Well, replying to the actual thread, never take your car to the dealer. If you know an auto shop you trust take it to them, that is if you know a trustworty auto shop. Auto shops rely on their services to survive. If customers are unhappy, one, they will never come back, two, they'll never refer anyone to go to that shop, therefore, they'll be out of business if it continues. A dealer on the other hand hires just about anyone. Think of it this way, would you work harder and more precisely if you worked for yourself, or would you do so for a big company that doesn't really even check to see if you're productive or not. My brother has his own auto shop and relies on his service to stay in business. He works very closely with dealers also, doing smog checks and even some repairs for them. According to him, the mechanics there don't give a rat's a** about your car. They're getting paid no matter how good of a job they do, because it's not their company or business. The big surprise here is that a lot dealers don't even fix the car when you bring it to them. For example, in some cases, the dealers sent it to my brother's shop down the street to fix it for them and then charge the customer more than what my brother would have charged. Detail jobs aren't even performed by most dealers. They send it to the car wash down the street and charge you $100.00 for a $60 job. Trust me on this one, Don't Trust The Dealer. I have a trusted source in the industry. Any questions or concerns, please email me.
