Picking a shop for your vehicle may be hard, vehicles for a lot of people are a major purchase and for most people vehicles are the first big purchase for them. You obviously don’t want to take what you have invested in, to a shop that doesn’t specialize on the vehicle, or a shop that you don’t know or trust yet. It’s truly a gamble with hopes that the shop you pick will be your forever repair shop.
When finding your go-to repair shop you should thoroughly do your research. Check to see if they work on your vehicle type, check reviews, check location, check everything. It’s much easier for people to mainly focus on the make of the vehicle and finding a shop who specializes on that specific make. We do exist. If you have a mini cooper for example, find a shop that specializes in German engineered vehicles.
Checking reviews will really help navigate the best shop for you, read through the reviews. Allot of shops will have fake reviews up, reviews are a huge factor in success for smaller shops, the more reviews the business has, the easier it is for the business to be found on the web and that’s where checking the reviews becomes crucial, it might be the very first shop that pops up for you on your browser but the reviews might be completely fake or paid for. Look for the authentic reviews, always!
Why are small independent shop auto repair shops preferred over the dealerships?
When comparing independent shops to corporate dealerships, there are a few things to keep in mind. The cost difference! Dealerships will almost always be more expensive, they tend to have much higher labor rates then the independent shops. A labor rate is a huge portion of the total price on the invoice so it can either dramatically make the overall price much higher or just as expected to be. Dealerships are also much bigger, there are multiple service writers that you’ll deal with and there are multiple technicians that’ll work on your car. At the smaller independent shops, you have maybe 1-3 service writers, just a few technicians and overall a more personable experience. Independent shops will always recognize you and your car if you’re a frequent customer. Dealerships being big corporations and the technicians mainly being paid by commission, they will up-sale about anything. Wait times may also be something to take into consideration when contemplating between the dealership or a smaller shop, dealerships usually have a wait time and sometimes it is even weeks out. Smaller shops work within their means and scheduling is pretty organized. Obviously there are spikes in the year where everywhere is busy creating a longer wait time but even when that takes place, smaller shops wait time will still be lesser than the dealerships. So why pay more money, wait longer to get your car in, and absolutely dread the whole experience at a dealership when you can just do your research and confidently find a smaller independent shop, enjoying the all around more personable experience.
A lot of people's main concerns are whether or not the small independent shops can do everything dealerships can. For the most part, they absolutely can, if you find the right one of course. Independent shops can deal with warranties and warranty companies, they also should have their own warranty on their parts and labor, most of the independent shops will also have the right equipment and computers for your car to properly diagnose it as well. So, yes, small independent shops can do everything the dealerships can but all of this is very subjective to the shop you find.
Here is a quick example of a few major pros and cons of Independent shops and Dealerships:
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