Auto shops advice

This should eliminate any residual tendency you may have to use a franchise place:

People who work at those places have no personal stake in the business, so they have no reason to do decent work.

Ask everyone you know if they can give you the name of an independent shop they've been happy with. You might also check here to see if anyone in your area has reported good results with a shop:

However, if you don't know of any shops that have a good local reputation, ask your friends for a recommendation. I wouldn't eliminate chain shops or dealers, though, if they have a good reputation. Some are pretty good. But I wouldn't go to any unless you have good recommendations.

Also, check with your local better business bureau before bringing your car to the shop.

Jeff

The dealer here charges not much more than the independent shop I use for

99% of the work, and both places seem equivalent in quality. But for me, the biggest problem with the dealer is that I can only talk to a service writer, which is really annoying. At the indy place, I've known the mechanic forever, and he actually likes having some customers hanging around so he can bitch to somebody about stuff, like his opinion that nobody in the auto industry has taken the time to design a better parking brake mechanism that freezes up.

The dealer's cheaper for oil changes, but the indy mechanic checks a bunch of other stuff while he's working on my Tacoma. He pays special attention to the aforementioned parking brake assembly because he knows I need it when stopped on steep boat launches. I don't think the dealer's mechanic would even turn his head in that direction while changing the oil.

My car has one that freezes up in the winter.

Yet there are dealers that do this. But it is hard when the service advisor doesn't even write down the correct stuff.

jeff

For typical maintenance, most people here can do it themselves without problems and it would be the best. Otherwise word-of-mouth recommendation from satisfied friends to independent shops would be next.

You can always take it back to the dealer. For example, their ~$25 oil service is competitive with others if you care to use OEM filters (I don't, I use Bosch and Purolator PureOne). But there is no guarantee you'll get quality work just because it's a dealer -- it would also depend on the mechanic you happen to get. Service writers steer orders toward cheap mechanics first and take a cut of the profit with the dealership.

Your best bet when choosing a shop is to choose one that is AAA approved and has ASE certified technicians working there, preferably ASE Master Technicians. AAA does a lot of the leg work for you, like checking to see that they have the basic tools and equipment to service most cars, and AAA will also arbitrate complaints for you. The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (shortened to ASE) has requirements for tenure in the shop, and to earn the ASE certification, the technician has to pass a series tests, which will tend to weed out the incompetent techs.

I will have to disagree with Joe on this on. I think any shop is as good or as bad as the manager makes it. I've seen several people screwed over by several "mom and pops" and I have seen several screwed by The National chains. Everyone wants to earn a living, some just don't have ethics. I worked at Firestone for 4.5 years and did my best. One manager was great and the customers did come back, others, well I still hate. I now work at a dealership and we send some used cars to a Mom and Pop place that does great work; An Independent shop can have a level of training that is much higher than dealerships. They get this knowlage/training from not having all the car specific tools and knowlage, and having to think outside the box to diagnose and fix cars. As my friend Jim once said, "I may not be able to fix 100% of (insert car brand) but I can fix 95% of all cars." Some dealerships techs are amazed that people can actually work and understand multiple brands of cars. Anyway to me its not the store, but the people, but the consumer should be educated.