Do you bring in your car to the dealership

[MamaMermaid]

Always.

 

[tvguy]

Mine is a Toyota also, and five years old now so there’s still plenty of warranty left. I used to go to a local mechanic back when I drove Ford cars, but he moved out of state and there just isn’t anyone else local with a good reputation. It’s a bad sign when they kind of grimace at the mention of a hybrid. You are fortunate to have several local shops to choose from.

It’s actually a pain to go to the dealer because they are about 30 miles away in a congested part of Orlando. There is a dealership about four miles from home but I don’t trust them either (wouldn’t buy or have service there). I have had very good service where I bought the car, and when comparing prices I have found that they have been competitive on the few non-warranty items I have had replaced, such as the 12v battery and tires. The warranty work they have done has been hassle free as well. So long as that continues I will keep going back.

The last two vehicles we traded ub we kept nearly forever. A 2000 Mercury Mountaineer we had 20 years and a 1987 Chevy Suburban we had 31 years. Wanted new cars going into retirement. Other than oil changes and tires, I expect a modern car to go at least 10 years and 100,000 miles without repairs.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

My cars are under warranty for as long as I own them....
I pay the dealer to much money to do oils changes be cause I can't be bothered....

Somehow I get roped into doing the maintenance of my wife's cars......

 

[Communicore1991]

I go to the dealer with my car only because it's still covered under warranty. Once the warranty expires, I'll go to a friend of a friend who owns a shop nearby. For oil changes, I drive a GM vehicle that uses the synthetic "Dexos" oil which means it's a premium to use officially licensed oil. The last thing I want is for my warranty to be voided for improper oil being used so until the warranty lapses, I go to the dealership for oil changes as well.

 

[kdonnel]

I go to the dealer with my car only because it's still covered under warranty. Once the warranty expires, I'll go to a friend of a friend who owns a shop nearby. For oil changes, I drive a GM vehicle that uses the synthetic "Dexos" oil which means it's a premium to use officially licensed oil. The last thing I want is for my warranty to be voided for improper oil being used so until the warranty lapses, I go to the dealership for oil changes as well.

You are under no obligation to have your car serviced at the dealership during the warranty period.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a law that was enacted in 1975 and states that it’s not legal to require the use of a manufacturer part or service in order to maintain a warranty.

In your example it is illegal under the tie in sales provision to require a particular brand of oil to maintain warranty coverage.

GM recommends their branded Dexos oil for all 2011 and newer GM vehicles but not using their brand will not void your warranty. As long as you use an oil that meets the minimum dexos certification you are fine. There are multiple brands of oil on the market that meet dexos 1 requirements. Every independent garage and Jiffy Lube like place will use the correct specification of oil in your car.

 

[MillauFr]

My cars are under warranty for as long as I own them....
I pay the dealer to much money to do oils changes be cause I can't be bothered....

Somehow I get roped into doing the maintenance of my wife's cars......

How many cars does your wife have? Isn't 1 enough?

 

[DisneyHardin]

I got my first 4 oil changes free when we bought our car, so I took it back to the dealer for those, but my next one will be #5, so I will take it to my regular mechanic for that. The van is under warranty, so if any major things come up, I will take it to the dealership since the warranty will cover it.

 

[jo-jo]

Have you priced vehicles lately? Not much out there for only $35-40 grand. When I still had my Suburban, I think the last set of tires I bought were well over $1,000

Not too much, just window shopping. But looking at a camry, starting price is 25-30. We aren't fancy people. Maybe something like a Rav 4.
Suburban is a huge vehicle. Probably wouldn't fit in our garage.

 

[tvguy]

Not too much, just window shopping. But looking at a camry, starting price is 25-30. We aren't fancy people. Maybe something like a Rav 4.
Suburban is a huge vehicle. Probably wouldn't fit in our garage.

Sticker price on our Camry Hybrid 2 years ago was $28,000. It's an LE, so bottom of the line, only option we have is floor mats. Some of the dealers now are taking on an additional $10,000 above MSRP. 2 years ago they had some Camrys full loaded that were over $40,000 sticker.
I have a short garage, 20' by 20' and the Suburban fit in it if I had the front bumper touching the front wall.

 

[ThistleMae]

I always go to the dealership. The service is great. They have a really nice waiting area. My toyota hybrid is a 2012 and I've never had any mechanical issues with it.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

How many cars does your wife have? Isn't 1 enough?

No, one isnt!

one car would make it impossible for her to work and the au pair to pick up the kids and run errands….

is that ok with you? Do i have your approval?

 

[Robbie Cottam]

You are under no obligation to have your car serviced at the dealership during the warranty period.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a law that was enacted in 1975 and states that it’s not legal to require the use of a manufacturer part or service in order to maintain a warranty.

In your example it is illegal under the tie in sales provision to require a particular brand of oil to maintain warranty coverage.

GM recommends their branded Dexos oil for all 2011 and newer GM vehicles but not using their brand will not void your warranty. As long as you use an oil that meets the minimum dexos certification you are fine. There are multiple brands of oil on the market that meet dexos 1 requirements. Every independent garage and Jiffy Lube like place will use the correct specification of oil in your car.

