Steak House and Empire Club.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by mlh

I use the dealer when I haft to and a small shop when I can. We have a great small shop they are good and HONEST and charge $40 per hour. I dont know how they work for that.
Lynwood

I don't either. Service around here starts at $75 an hour and goes as high as $125.

[mlh]

I know and these guys are as good as any I have ever found. They are the only shop that I have ever trusted to change my oil. Good Honest and cheap what is wrong with that. I have told them they need to charge more.
Lynwood

[tbhd2]

And then there are the unscrupulous dealers that charge you for a warrantable part and turn it in for warranty reimbursement. Happens a lot.

[c214dick]

I posted my experience on Facebook thanking my son and the two shops that did my repairs. Additionally I mentioned the dealer and what they did. The only thing I left out was the name of the service advisor. I did fill out the survey sent out by the dealer telling them what I thought which I'm sure went in the garbage.

[paulinbaja]

My 2003 f250 currently has a recall. My local shop, an honest guy trying to make a living handled it. There is no way I could afford the cost of this free repair if I had taken it to a dealer!

[paulinbaja]

My 2003 f250 currently has a recall. My local shop, an honest guy trying to make a living handled it. There is no way I could afford the cost of this free repair if I had taken it to a dealer!

[WaltBennett]

I've used both, but prefer small local shops. I've found they are much more trustworthy in general, you know what they're doing & they will show you if you ask, and most times you can find someone who specializes in your vehicle.

[richfaa]

We have always had our work done Chevy/Ford by the purchasing dealer with never a problem. It is difficult to find a small shop that can do quality and knowledgeable work.