When It Comes To SERVICE, Do YOU Go To The DEALER Or An INDEPENDENT Shop? Why?

It was just the other day when I was cranking out some work and a new email message came in. It was from my independent shop, Redline Speed Worx. Though I am used to an incentive here and there, this one actually was different.

According to a study, car owners seem to strongly prefer the work done by independent shops.

Hm, interesting. In a pretty unbelievable stat, about 87 percent of participants said that their independent shop's quotes were MORE affordable than what they received at the dealer. AND 67% of respondents trusted their little shop over the dealer.

This got me thinking: WHY do I go to my independent shop? My reasoning is simple. My car has a lot of modifications and I do trust them more as the shop has a more competitive labor/hour rate. Not to mention the techs came from the dealership world anyhow.

That said, I was wanted to know the Spies' perspective:

Do YOU go to the DEALER for repairs or an INDEPENDENT shop? Do YOU TRUST an indepedent shop MORE?


**AutoSpies.com is not affiliated with Redline Speed Worx in anyway — Agent 00R does use them for his service but this is NOT a sponsored post

Read Article

pepito66 - 8/7/2013 12:22:48 AM

+1 Boost

I always go to the Dealer and I also have a private mechanic from the Dealer so he has enough experience , I just call him if I want to change the oils before the car warning , because I don't like to drive 15 000 miles like the dealer said without oils change.

Sciros - 8/7/2013 12:24:16 AM

+1 Boost

There are some advantages to going to a dealership but they are situational. If you need something big done (a new transmission) and you are out of warranty but think that with the right people involved you could get the manufacturer to help you out, then going through one of their dealers for the work can help. If you intend on trading a car in at some point to a certain dealership, they will be more willing to accept their own maintenance or repair work at full value than if it were done by another shop. Those are off the top of my head, but there are probably other cases where it's beneficial. But there are also many cases where the dealership will just charge more, or perform less reliable work, or both.

jeffy210 - 8/7/2013 8:44:45 AM

+1 Boost

In warranty: Dealer
Out of warranty: Independent

iamdabest1 - 8/7/2013 10:20:23 AM

+1 Boost

because its a bmw, dealer.. if i had to pay for it, independent for sure.
if dealer prices werent so outrageous i think we would all go to them. unless its a major problem, i dont see the need.

abqhudson - 8/7/2013 12:24:58 PM

+1 Boost

Independent for me as soon as warranty is over. After a little bit of effort to find a good one, I get better service at a much lower cost.