Yep. There are occasions where it works the other way around. It is all up to the service writer though. My friend from the Ford dealership just replaced the MAF, VC gaskets, #3 ignition coil, spark plugs, plug boots, and O2 sensors on my grandma's Lincoln LS. I think the parts were around $250 on RockAuto for name brand stuff and he charged her $200 labor. It took him about 4 hours. The upper intake manifold has to come off to get to the coils. Way to go ford.... Anyway, he looked it up at work and the same job was 8 hours on the book so a full day, at $110/hr. So that is $680 extra. The parts were $495. That is another $250. Almost $1500 for what really amounts to a tune up + 2 VC gaskets and a MAF chip...

I'm deluded? You seem to think dealerships are the spawn of Satan and only fools ever take their car there or buy parts from them. I take a middle approach, you take an extreme view and portray it as the only reasonable position. All you know about dealerships sounds like hearsay, your view a collage of horror stories and biased positions from independent mechanics who of course are going to bad mouth the dealership (their most important competitor).



Dealership mechanics aren't paid hourly. They're paid on a form of commission with a set pay for a set job. The hourly rate also goes to pay for service staff, shop infrastructure, speciality tools, office staff, car washer, shuttle drivers, loaner cars etc. There's a lot more overhead for a dealership than a typical independent shop. A lot of independent shops have only one or two guys who work for them, both mechanics who take turns answering the phones and write up everything themselves.

Dealerships get a bad rap, but that's OK. Some people will never take their car to a dealership, and they like it that way. Some people will never take their car to an independent mechanic and that's OK too. It's different kinds of people, and there's no use trying to convince someone to change, you're not going to convince them because the other person values something differently. But acting like all dealerships are out to steal your money and that somehow independent shops are any better in that regard is ridiculous. How about those thousands of small shops along the American interstate that prey on people with out of state license plates? How about all those quick lube places which almost don't let you leave without letting them flush your fluids, redo your filters, replace your sparkplugs, give you an e-test? How about the independent shops that do shotty work then won't own up to it? No place is perfect.

Take your car to an independent if you want. There's nothing wrong with a person if they want to take a car to a dealership. I use both. My new car goes to the dealership, my old one goes to an independent where I know the owner. Something's will be done better at a dealership, other's at an independent. It's your choice what you want to do, there is no objectively right answer.

This post was edited by Caedus on Dec 11 2014 06:16pm

It's far from hearsay. The stereotype exists for a reason. You seem to be trying to apply your experience with luxury manufacturers to every dealership. The ones I'm talking about aren't paying for shuttle drivers and loaner cars out of their labor rate because they don't have to. If you get a loaner it is because your warranty affords that. Have you ever turned a wrench? It doesn't sound like it. An independent shop can take you just like a dealership can but that is no different than paying for any service... As the consumer you have to be knowledgeable and apply common sense to this situation or you will be taken advantage of. Once you find a good independent mechanic there is no need to go back to a dealership once the warranty is out. They survive on taking care of their customers and turning them into repeat customers.


Lets recap

An independent shop that is not trustworthy can take a fool for a fool

If you are not a fool you will find a good shop after a couple of tries

A dealership is guaranteed to break it off in you every time you step in their door. That's how things are priced and set up.


Yes there is convenience and the job is usually done quickly. The lube boy responsible for totaling your corvette has no more training or experience than the guy at jiffy lube. If you think recourse on a poorly done job is easier through a dealership you haven't been around long enough... If you find the right number to call and escalate it to corporate you might get rental car reimbursement and get the parts or labor paid for but rarely both and that is after making a complete ass of yourself for weeks. At the end of the day the dealership is a privately run franchise that can give you the middle finger just like an independent shop. Both cases end up in small claims court.

This post was edited by FMX_89 on Dec 11 2014 06:25pm

I am much much happier working for a fleet instead of a dealer ship.

Truly this

Of course the option is yours but with the dealership, you are getting the best quality products and service available.

But a quick question to the OP. Is this really on a 00 Civic?

Yep. DD. Economical on gas, inexpensive to repair, and a lot of the basic maintenance, I can do myself.

for what car?

did u get a new car?

how come its complimentary? I hope not the civic

Haha; 'sup W?

Yep; still the Civic. Instead of buying me a new car, we bought my wife one (when she rolled her last car, last rainy season. @_@ )

I tried to find the youtube video I saw posted on corvette forum a few years ago. A guy in his 20's is straddling a brand new crate LS7 being put in a C6 Z06 under warranty wailing on the harmonic balancer with a 5lb dead blow hammer like he is driving a railroad spike. The engine isn't on a stand, and apparently no one has or cares enough to find the special install tool with long enough threads to install the LS7 crank pulley. I wonder how the thrust bearing made out of that deal. The guy is a chump and everyone standing there thought it was funny.


It has since been made private... I wonder why.

My point is the work being done and the people working at dealerships are no better than an average private shop but the prices are 2x higher or more. That is why we call it a stealership.

Nice, I can hook u up with a 159$/month BMW i3 brand new, if you need a real DD that will save u money.

No cost of fuel, 4 years free maintenance, and lease term is 2 years, so long before warranty and free maintenance ends