Quote:
Originally Posted by jfuller5
Well, here is another opinion. Another more frequent stigma is tha the dealer costs more. I have 35 years experience with Ford Lincoln Mercury dealers and 12 with Nissan and Volvo and all too often the dealer ends up with the work that cant be figured out at the local level. The customer goes to "My Mechanic" and spends and spends then when at his wits end he unwillingly calls the dealer because of his misconception that he will spend more. Then after all the ill money spent he finds it can be repaired by the trained factory techs in a timely less expensive manner. One trip for repairs is always less expensive than multiple repeat repairs. We run into this day in and day out , you have no idea how many cars come to us for OBDII inspections that the customer is told that the Car will not communicate with the test equipment at the local mechanic. Then suprisingly we hook up and the car communicates fine, the isssue is that they are unable to diagnose the issue correctly so they send the to THE DEALER. Now the dealer is stuck with 2 issues, First is to diagnose the car and 2nd is to Fix the customer who has been brain washed into thinking the dealer is out to get them. Who is out to get who. Also a good point is raised on extended warranty insurance carriers, they will pay for repairs that are made other than at a dealer and are sometimes sold at local used car lots also. I have called many insurance carriers for authorization using aftermarket parts and the are ok but they will only pay fo the amount of Dealer List Prices and very often the OEM part costs less than the aftermarket. A good example of this is steering linkage, OEM is usualy cheaper and the Ins Co wont pay for Moog etc. All these insurance companys have databases that include make specific List prices and they will not pay more. Also i feel there is a misconception that all dealers will void warranty and that is started at the local level. I had a lady with remote car start call today that was told installing it would void her warranty. I expalained to here that that wasn't the case, it would only void the warranty on anything that it may damage or cause. Installation of aftermarket parts do not void Manufacturer warranties. the difference we are talking about here is the difference in people! There are good techs and bad techs good dealers and bad dealers , good nurses and bad, good lawyers and , well you get it . The real answer is to find the real people out there who care and give a s%***t o do business with, the ones you can trust and the ones you cant, they are out there in all walks of life and only the strong survive... Personally makes my skin crawl when i hear people knock dealers in general, or any people in general for that matter. Get to the bottom of it and deal with who you can trust and build a relationship. I haven;t seen that guy that knows it all yet, but i sdo know you need to deal with people that WANNA. To be good at anything you GOTTAWANNA !! Thanks for listening... Jim, Fixed Operations Manager Ford Lincoln Mercury Nissan and Volvo dealer
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Good points.
Here, if we have to send you to the dealer, we can refund your money you spent with us. We will NEVER charge you a dime, if it wasn't the fix. All our work is guarenteed 100%. Can't even count how many times I had to eat cost. Had customers call with a broke down car 4 hours away. I jump in the truck/trailer and tools to see if I can help. Reputation means a lot to some people still (too few, but some).
A good independent is 100% of the time cheaper then the dealer. Thats fact. Cheaper rate, and usually cheaper parts. Around here dealer markup is 20%. Average labor rate is $140+. You assume people will find a bad independent. That
would cost you. But lets assume they find a place, much like ours, where the dealership will call with questions.
We pride ourselves with being the most upfront and honest place in CA.
They hate it, but many of the tech's know of my Dad. They will call to ask him questions about cars, in house.
The key is, like you said, meet the guys. Some dealerships its hard to meet your tech, and your not always going to have the same one. Most independents, you get to meet the guy turning the wrench, ask him questions, get HIS opinion, not some guy in a suit who doesn't know his butt from a rear-end. Plus, you can usually request who does the actual work. Listen to your friends. Word of mouth is usually the best method of finding anything reputable !
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of GREAT dealerships out there. I have dealt with quite a few. But I feel, the best independant would blow the pants off the best dealership. Just my opinion, I suggest you look around and try different spots to get your own. Sometimes they are hard to find, just gotta keep lookin !
- James
P.S.- Abother thing that gets me about OUR local dealerships anyways. They all work on commission. Too many times do customers come from there saying "X" said I need "this, this, and this" when in fact, all they need is "that". Becareful when working with a commission based anything !