Why not the dealer

[jwhite]

I'll start by saying I'm in no way in any affiliation to a dealer of any brand make of vehicle.
I read so many post of issues or problems and somewhere in the post it will read " I don't want to take it to, or don't trust a dealer" Why??? I know they're better dealers than others, that's a given. I know a lot of you DIY'ers for oil changes and routine maintenance. Speaking only in my opinion, if I'm having an issue, I'm taking it back to my dealer. They have the equipment and resources available to them to most not all but most the time to fix your problem first trip. Witch is much cheaper than letting an independent shop trouble shot with your money. Truly the dealer is there to help you not screw you over.
I figure tech joy rides might be 1 concern? that I understand but you risk that any time you turn your car over to someone. Personally I'm not to concerned about that as I drive my car fairly hard and I hardly believe my tech could be much harder on it. As a standing joke with the service manager, they don't wash my car nor will they roast my tires off or wrap it around a tree.
I'm really just looking for info on this, it has me very courious and confused as to why so many refuse to take their car back to a dealer or the mistrust?

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[BoomBoy]

Many people on this forum turn the wrench themselves. They don't take it to the dealer or a local independent shop if they can help themselves. They don't trust anyone.

 

[Blue Raptor]

I'll start by saying I'm in no way in any affiliation to a dealer of any brand make of vehicle.
I read so many post of issues or problems and somewhere in the post it will read " I don't want to take it to, or don't trust a dealer" Why??? I know they're better dealers than others, that's a given. I know a lot of you DIY'ers for oil changes and routine maintenance. Speaking only in my opinion, if I'm having an issue, I'm taking it back to my dealer. They have the equipment and resources available to them to most not all but most the time to fix your problem first trip. Witch is much cheaper than letting an independent shop trouble shot with your money. Truly the dealer is there to help you not screw you over.
I figure tech joy rides might be 1 concern? that I understand but you risk that any time you turn your car over to someone. Personally I'm not to concerned about that as I drive my car fairly hard and I hardly believe my tech could be much harder on it. As a standing joke with the service manager, they don't wash my car nor will they roast my tires off or wrap it around a tree.
I'm really just looking for info on this, it has me very courious and confused as to why so many refuse to take their car back to a dealer or the mistrust?

I will take my car to the dealer for all real service related work. I did my own oil change and will continue to do minor stuff as there is no way the dealership will take the same time and effort that I do. For example, there is no way IMO a dealership will do an oil change without making a mess of your belly tray.

 

[btown93]

Having worked in dealerships for over 13 years, I understand why some are hesitant. while I agree that the dealer is there to help in the event of an issue, for the most part technicians would rather have customer pay work than warranty work. Most techs are paid on a "flat rate" system, and it basically dictates what a job pays. Let's say you need a new strut under warranty. Ford says that should take 1 hour labor (just an example) so the tech gets paid 1 hour to do it if it takes them 45 minutes or 2 hours. It's obviously in the techs interest to do it as fast as possible to go onto the next job. If you changed the strut on your own at home, you would'nt care how long it took and you would be super careful because you have a lot invested in your car. Now I'm not bashing all the technicians out there, for the most part it's not a tech issue, it's a systematic issue. I'm just giving some perspective on it. People see the dealer as bad and money hungry but for the most part, the techs are underpaid. Shop labor rates go up but tech pay doesn't. Some here have unfortunately needed engines, I'm not sure what it pays, but I would imagine it takes more actual time than it pays, so from a tech point of view, they are losing money because they could be doing something else. this system is good for productivity but can get tricky esp when you are dealing with a specialty car.

 

[Tomster]

I met the guy who does the svt work at my dealer. He is a nice guy and knows what he is doing. I would not hesitate to take my car to my dealer and have Kent work on it.

However, it is a well known issue that dealers as a whole get the work done as quickly as possible. Case in point.... dealers who have done oil changes on the 350 never bothered to torque the oil filter. That is important, and subsequently some people's oil filters have spun loose and caused either leaks or failure.

So my point is that it depends who works on your car. I'd take mine to Kent in a heartbeat. I'd be hesitant otherwise.

