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Posted by Keith in Washington on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 13:26:22 :
In Reply to: Re: you are right and you are wrong posted by Clint Dixon on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 12:38:25 :
There is a lot of truth in what you say. I have found only 1 service rep in a dealership that really technically understands his products. I have had some very technical discussions with him and he is quite knowledgeable. He does not treat me like a stupid idiot that does not understand anything about vehicles as most service reps in most dealerships do. I have learned a lot from him. By the way he is in a family owned FORD dealership in a smaller town near Seattle. The company has been around for many years. They have always treated me well and I have used them for routine maintanence which I never do at dealerships.
As you said the real knowledge is often with the mechanics but not always so. The problem is that many dealerships are not willing to pay for experienced mechanics. They often use young new mechanics to save costs. They are certified as COTM says certified but that has no bearing on how good they are. Certification only means that you passed a test not that you are knowledgeable or can apply that knowledge in your daily work. Often the good mechanics leave the dealerships and open their own shop.
I normally only use dealership service for warrantee work simply because they are normally very over piced in general and the work is often not of best quality and they often do or push for un-needed work. I have been screwed too many times (as have many friends) by dealerships that I just do not go back. However, you need to be careful in selecting an independent shop as they can also screw you.