Dealerships Vs Independent Repair Shops

When it comes time to service your vehicle, you want it to be fast, affordable, convenient, and high quality. You have the option to take it to either an independently owned shop or a dealership. With a dealership, you’re looking at stiff rates and a by-the-book approach. A recent survey conducted by ConsumerReports.com found that individuals are much more likely to be satisfied with repairs when going to an independent repair shop over a dealership. This includes all pertinent factors such as “overall satisfaction, price, quality, courteousness of the staff, and work being completed when promised”.

When it comes to cost, dealerships have much higher expenses to stay running. These expenses are passed on to the customer. For example, a dealership technician may be able to quickly diagnose vehicle problems, but the savings in efficiency are not passed on to the customer. Some studies have found that, on average, dealerships are charging 15% more than independent repair shops. Here at World Class Auto, we’ve invested thousands into high-end diagnostic tools that allow us to quickly pinpoint the cause of the problem – saving you, the customer, both time AND money.

Dealerships are an industrial workshop. They must be able to move customers in and out quickly to keep up with the high volume of vehicles they see per day – most of which are warranty claims. Because of this, they often don’t care as much about your experience as they do getting your car in and out quickly.

By contrast, independent repair shops care deeply about your experience. We take the time to thoroughly educate our customers, follow-up with you after repairs are completed, and maintain an active relationship with our customers and the community. We are always willing to send our customers photos and videos of broken parts and repairs to keep them in the loop and well-informed.

Furthermore, because dealerships are very focused on time and cost efficiency, they will often offer free shuttle rides within a 5 mile radius, but no more than that – and definitely no loaner cars for longer periods of repairs. Here at World Class Auto, we offer a free customer shuttle that will take you where you need to go and back to the shop – anytime, any place. We also have loaner cars available for use for longer repairs. Our aim and our passion is to make vehicle care as convenient as possible!

In order to maintain their franchises, dealerships have to pay for training for all their technicians and provide special tools and equipment. While this is costly (an expense that is also passed down to the customer), it does mean that all technicians are well-trained and well-equipped to help you with your vehicle’s maintenance and repair, provided it is a newer model (normally less than 5 years old). 

However, almost all technicians at independent repair shops got their start at a dealership. Not only do independent repair shop technicians have the same special training as dealership technicians, they also have many more years of experience under their belt. Here at World Class Auto, we only employ ASE Certified Master Technicians who must re-test every five years in order to maintain their certification. All of our technicians are required to take 40-plus hours of Continuing Education training annually. This helps immensely in mastering vehicle diagnostics, repair, and maintenance for our techs and helps you get the right fix, the first time. 

Independent repair shops are also often in more accessible locations than dealerships. Dealerships are connected to the sales lot, which requires huge amounts of land and real estate. They typically have to build in out-of-the-way industrial zones. In contrast, independent repair shops require much less space and therefore can be more easily accessible, the proverbial “corner garage.” We are proud to be your Main Street mechanic on American Fork with easy access off the American Fork Main Street exit close to all your favorites shops and restaurants.

When it comes to warranties on repairs and services, dealerships and independent repair shops are about even. However, here at World Class Auto, we try to go above and beyond. We have a 3 year / 36,000 mile warranty on most repairs (covered NATIONWIDE). This is better than any other warranty in the industry – including the warranty offered by dealerships! We want to get it done right the first time and make sure you’re completely taken care of for years to come.

One thing we can say for sure is that here at World Class Auto, we deeply care about meeting your needs and strive to provide the highest quality repairs and premium customer service. Between our customer shuttle, loaner cars, ASE certified technicians, industry-leading warranty, and high-end diagnostic equipment, you can feel confident that World Class Auto is both a mechanic you can trust and a shop that will make your life easier.

Be sure to give us a call today and we’ll be happy to test and assess your vehicle, provide the proper service and repairs and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.