 

[machsmith]

There are good mechanics and not so good. Tom hit on the money. Each job is estimated by Ford and that's what they pay for the work so the mechanic needs to hit that time or less. Even the good ones have a hard time making the times because half of the time it's not realistic to do a nice job. I'd rather do the work myself whenever possible. Now, a warrantee part that costs more than I'd like to pay, I'll let them do that.

 

[Rated R]

Twenty years ago I was a Snap-On dealer. I'd call on the same accounts every week. Some dealer techs would jump on my truck, get what they needed, jump off and get to work. Others would BS for 45 minutes hiding from management. One guy chose not to replace a transmission in a Ford Probe, he got fired and I never saw him again.

Some were honest, some were crooked, some stole from me, others tried to swindle me on deals. Some paid cash, some routinely forgot their check book for their weekly payment etc. They're all people and when you take your car anywhere without knowing them, it's just the luck of the draw. Some independent shops were some the most honest, hardworking guys I've ever met, others were total dishonest losers. She goes for the dealerships. I will say that independent shop techs work harder in general as they are not union.

 

[65sohc]

My dealer has low level techs do oil changes, EXCEPT on the Shelby. A master tech changed my oil. When I went back a week later to have my shifter replaced he noticed oil seeping from the drain plug so he ordered a new one. In the future they are going to replace the plug at every oilchange. That's good service. My son worked at a Subaru dealrship for two years. He said that they take the post sales/service surveys VERY seriously because bonuses are determined by the results.

 

[Chris796]

Because 99% of tech at dealerships know next to nothing.

 

[Steve68]

The dealer being there to help is secondary (or tertiary or worse) to the dealer being there to make a profit. The bottom line is that the odds that you'll get your car back with some new dealer installed problem is very high (oily belly pan as pointed out by others, botched chin splitter install, scratches, dings, etc..) Let's take the chin splitter situation. Should be a relatively simple thing for a Tech. Yet we see so many that were installed incorrectly and a lot where some or most of the fastners were not even used. Thus, I avoid the dealer lot at all cost.

 

[murdock2112]

Because 99% of tech at dealerships know next to nothing.

That's possibly the most ignorant statement I've read on here.

 

[jwhite]

I am very familiar with the flat rate that tech's receive as I was for about 15 years an auto body tech at an independent shop. Most of the time a tech will do ok on pay and times "except" on rework! That is the insensitive to do work correctly 1st time because 2nd is on his tab. The dealers shop is nothing more than a business that if it's continuously does bad work they won't be in business very long. Good techs do tend to end up in the larger shops as they have more volume of work. It is a little disturbing to read " 99% of tech's know nothing" I really hope he doesn't believe that! I also know a lot of you like to change your own oil and a break job is something you actually can't wait to do. I used to be that way. There isn't actually much I couldn't do or haven't done as being just a part changer, but diagnosing some problems can be extremely expensive if you don't know what's going on or don't have the right equipment to diagnose the problem.
All and all I bought my 350 at a specific dealer as to I was familiar with the tech that would be doing all repairs and maintenance on my car. He's a Mustang enthusiast with a 69 or 70 Mach that he rebuilt from the ground up. Thanks for the input.

 

[stanglife]

I have a short response to your long question and it's universal.

There isn't another person who cares about your car more than you do.

 

[jwhite]

I have a short response to your long question and it's universal.

There isn't another person who cares about your car more than you do.

I get that but just as an example, in a current post a member complained about his transmission not staying or popping out of first gear. Assuming he's have synco problems? His last words were I don't want to take it to the dealer.Why not? These are the problems I'm talking about. Not the general maintenance.

 

[stanglife]

I get that but just as an example, in a current post a member complained about his transmission not staying or popping out of first gear. Assuming he's have synco problems? His last words were I don't want to take it to the dealer.Why not? These are the problems I'm talking about. Not the general maintenance.

Not sure what's unclear here. People don't like taking it to dealers because 9/10 times they mess something else on the car up. It's a last resort for warranty repairs. Most dealers are not enthusiasts. Car washing is a good example. They always want to wash your car and act like it's a favor but in reality, they are cleaning their own grime from the car from whatever service they performed and undoing hundreds of hours of enthusiast detailing, occasionally causing damage.

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