Independent Car Repair Companies v Dealerships

When you have to have your vehicle serviced or repaired you usually have two different options. One is to take it to the dealership, or to an independent for your car repair. Regardless of where you have purchased your car, you can take it into either a car dealership or car garage, if they are available in your area. There are many pros and cons about each choice, however, and taking it into the place that sells your particular vehicle to get you car repair done may not be the best choice overall.

Car Repair – Disadvantages of using a dealer

  • While they know your make of vehicle, the cost for your car repair is going to be much higher than a private shop.
  • Dealerships are usually union run, and wages are set by the unions.
  • Although they do use quality parts, and the latest technologies, many of the same parts they need for your car repair can be purchased cheaper from other suppliers.
  • Usually their charges for labour are high.

Car Repair – Why use an independent?

Car Repair

Getting your car repair done at an independent has many advantages over a dealership. For one thing, their employees have the same qualifications that big dealers have and a good company will have just the same kinds of high tech equipment. You can often find that there is more emphasis on customer service and can often get your car repair done much more quickly. You will often always deal with the same people who will get to know you and your car. In many cases, private companies also use the same high quality parts, and are not limited by one particular parts supplier. They also have to compete with other car repair garages, and so the cost for their labour can be much lower.

Car Repair – Get quality service

Because there is so much competition, they not only want your business once, but want you to keep coming back to them and so it is not uncommon for car repair garages to go out of their way to make sure you are satisfied. Regular dealerships may not care as much about quality of service as an independent. This is because with an independent business you are often dealing with the people that own that business and they will always care more about their customer service levels.

So if you want to have your vehicle repaired by someone who understands your needs, one that will bend over backwards to help you through your crisis, you should choose an independent car repair garage.

There are still some things to keep in mind though. One of them is to make sure that you are clear about what services are to be performed, and that a contract is made up. This protects you against being charged extra, and make sure that you read all the fine print. Make sure that you set up your appointment as early as possible, so that your vehicle can be among the first serviced. Find out more about your car repair at Clover Autos.