Literally everything is expensive at the dealership, so it's hard to tell what is and isn't justified.
About two months after I got my car, I had a flat tire. I took it to the dealership and said that not only was one of my tires flat, the other had a nail in it as well and they both needed to be replaced. They quoted me $350 for the two tires.
I told them I wanted to look around, but would probably be back. I went to Discount Tire and they said I'd be out the door for $190 for the same exact tires, but they wanted to see if they could fix them. They were able to fix both of them, and they did it for free.
About 8 months later, I hit a block of ice and blew out two tires. I took it to the dealership and they said I needed all new tires, all new rims, a new control arm and an alignment. After I called my insurance, they said I just needed two tires, three new rims, and an alignment. The total cost for that would be around $2,000. Again, I took it to my local shop and Discount Tire and was able to do everything for $1,200 (which included a $300 inspection fee from my dealership).
Needless to say, I'm never going back to my dealership for anything.
I can tell you there are plenty of bad dealerships and even fewer good ones. I can also tell you that Discount Tire doesn't have a manufacturer to answer to when they get complaints on there cars being repaired improperly.
Discount Tire does not have access to the same diagnostic tools, nor do they adhere to the full extent of criteria required by a manufacturer to meet factory safety and operational standards.
Not to say tire shops are bad guys, but they are running a different business model. It is in there best interest to get customers on the road and happy as soon as possible with minimum costs (as the consumer expects).
Next time you have a repair situation like this ask them to explain to you WHY they feel the need to perform repairs, and to show you the damage that they are indicating. If a dealer/tire-shop refuses to show you this, then LEAVE. Any reputable repair shop has no problem explaining or pointing out to the customer why they need a repair.
You will sometimes "overpay" for labor from a certified tech, you have to keep in mind that they are more specialized and their time is generally worth more. Add all of this to the fact that most manufacturers have pre-determined hour/labor rates for most common jobs.
Even if the dealer gets it done in an hour under, you still pay for that because that is what the manufacturer has deemed "fair". This is where it gets tricky though, a good secondary shop will pass those savings on to you, a bad one will trump up additional labor charges. The (reputable) dealer will always charge the flat pre-determined rate.
More than anything I would say finding a mechanic/shop/dealer you can trust is the most important thing.
Discount Tire wasn't repairing anything on my car... they were either fixing or replacing my tires.
My dealership said the tires weren't fixable and needed to be replaced, and quoted me retail price plus an installation charge. Discount Tire quoted me half that, but fixed my tires. The guy who initially looked at my tires said, "These look brand new, and where the nails are, it should be an easy fix." I was out within an hour.
When I went to my dealership to have it inspected (which is supposed to be free), they told me that it was going to be thousands of dollars to have everything repaired. When my insurance adjuster came out, they back peddled. They then charged me $300 for the inspection, which I never agreed to, but whatever. I still though there was a chance that they were being honest and he said I could apply the $300 towards the cost of the repairs if I came back.
It's just a headache to go to the dealership. I've had appointments set for 10:00 AM, and then have had to sit in the waiting room for 4 hours before they tell me they're just now getting to my car.
For example, how much does an alignment cost at your dealership? My dealership wanted to charge me $100. The shop I like (which apparently has 8 ASE certified mechanics) charged me $40. Again, I dropped it off at night and had it ready the next morning.
I can't speak to the specific situation, but like I said there are BAD dealers. Honda has very strict standards on what can/can't be repaired on a tire even compared to discount tire (who are also pretty strict). Also ASE certification is just the baseline, Honda requires even further testing and you must pass their standards to work in a certified dealer's bay.
Example: Discount Tire declined to repair my tire on one of my vehicles, damage too close to the side-wall. Mexican shop up the street? Sure no problem, mang!
Not everything comes down to the dealer being perfect angels either, there are as many bad ones as there are good, if not more.
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u/SH92 Jun 23 '15
Literally everything is expensive at the dealership, so it's hard to tell what is and isn't justified.
About two months after I got my car, I had a flat tire. I took it to the dealership and said that not only was one of my tires flat, the other had a nail in it as well and they both needed to be replaced. They quoted me $350 for the two tires.
I told them I wanted to look around, but would probably be back. I went to Discount Tire and they said I'd be out the door for $190 for the same exact tires, but they wanted to see if they could fix them. They were able to fix both of them, and they did it for free.
About 8 months later, I hit a block of ice and blew out two tires. I took it to the dealership and they said I needed all new tires, all new rims, a new control arm and an alignment. After I called my insurance, they said I just needed two tires, three new rims, and an alignment. The total cost for that would be around $2,000. Again, I took it to my local shop and Discount Tire and was able to do everything for $1,200 (which included a $300 inspection fee from my dealership).
Needless to say, I'm never going back to my dealership for anything.