Where Do You Prefer to Get Your Car Serviced?

Where Do You Prefer to Get Your Car Serviced?

  • A Honda dealer

  • An independent shop

  • One of the big auto repair chains

  • Wherever is charging the least for what I need

  • No one touches my car but me!


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Drake

Drake

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A good honest mechanic controlling billing is worth their weight in gold. They exist... but from my experience only at the very small independent level. At that level, they can control both the work and the billing. There are a lot of very good, honest and skilled individuals that work at larger places/service departments... but they get lost in the organization. Folks should really try out the small businesses. There's diamonds out there. Big places range from peat to coal at best.

It's crazy how much people will shop around for goods and even services... then take their automobiles for expensive work at the most expensive places with regard to labor rate with similar to poorer quality of work.
The only problem is, like diamonds, good honest mechanics are somewhat rare (or else they wouldn't have the poor reputation we give them). People can afford to shop around for things like groceries or a good barber, because if I happen to get a bad banana I can just throw it away, or a poor haircut will only put me out $20 and my hair will grow back in a couple weeks while I just wear a hat. However, if I try out a new, small repair shop I've never been to before and it turns out they did a bad job, I could be out hundreds to thousands of dollars, my valuable time, and perhaps even risk my life if they messed up a vital component that fails while driving. Those who can immediately tell if a mechanic did a poor job servicing their car are often the people who aren't having someone else work on their car in the first place. That's why the perception of quality and assurance lies more with official dealer mechanics, although they do often charge more.

If any of you have any advice for evaluating new shops without spending too much cash/risking my car, I would be happy to hear it.
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amirza786

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The only problem is, like diamonds, good honest mechanics are somewhat rare (or else they wouldn't have the poor reputation we give them). People can afford to shop around for things like groceries or a good barber, because if I happen to get a bad banana I can just throw it away, or a poor haircut will only put me out $20 and my hair will grow back in a couple weeks while I just wear a hat. However, if I try out a new, small repair shop I've never been to before and it turns out they did a bad job, I could be out hundreds to thousands of dollars, my valuable time, and perhaps even risk my life if they messed up a vital component that fails while driving. Those who can immediately tell if a mechanic did a poor job servicing their car are often the people who aren't having someone else work on their car in the first place. That's why the perception of quality and assurance lies more with official dealer mechanics, although they do often charge more.

If any of you have any advice for evaluating new shops without spending too much cash/risking my car, I would be happy to hear it.
You can always check a shop's Yelp reviews. If you see some bad ratings, than suddenly a whole string of good ratings and then some scattered bad ratings that's a sign a business may have paid people to write fake reviews
 

ONEPNT5.Si

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All the regular maintenance/mods/repairs will always go through me first. If i dont feel confident in my capabilities then i go to my trusted mechanic.
It just gives me peace of mind knowing EXACTLY what's been done, how it was done, and with that TLC lol Not saying that mechanics dont care but at the end of the day your car, is there job. Everyone here has to admit every so often you decide to cut corners at work for some personal reason. I just dont want my car to be that cut corner one day lol
This.:agree:
 

Monnk13

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Just curious to see where Si owners like to take their car when it needs maintenance/repairs. Of course, every driver's dream is to have a best friend who also happens to be an expert mechanic, owns a shop, and always gives you a good deal on whatever you need, but not all of us are that lucky.
Same place I like to get serviced....a massage parlor of ill repute ;)
 

Ron R

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My first Honda and have the dealer do the routine maintenance. They are quick and friendly so far:)
 


ebhaynz

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I just want to say kudos to all of you who either service it yourself or use an independent mechanic. I encourage everyone to stay away from the dealer, who almost never provide decent service and has so often made your car worse off than before you brought it in.
Fight the good Fight!
PS: I am trying to go the rest of my life by buying Private Party and NEVER driving onto a dealers lot again..AND SO FAR I AM WINNING!
 

FlexRex

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At home.. but gotta fix the leak on one post after years of service.

Honda Civic 10th gen Where Do You Prefer to Get Your Car Serviced? 1370DE87-A1E8-4813-A47C-A8EDC89BD5A9


Would never let a dealer touch my car. Lol
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