Should I Get My Car Serviced At The Dealership?

When it comes to getting your vehicle repaired, there has always been a battle of where to go; a garage or the dealership where you bought the vehicle. The local garage may demonstrate a number of advantages in their advertising trying to attract your business, but our dealership has its own list of reasons for your business. So, to answer the question, “should I get my car services at the dealership?” We are giving you six benefits of choosing your dealership over a garage.

– Facilities: When a local mechanic wants to open a garage, they start small and grow as they get better and more successful at what they do. When your dealership opened, the manufacturer provided them with state of the art equipment that exists solely to service the brand of vehicle that they make. We have all heard the phrase, you need the right tool for the job. Well, in terms of the service department at your dealership, they have exactly that. Where a local garage needs to service many makes, models, and brands, your dealership can specialize in just one brand. This isn’t to say that they can’t service other brands, in fact, they do everyday. But, when it comes to a Volkswagen, wouldn’t you trust the facilities that have the Volkswagen emblem on the front door?

 

– Technical expertise: Along with the facilities being laid out specifically for the brand of vehicle that you drive, the technicians working there see that type of car all day long. In other words, they get tons of practice. The training they receive comes from the people that made your car, and it doesn’t stop. Just as it is important to know how to maintain and repair a particular make and model of vehicle, it is equally important to know the changes made to that vehicle from year to year. While the mechanic at a local garage can have this knowledge, the technician at your dealership most assuredly will have that knowledge.

 

– Guaranties & warranties: If your vehicle is under warranty, taking it to the dealership is a “no brainer” as they are the ones who honor that warranty so the work being done will almost always be free of charge. Straying from the dealership could lead to unforeseen charges as often times, the warranty doesn’t extend beyond where the dealership can guarantee the quality of work being done. Also, keeping the vehicle at the dealership opens the door to additional warranties as the service department at the dealership will use Original Equipment Manufacturer parts. OEM parts come with their own warranties. Local garages have access to the same OEM parts, but they aren’t always as readily available. Your Volkswagen dealership knows day in and day out that they need Volkswagen parts on hand. A garage that services all makes, models, and brands of vehicles physically can’t keep parts for everything in inventory. This usually means the owner of the vehicle has to wait a few days while the necessary part is ordered.

 

– Quality of parts: Following seamlessly behind guarantees and warranties, the quality of parts isn’t a certainty outside of the dealership as not all garages use OEM parts. As a cost saving measure, some mechanics use re-manufactured or refurbished parts. They can explain and demonstrate how they work just as well as an OEM part, but at the end of the day, it’s a used part going in your car and it doesn’t come with the peace of mind that the warranty on the OEM part brings you.

 

– Recalls: If there is a recall on a part in your vehicle, your dealership contacts you and replaces the part. If the recalled part is causing an alert to go off in your vehicle, an independent garage will likely have no idea that a specific part has been recalled and will not be able to diagnose the problem as quickly, which can lead to potentially expensive bills for unnecessary repairs. Some garages make it a point to stay as tuned in to recalls as possible, but it is quite cumbersome to cover every make and model of every brand of vehicle. Also, along with recalls, there Technical Service Bulletins. According to the NHTSA, a TSB is an advisory issued by an automotive manufacturer to its dealership service departments detailing a fix for a known concern or difficult repair. In these cases, there is no recall of a part, but there is a blueprint for something that needs fixing and how to fix it.

 

– Personal service/customer satisfaction: This is a benefit that you may not consider going in, but is certainly present. The dealership has a vested interest in keeping you happy. Why? Because your experience as a customer began with the purchase of your vehicle and will hopefully continue through the purchase of your next vehicle. To go along with that, the dealership will have a history of your vehicle. They will know about previous service and maintenance. They know that when it comes to building a lifelong relationship with a customer, the steps along the way are important to keeping that relationship going. That’s not to say that some independent garages don’t provide terrific service, but when you look at the larger picture, the dealership has more tools and a greater want to do so.

 

While independent garages go out of their way to tell you that they save you money; they never explain how they save you money. Cheaper parts, less training, less equipment, and fewer guarantees all factor into an equation that can trim a few dollars off of the current visit, but once something breaks a second time, those savings are washed out and you end up paying even more in the long run.

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