A sudden noise, a strange smell. Maybe the engine starts running roughly.
“Is it serious?” “Will it get better on its own?” “If it’s a real problem, where should I get it repaired?”
Service is serious business. Whether a car needs an oil change or major surgery, owners have a choice. They can take the vehicle back to the dealership from which it was purchased, pick an independent shop or turn to one of several franchised outlets.
Of 303 owners who had service work done in the last year, 37 percent went to the dealership, 42 percent to an independent garage, 14 percent to a quick-lube operation and 2 percent to “other,” according to Frost & Sullivan, a marketing firm.
If the vehicle is still under warranty, the decision is easy: the franchised dealership. That way you don’t have to shell out dollars for repairs the dealer is required to perform free.
The decision gets tougher when essential diagnostic or repair work is not covered by a warranty. Then cost is likely to be a determining factor.
When the vehicle simply needs ordinary maintenance (oil change, lubrication, coolant check), you’re usually free to go anywhere. Unless you have a high-end vehicle that includes no-cost maintenance at the dealership, you’ll pay yourself.
More than half of new-vehicle buyers have been choosing independent garages and quick-lube centers instead of dealer service for maintenance and repairs. That’s partly because dealership service departments are thought to charge more.
The price you pay for service includes parts and labor.
Original-equipment parts, stocked at the dealership, typically cost more than the equivalents sold at auto parts stores. Independent shops and quick-lube retailers use aftermarket parts when possible. But, independents buy a lot of OEM parts from dealerships because certain items are unavailable in the aftermarket.
With labor, you may be charged for the actual time put in or for an estimated time that the job should take or given a fixed figure for the entire job.
Many shops use Flat Rate manuals to determine prices. These books spell out how long a job should take on a certain vehicle. For that, they have been criticized, particularly because an adept technician often can finish faster than the book suggests.
“Quite often it is a valid perception” that dealer prices are higher, said Rich White, senior director of communications for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, with 2,700 members. “About three-fourths of consumers do rely on the aftermarket for parts and service.”
Lin Peacock, executive director of dealership operations for the National Automobile Dealers Association, recommends that consumers weigh the total charge, not just the labor cost. People see an hourly rate of $65, $75 or $85 and say, “That’s outrageous.” But “there’s parity or might even be a benefit at the dealership.”
Peacock cites differences in Flat Rate books as one factor, saying a factory manual usually is lower. Non-factory manuals add 10 or 15 percent to time for a task, he says.
For difficult repairs, Peacock warns that an independent shop might send you to the dealership after looking over the situation, so you could pay twice.
Consumers need to learn the shop’s hourly rate in advance and the amounts charged for typical repair and maintenance. Many shops post their hourly rates behind the service counter. If not, ask. The average dealership nationwide charges $55 per hour, according to the NADA, but the can vary widely geographically.
A survey of 401 vehicle owners by Frost & Sullivan found that 33 percent go back to the dealership for service after the warranty has expired. Most cite quality.
Of the two-thirds who do not continue with the dealership, 39 percent cite price and 25 percent said the dealer was inconvenient.
Oil changes and tuneups are the tasks performed most often by a dealership after the warranty has expired: 69 percent of those who continued with the dealership have the oil changed, and 37 percent have a tuneup.
For basic maintenance, consumers are better off to shop around for the lowest price and special offers, says technical journalist Larry Carley, who covers the service trade for Babcox Publications. Even the NADA’s Peacock suggests that “if it’s a horrendous savings, try the independent. If it’s a close call, go to the dealer.”
Dealers have had a technological edge. For example, special equipment and awareness of specific codes often are needed to turn off a Service Reminder Light. Dealer service people have the devices and knowledge to access the onboard computer.
Reacting to criticism from independent shops, a growing number of manufacturers are sharing technology with independents. The aftermarket industry has been “fighting for open access to information,” said the AAIA’s White.
Import owners tend to be more loyal to the dealer, said technical journalist Carley, perhaps because such dealers have a better record of getting hard-to-find parts.
According to Frost & Sullivan, however, “trust in dealerships does not differ much among owners of American, Asian and European-nameplate vehicles.”
Imported or domestic, the use of dealerships for service diminishes as the vehicle ages. Seventy percent of Honda owners return to the dealership in the first year of ownership, according to Automotive News, a trade paper. That dips to 60 percent in the second and third years and 40 percent after the warranty has expired.
At the average franchised dealership, according to the NADA, 11 percent of sales comes from service and parts. An average dealership handles close to 10,000 repair orders a year, amounting to $2.8 million in business. Still, dealerships and manufacturers are worried about independent shops.
“Everyone is vying for a piece of the repair business,” said the president of a multimake import dealership in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. “There’s a lot more competition,” he added, citing service centers such as Wal-Mart, Sears and the “quick-lube” people.
Price aside, does it matter who changes your engine oil or replaces a belt?
Training is key. “We’re required to have training,” said the import dealer. “We’re required to have special tools.”
A franchised dealer’s service department “generally has a higher trained staff and state-of-the-art equipment,” said the NADA’s Peacock, “because the manufacturer demands it.” So, a dealership service facility “should be able to fix it faster.”
“The only difference might be product-specific training,” says White of the aftermarket group.
Some independents specialize in selected makes, typically imports.
It’s hard to resist the appeal of quick-lube shop in your neighborhood, which, according to their ads, appear to be cheaper and their service faster.
Dealerships are following their lead, focusing on skilled service as well as making the visit easier–and perhaps no more costly.
Service hours are increasing. The average dealership’s service department is open 53 hours per week and three out of five have evening and/or weekend hours.
To improve it dealerships’ service departments, DaimlerChrysler, for example, is promoting its Five Star program, which emphasizes training, procedures, equipment and facilities.
To achieve Five Star status, a Chrysler-product dealer and his managers must go through a certifications process, including attending workshops. Zone representatives evaluate certified dealers every year and conduct spot checks to make sure they meet Five Star standards. Some dealers recently lost Five Star status.
Chicagoland has 105 Five Star dealers out of 226. Nationally, the figure is 1,700 out of about 4,400.
Ford Motor Co. has a “concierge” program. A pilot has been operating in two areas of the country, including a small portion of Chicago’s suburbs. If your car is due for an oil change, for example, a concierge could pick it up and deliver it later.
“Competition has forced everyone to build a better product,” said the head of a large import dealership. Furthermore, “the Honda customer expects the same quality and service treatment as the Mercedes customer.”
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence doesn’t take sides in the battle of independent shops, quick-lube centers and franchised dealership facilities.
What’s important is that the technicians pass one or more ASE-certification tests, which reveal “what a technician knows to do his job,” said Patricia Serratore, ASE’s West Coast vice president.
