Dealer vs. garage: what's the dealio?

Key words seen repeatedly: If you can find an independent mechanic that you like...

We switch car brands fairly frequently so I don't want to spend the time and prefer not to waste money searching for an independent mechanic that may match the dealer peoples' training, equipment, service bulletins, more fellow mechanics to consult with, OE parts availability and one other thing: A dealer can use the resources of the vehicle mfr. if a problem is difficult. This was our recent experience with a new car warranty issue and later on it could have been an out of warrenty issue.

dealers will do it as cheap as they can and charge way too much. mechanics, well, they all vary

In my opinion you more likely to receive better service from an independent garage because the guy who does the work is often (although not always) the owner of the garage and has a greater stake in the business than the technician at a dealership who is only working for a pay check. Aside from that the independent has worked for someone else for years and has figured out that he can make more money by working for himself and he may be more flexible about what he charges for his work than a dealer.

Hello.I'm a automotive tech.I have worked for both independent shops,chain shops And dealers.I have found that dealers have better training toward the type of carsthey sell.But I have worked with bozo's in all types of shops.I suggest that you talk to the techs in the shop.It is easy to see the ones that have training and the ones that always wanted to work on cars without any training.ASE is good but I have seen paper smart techs that were lost in the real world of repair.Always ask a trusted friend or ask for a referal list of customers.BBB is sometimes helpful.S-KING

S-King, what do you think the effects of pay type (Hourly vs flat rate) are on the quality of work performed?