Dealer versus Non-Dealer Servicing

[iZach]

Hi everyone,

What's the preferred option? I know a trusty mobile mechanic who my family have used for years and always had a good outcome, however I've recently invested in an '07 Accord Euro which has -always- been dealer serviced, and she's come up to the 160,000km mark - dealer is quoting $595, and so I'm wondering just how much stock people place in dealer servicing. I know that a reasonable amount of work has to go into the 160k service, so I'm not too concerned over price, but I'm sure my mobile mechanic could do cheaper. So I want to ask - what's your preferred service option - dealer, non-dealer mechanic / mobile mechanic, or self-service?

iZach.

[curtis265]

Dealer doesn't necessarily know what to do. they stuff up a lot too and can be just as difficult to deal with.

[Rooster]

No one uses the dealer here I don't think. They rip you off and don't do the proper job either from what I've read. Best to go anywhere but them, if you know how to do the minor service yourself that's a bonus or just take it to the mechanic you speak of

[ChaosMaster]

Depends on how much you trust your dealer. Don't forget that dealers are usually filled with apprentices as they are paid next to nothing, and also can have near no experience either. That and they can lie their way out of it, and you wouldn't know. I remember about a decade ago, my dad took his Corolla into service, they claimed to have changed the oil filter, however I had marked it with some white-out. When they brought the car back out, we complained and they were insistent it was changed all the way up to the point where I showed them the marking. Never again.

[Fredoops]

Go to an independent, use the money you save to get more work done/or better stff put in (eg: full synthetic oil etc), some of the factory recommended intervals are far from adequate.

[ChaosMaster]

Indeed, and they tend to use cheap Magnatec oil as well (which is $30 with a free oil filter at Repco during sales). If you were happy with that kinda of oil, you could go to a local mechanic, a small one, and they charge between $70-90 to do the exact same thing.

[axispower]

I prefer non-dealer servicing - from a reputable mechanic that is.

More personal, much cheaper - and generally, he wants you to come back so he makes sure he does a good job.

I find with dealers, their personnel just run off at the mouth with no knowledge and sheer car salesman arrogance.

[Jasemas]

Only take your car to the dealer for warranty work or defect on your car WHEN UNDER WARRANTY
Find a trusted mech/make friends with one

[sensei_]

+1 for trusted mechanic. also dont forget there are both good and bad from both dealer and non dealer servicing.

where possible i will try and do things myself. where not possible, i will check with my trusted mechanic, for anything else that my mechanic cannot handle, i will take it to the dealer (usually electrics or what not)

[amant02]

Non dealer.

As mentioned above. I've been using the same shop to do most my work that I cant at home. Gives me a discount. I bring him parts. I know he rots me for parts but that's just how business works.

No hassle warranty.

Good and Clean work.

Dealers - Overly charged labour rates. Usually an apprentice will do the work while mech 'over looks'. Honda parts from dealer in Aus is a rot.

Order from the states. Find the part number and order from a dealer in the states. Same OEM stuff, same warranty etc etc. Parts + Shipping + Waiting Time = still waay cheaper then aus dealers atleast 1/2 the cost to buy from Aus.

[littlebo]

Bud, why do you think ppl call em stealership or crookership ? Because they rip you. Get a good mechanic and youll have real service for real money.

[iRoik]

Definitely non-dealer.

For all the reasons above, the main one being dealers don't always know what they're doing, and overcharge anyway.

They mostly make their money off naive people who think they need to service at the dealership to keep their warranty.

Having said that though, there are some instances where you'll need the dealership's help.

[destrukshn]

wow so much hate on dealers.
i work in a dealership, a Honda one infact for about 10 years now.
there are reasons why the labour rate is more expensive.
there is alot more overhead costs, then you're local mechanic.
alot of the smaller garages use a very generic oil that costs them about $3-4 a litre.
use non-genuine parts etc, and they don't have all the diagnositic tools/training.
yes, dealers are expensive, and there are bad dealers, just as much as there are bad mechanic shops.
everyone bags out apprentices, think about it, how are they supposed to learn if not given the chance?
chances are, your local mechanic or your trusted mechanic, were all once apprentices.
There are alot of instances, where the local mechanic cannot fix or do a dogdy job oc fixing, and ends up going to the "rip-off" dealers to repair.
so lets not all jump on the band wagon of Hating dealers, if you dislike them fair enough, but crying out right that they are all crooks, imo is not right, they are business's with high overheads that need to make a crust too.
and FYI, i do some work myself, or give it to a friend and take it to the dealer too, depending on how i feel.
lol

[Jasemas]

Can you explain how parts from Honda Aus are sometimes 2x the price of the same part overseas (Honda US)
Even after factoring shipping and exchange rates?
Or someone from parts asks if your old accord uses CVT fluid?

[littlebo]

Man, i crying while reading this )) wow wow , so much problems poor dalership has ... What i can assume is that even if mechanic can rip you - its for cheap, not hella pricey like at the stealership LOL )) I dont know how to explain that our dealership charge for half an hour to replace wipers or charge 15 bucks to replace saloon air filter. Damn , its a pure rip off. Cheap oil in garage ? non original parts ? cmon , bring your own. its up to customers what parts to use. o2 sensor with honda sticker cost 300 bucks , same denso i can get for 100, honda dont make parts , its just sticks a Honda lable on it and add 30-200% of price on top for it. Lots of aftermarket parts are as good or even better as OEM for much less price and so on. If dealers had 10-20% higher price - let it be . But its not so, its 50-200% higher for pats and labour.

