Not sure how to set up a survey, but I just saw some rather interesting data about people who don't use the manufacturer's dealer for their car maintenance.
So, for this question- if you DON'T do the work yourself, why do you not use your dealer?
Please, feel free to be brutally honest- I'm sure we've all heard it. But I want to wrap my head around those numbers I saw.
Thanks.
When I need to send one of the faster cars out I simply do not trust the dealer period. I am not handing the keys to a 800+hp car to a lot porter that looks like he just got back from smoking pot behind the building. Does not matter if its Porsche or Dodge at least around he.
I am happy to pay dealer prices for someone who specializes in only one type of car and who I trust though. IE I would send a Viper say to Dan Cragian with a glovebox full of 100$ and he will only take what he needs and I know he is not going to call me up with crap like the deal will about transmission flushes and bulE36 M3 that they know is no needed.
When I had BMWs and needed to farm work out, I always went to the local indie because he didn't upsell anything unnecessary and was cheaper to boot. Plus it's nice to know that your money is supporting someone's small business (which most BMW dealers certainly aren't).
I actually tend to use the dealer when I'm not doing the work. It's usually a situation when I don't have the time, expertise or tools to get the job done. I figure with the dealer, at least I'll get OEM parts and someone who specializes on the brand of vehicle I own.
I got quotes on front brakes/rotors for our Odyssey once before doing the job myself. The dealer was actually mid-pack in terms of cost, and that was with OEM parts (which the independents would not use).
The cases when I haven't used the dealer have been due to incompetence, or a gross breach of trust (lying, etc.). For example, I've had very poor experiences at both of our local Honda dealerships, so I tend to go to the one 45 minutes away if I need a major service done that I can't tackle myself.
The only time I use dealer service is for warranty work. The rest of the time it's almost always too inconvenient and too expensive. Plus there is the upsell problem. That exists with indies too, but usually they are less blatant about it.
Likely because their local dealer sucks or is inconvenient.
I've found a good indie mechanic who does competent work and does no give me the "REPLACE EVERYTHING THE SKY IS FALLING" BS that I get from a dealer.
The pressure upsell and cost of a dealer is a turn off.
I typically don't use the dealer for a few reasons. I don't like paying a higher price for a service that most any indie shop will it for. I don't like being upsold, lied to or cheated. I doubt the local Nissan dealer has any techs old enough to know how to work on my 86 D-21 pickup. They would just tell me I need a new ECU and throttle body.
I use the dealer for my truck because it's under warranty. Gives me some ammo if something goes wrong - a friend lost the engine in his Subaru juuuust after the warranty period ended, and they gave him a new one for the price of labor once he pointed out he'd had all the work done at the dealer on their schedule. Most of the time I was in there asking if they've got the recall parts for the ball joint repair yet anyhow...
I take care of things like fuel filter and air filter changes, but they can deal with all that stinky diesel oil and I know I'm getting Mopar parts. They haven't tried to upsell me yet.
The Audi goes to the dealer because it's still under warranty and the normal maintenance is prepaid for the warranty period. Well, I'll be doing my own oil changes halfway through the standard 10K intervals, but...
The Odyssey goes to the dealer for major jobs (tranny flushes, for example), because it's close and convenient, and I like to have those kinds of services on record.
The truck went to the Chevy dealer in Grand Junction when it puked a water pump a thousand miles from home.
The Miata hasn't seen the inside of a Mazda dealer since the Clinton administration.
The local BMW dealer actually charges pretty competitive prices and has generally not tried to upsell me, but they are far enough away to be a bit inconvenient.
So 40 or so min into it, the leading reasons are (not in this order)
Cost
upsell
truthfulness
convenience
trust of who is there.
Keep it going.
(edit- getting the parts is a different question I want to ask, so for now, just look at service)
A lot of people prefer a cozy, friendly one on one atmosphere versus feeling like they're just being processed by a large group of indifferent people.
