Mechanic or Dealer
 

When you guys have issues with your car that needs fixing and you are no longer under the dealership warranty, do you recommend finding an independent mechanic instead of bringing your car back to the dealer?

Is it typically better/cheaper to get your car serviced there?

Things like Maintenance 'B' and such for Honda's cost about $350 for the dealer to do a check up...

Indie shops are generally cheaper than dealerships. That said, a dealership will be more familiar with your car, whereas an indie shop wont be.

Just depends where your priorities lay.

For routine stuff like a B1 (for Hondas) there's no reason to take it to the dealer. Shops like Alpha1 or Speed Syndicate are perfectly competent for that kind of work and are cheaper. Even stuff like "I'm hearing a clunking sound from the right rear" is fine for a non-dealer. Some non-dealers specialize as well - Kon Auto (if you can understand him) is a Subaru specialist.

BTW: The B service is largely bullshit.

While B service largely isnt needed by everyone every other service, occasionally there will be cars with corrosion build up on caliper brackets which cause the brake pads to seize in place. Therefore accelerated/uneven.
B service addresses this and isnt just a check up as you may think.
Doesn't hurt to do it if you drive on salted roads or to whistler often.

I recently did the 'B' at the dealer.

they replaced the brakes at the same time because they made it sound cheaper to do it together since they were inspecting them anyway.

i paid just under 700 for B + all 4 brakes / rotors on my MDX.

my wife likes to take the family car there because we get a loaner

In my experience the opposite is the case, a specialty independent shop will be knowledgeable about their specialty whereas dealers are usually completely clueless about their own vehicles. Especially Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep, they seem to employ the most inept people they can find.

Any recommendations for a reputable indie Toyota/Honda mechanic in the Surrey/Langley area?

its becoming more and more of a myth that indie's are cheaper than dealers. both are about the same labor rate now unless you're going to a less reputable indie. of course there are indies that are like $50/hour but most good, reputable ones that will stand behind their work are in the $110+ range now.

plus for actual repairs, not just service, the dealer will be using OEM parts whereas the indie, especially a cheap one, is more likely to use the cheap white box parts. they might be cheaper, but they might not last as long or work as well (brakes).

Is it common for indies and dealers to provide an estimate of the work required or is the entire process billed? From them inspecting the problem to the end? Can you go in and ask for a quote/them to inspect?

It should be possible and reasonable for both indies and dealers to give you a quote, but keep it mind it is quote so the price may end up higher or lower (usually higher due to unforseen things they may need to fix).

We (I work at a dealer) always tell customers there's diag fees to look at the problem.. if you want us to replace a part without us diagnosing and it doesn't fix your problem, you're on the hook for the bill

Based on the thread title, I thought OP was weighing his career options.

:troll:

I did my maintenance B at an Indy. Granted he didn't do everything as listed on maintenance B, as he told me everything is a cash grab. Like why do you need to do brakes, when your brakes have 90% pad life. He mentioned to me that it started with BMW/MB, but now most manufacturers have switched to a Maintenance A and Maintenance B system as to charge more money. PM me if you want the name of the independent that I go to.

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FYI the Honda B service is a brake service, not replacing them if that's what you were lead to believe

For the general public that don't know a thing about wrenching on their own cars, it's worth it for them to pay someone to look after their car. Not defending dealers or bashing on independent shops, just sharing my experience and knowledge.

i'm a redseal mechanic so myself but everyone should bring it to the small ma and pa style shops. a lot of them are dying out because we can't repeat with dealerships