[Fredoops]

I had my honda serviced at the dealer ship when new for the first few years.

Never once was honda genuine oil used.

Oils used ranged from Castrol GTX to mobil 2000 or something, so whatever comes in a big drum.

It's not really dealers fault tho, as mu has we "hate" them, they are victims just like the consumers. Honda Australia (head office) determines part pricing, so the parts are already overpriced when it gets to the dealership, and since the dealer isn't getting much $$$ from the car sales (once again, due to Honda headquarter pricing), they had to meet their profit some how.


Hence the expansive service.

[littlebo]

Cmon Fred, dealer isnt getting $ from car sales ? you dunno other side of the moon for shure. for example, lexus dealer has 20% discount off msrp price. 30k for car, 6k of intrest... since 2005 , our morons at croockership filled cl9 with 5w50, in region where -25C easily available. now i see 60-100k cars with dead cams , dead chains , tensioners, etc. and our warranty is 3 years only. nice trap. i know, nothing personal, just business. but i guess guys would like to vote for fair business, not that crap we have at stealerships.

[Fredoops]

The going rate for Australian dealers is 10% gross from the ticket price for the non-luxury brands on a new car, 15%-20% for parts.

It's not actually much.


So going by logic, dealers have a ~20% margin for parts, while Australian parts are around 100% more expansive than US, the different is kept by Honda, not the dealer.

[littlebo]

quantity of cheaper cars ( honda isnt luxury ) been sold can compensate less gross from the msrp. lets ask all dealers to blame Honda OZ for being greed croockers )) and you forgot bout crazy cost of labour and stupid norms of hours to do this or that. I often see that instead of RTFsM to find a problem they start knocking the wheels and cleaning the windows to see if it helps. who pays for this BS ?? correct, customer do.

[amant02]

A race proven high performance garage charges about same/less labour cost then dealers.

Even known Honda specialist's out there, charge less.

[littlebo]

I guess noone cares who change the oil, famous racer or avg Joe ) Race garage dont waste their time for ball joints replacement for cheap, they prep racing cars , its diffrent biz with diffrent income.

[destrukshn]

as mentioned above.
Honda Australia creates the prices for the dealers to sell.
as the retailer of Honda, they have to make a profit, wether it's more than other countries could be the importing tax, we have a higher average income than the US, which puts up costs, we have higher rent costs/property costs overall cost more. Honda has a plant in the US, so they don't have to import alot of parts too.
think of it in a business view, if you can't grasp it, then you won't understand that, time equals money, no matter what you do.
some dealers will charge you for installing wipers some won't that's up to the dealer.

there isn't much money in the car sales side of it % wise.

yet again, most dealers have very high overhead costs, if they did the same labour rates as normal garages, dealers won't exist.
dealers have to meet/exceed Honda Australia standards, when it comes to showroom/parts/presentation/advertisments, and these come at a cost of the dealer.
you will see alot of dealers are struggling now, parts wise, as the trade industry is getting hammered from insurance companies.
going to your local dealership for parts over the counter is only probably 5% of the business if that.

[littlebo]

If things are so bad for dealers, why dont they just close ? Honda have to cover some expences, personal training, presentations and so on. Thy have to pay, not a dealer.

To finalize all my statements about this topic i can say that i personally know few stealership owners and i can say that its very very PROFITABLE biz.

[I CU2]

If things are so bad for dealers, why dont they just close ?

Rick Damelian cough. I guess his expensive services + free chocolate routine didn't generate that much cash for him lol.

[destrukshn]

people don't open business's to make a small amount of money. lol
rick damelian closed down, because of bad management.
most of the costs the dealer has to absorb, sure honda australia has to pay for some, but mostly the dealer absorbs.
this topic isn't going anywhere anymore. lol

[Jasemas]

Honda Australia sucks
Honda Nippon - awwwww yeah

[amant02]

Look nice and simple.

Buy a car from the dealer.

Get it serviced at a licensed work shop.

Claim your warranty/call backs at dealer.

If its just a Oil change your after, do it yourself. Wont take longer then 30 minutes. (hardest part is jacking the car up lol)

Go to office works make up a stamp and stamp your own log book :)

[philip_pc]

Go to office works make up a stamp and stamp your own log book :)

?? Can you do this? As in make up a fake shop name?
Dont know if this would be a wise thing to do, if something goes crook down the track and you need warranty claim. They check up the Shop name and find it non existent................long story

[amant02]

?? Can you do this? As in make up a fake shop name?
Dont know if this would be a wise thing to do, if something goes crook down the track and you need warranty claim. They check up the Shop name and find it non existent................long story

It was a joke mate.

[sensei_]

It was a joke mate.

thats not to say it hasnt been done.

ive seen plenty of "workshops" with collections of stamps so that they can falsify the log books on cars that they are selling.

as with anything, its a case of caveat emptor

[MR_LATE]

Only take your car to the dealer for warranty work or defect on your car WHEN UNDER WARRANTY
Find a trusted mech/make friends with one

this i something to live by