No, but if you want something fixed under warranty, you have a lot more pull at the dealer than you do at TONY’s fix it shop…

and if you want to take you car to jiffy Lube and let some high school drop out do your oil change…. Well….. i will gladly pay the same price and let the factor trained gm tech used, the GM spec oil…..

plus it gives me time to go look at my next car

 

[EACarlson]

I do with the wife's car because the dealer included free oil changes for as long as we own it. For my van and our spare car we go wherever we get a decent coupon for oil changes and have one shop that's been pretty good to us for everything else.

 

[Snowflakey]

Not if at all possible.

I would rather hack off a limb using a toenail clipper than go to the crooks that run any dealership in the world.

In fact I bought a $450 cable and a $100 power supply so I can perform my own updates rather than visit the service department. Every three months I pay for a $50 license to FDRS and update any modules that have updates.

It takes about an hour each time. If I went to the dealer it would take an entire day.

Boy do I agree with you!!

I had a recall on my car (Toyota) so brought it to the dealership for that and picked up my car, got about 1/4 mile down the road when my entire dashboard was lighting up, my speedometer was bouncing all around (not digital one) and I pulled over and called them, and let me say I wasn't happy. LONG story short - they wouldn't take any responsibility and I went another 3 years driving without a speedometer. They wanted $4,500 to fix what they claimed to be a problem that needed immediate action.....but I went 3 more years with it. Turned in my car with 280,000 miles on it. I also personally know people who work as techs at dealerships and they even say don't you dare bring your car there......

 

[_19disnA]

No, but if you want something fixed under warranty, you have a lot more pull at the dealer than you do at TONY’s fix it shop…

I agree. Have never taken my car to anyplace but the dealer for warranty work. I know they have the necessary training, electronic test equipment, specialized tools & parts to do the repair. I have no idea if 'Tony's garage' has any of those things and likely would involve payment and cross-charges to get reimbursed for that work. Every dealer I have ever worked with handles warranty charges directly with the manufacturer. I also don't want to be the middle-man in some 3rd party arrangement trying to resolve any issues. If 'Tony's garage' messes up something else doing my warranty work who do I complain too????..........ummm no thanks.

If the dealer doesn't handle something correctly, the owner's manual clearly indicates the escalation process since the manufacturer wants satisfied customers. I doubt Tony's garage cares if I ever come back for other work.

 

[firefly_ris]

Just for warranty stuff. Truck is out of warranty now so that's done. They gave me a quote of $1500 to do front brakes and rotors; insanity. Local mechanic did it for $650.

Just bought a new Toyota and they do "free" oil changes and tire rotations so I guess I will do that for now since I ponied up the money for the car so might as well use the service.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I trade my Cars (yes I have more than one) in before the lease is up so I don’t have to worry about then ever not being under warranty……

i enjoy working on airplane but cars are to much like computer repair these days for me to want to bother

 

[mrodgers]

Never except for warranty work, and not even 100% on that. I spent the $90 on brake components and did them myself in half an our rather than take it to the dealer, leave the car, have someone pick me up, find out they screwed around and didn't get my car done, it will be tomorrow, then have to get in tomorrow and settle it, drive back home, pick up the wife (at the time) and go back into town to pick the car up. Just not worth all that for a simple half hour job.

I always bought used cars with no warranty except for 2 of them, so I always worked on them myself. I can't imagine not doing it that way and going to a dealer or other shop all the time. $800 for a brake job? Takes less than an hour and less than $100. $1200 for a clutch, I did it in the garage for $100. $1450 for a head gasket and water pump? Again, took me a Saturday rather than just an our, but it cost pocket change compared to $1450.

Nothing in actual maintenance is rocket science. It's pretty easy. Diagnosing and repairing some things get a little tricky, but why pay $120 for an oil change when it takes literally 10 minutes to take out a bolt and drain it and refill it for $35?

 

[GreatLakes]

Only for dealer recalls. I make sure I have a good brand-agnostic mechanic I trust and they do all the work. The business model of dealer service is speed and "good enough but fast" is prioritized. If it was under warranty or things like oil changes were included maybe I would but I've never found myself in that situation.

I have multiple friends that have worked both for dealers and private garages and they have told me not to take a car to a dealer because of their experience working for one.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Never except for warranty work, and not even 100% on that. I spent the $90 on brake components and did them myself in half an our rather than take it to the dealer, leave the car, have someone pick me up, find out they screwed around and didn't get my car done, it will be tomorrow, then have to get in tomorrow and settle it, drive back home, pick up the wife (at the time) and go back into town to pick the car up. Just not worth all that for a simple half hour job.

I always bought used cars with no warranty except for 2 of them, so I always worked on them myself. I can't imagine not doing it that way and going to a dealer or other shop all the time. $800 for a brake job? Takes less than an hour and less than $100. $1200 for a clutch, I did it in the garage for $100. $1450 for a head gasket and water pump? Again, took me a Saturday rather than just an our, but it cost pocket change compared to $1450.

Nothing in actual maintenance is rocket science. It's pretty easy. Diagnosing and repairing some things get a little tricky, but why pay $120 for an oil change when it takes literally 10 minutes to take out a bolt and drain it and refill it for $35?

The oil for my last truck was 80 bucks a gallon! And it took 7 quarts.

Walmart oil is 25 a gallon (synthetic) and 13 for the filter.

If you can do an oil change and filter, return the used oiled, and clean up the mess for 35 dollars, more power to you!