We've even had people have us do repairs that we flat-out told them should be covered under warranty. That is how much some people dislike the dealership service experience.
alfadriver wrote: So 40 or so min into it, the leading reasons are (not in this order) Cost upsell truthfulness convenience trust of who is there. Keep it going. (edit- getting the parts is a different question I want to ask, so for now, just look at service)
I'll take trust, truthfulness also. My father was told he needed a new transfer case by the local Toy dealer and quoted $3800 with labor when asking about a small oil dripper. He is no sucker so he left, went to NAPA and changed the $6 seal himself.
Huckleberry wrote:alfadriver wrote: So 40 or so min into it, the leading reasons are (not in this order) Cost upsell truthfulness convenience trust of who is there. Keep it going. (edit- getting the parts is a different question I want to ask, so for now, just look at service)I'll take trust, truthfulness also. My father was told he needed a new transfer case by the local Toy dealer and quoted $3800 with labor when asking about a small oil dripper. He is no sucker so he left, went to NAPA and changed the $6 seal himself.
Just to be clear- I like the idea of keeping the truthfulness and "trust" separate- wearymicrobe pointed out handing they keys to his car to some person- which I see as a trust thing of your specific car. Whereas truthfulness is about the service.
If you mean both, that's cool.
But I appreciate that there is a difference.
The only issue I've had with the dealers I've used is time. The Buick included 24,000 miles of oil changes and even with an appointment it was well over an hour sometimes closer to two where the girl at the Mobil we go to gets it in and out in about 25 minutes and throws in a car wash. I paid for one oil change at the dealer and it was still over an hour. The Fiat dealer was also were slow. Neither seemed more expensive or tried to upsell so they had that going for them.
Add knowledge, or lack there of, to the list. We've had it happen a few times where I knew more about the cars service needs than the dealership service department. Not that this is in any way exclusive to dealership service departments either, but not exactly confidence inspiring either.
Every single dealership service I've ever used always felt like they were doing me a favor by working on my car. I either do it myself or have friends help. Very rarely (like this morning for example) do I go to a dealership for anything.
I think that the indie shops will at least make an attempt to fix what's not working, whereas the dealer will just replace what's not working, and then often try to upsell.
The other thing that bugs me is that dealers will sell genuine parts for less through their online parts sales than they will over the counter. I can buy Genuine Toyota parts cheaper from a Toyota dealer in Texas and have them shipped here for less than I can buy them at my local dealers.
"Large group of indifferent people..." says it all about dealerships.
I can have a conversation about my car's needs at an independent shop that would be meaningless with most dealership service advisors.
Wife took '10 Ody to dealer for wiper blades when I was out of town. They sold her a battery terminal cleaning for $60, and quoted $125 for engine air and $180 for cabin air filters. So yeah, no dealers for us unless it's a very specific thing that indies don't do.
Convenience is a big one for me. I can drop my car off at the dealership for an oil change, or I can drive through a quickie-lube place in 10 minutes. I can get tires mounted at the place on the corner a lot faster and probably cheaper than the dealer, too. I also tend to do a lot of stuff myself.
Unless it's warranty work. Then it's straight to the dealer.
Woody wrote: I think that the indie shops will at least make an attempt to fix what's not working, whereas the dealer will just replace what's not working, and then often try to upsell. The other thing that bugs me is that dealers will sell genuine parts for less through their online parts sales than they will over the counter. I can buy Genuine Toyota parts cheaper from a Toyota dealer in Texas and have them shipped here for less than I can buy them at my local dealers.
That last part is an interesting note. To me (my personal perception) is the dealer should be a like a big box store- where there's free shipping if they don't have it, or on hold for you (maybe even sold to you) if they do.
But that does get binned into the parts cost thing- which is a different thing that I might ask. May not have to, though.
I also appreciate the answers are from gear heads that do their own work, and do their own research before doing work. Nice angle to see from.
A friend of mine was fired from his service writer job at a local dealer because he didn't write up enough service and spent time with the customer to correctly diagnose the issue. He started doing this after the 30th time the techs sent the car back with "no trouble found" as the conclusion.
Apparently, conscientiousness is frowned upon at that dealer.
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