Then clearly you haven't gotten out much. Most dealers used to be high (sadly MINI still is), however, the Subaru dealers I have worked with are on par with most regular shops for repairs. In fact, I have an oil change for a 2004 scheduled next week at Annapolis Subaru. They do great work and it is guaranteed to be done correctly.

If the cost is too high, decline it and take it someplace else. This new myth that only a dealer can do work on your car or your warranty is voided (like an oil change) is utter crap! For years I have been taking various cars to other vendors for minor things that were out of warranty and never has a dealer told me that my warranty was void. In fact, I had a dealer tell me where to go in order to SAVE money.

I would say your poor attitude is probably why you get screwed over a lot.

 

I have to drive almost 3 hours to do that.

Like stated above 3 hours to the nearest independent shop is no different than some that live 3 hours from a dealership. I am tired of it because like when my clutch throw out bearing arm went out I had no choice but, to use the dealership. So unlike a independent shop who would work with you and let you take your time deciding what you want to do they beasically rushed me into my decision.




On another note the other reason I hate stealerships is not the techs. I am friends with most of the techs here but, is the Service advisor. I have never met someone who spits out nonsense like our SA does. I go in for my fuelpump and am told that it is not under warranty because I have 80k miles on my car. That is the kind of stuff I deal with and why I really don't like to go there and why I try to use independent shops. My BMW mechanic is slowing starting to work on MINIs but, I won't have enough time to find out if he is good on MINIs because I am moving.

 

Just drove 800 miles round trip to get my clutch worked on at Greasy's Garage! Well, I also combined it with a visit to see Pete but it was still worth the trip.

 

We all have choices in life. It's only a "stealership" if you choose to let them be one.......

 

I am not anti-dealership, most do a good job and at a reasonable cost. My frustration is with the few that violate the trust that manufacturers work so hard to build. Example, I needed to have my new to me Nissan Titan pickup serviced last summer after I had just purchased it, so I took it to the nearest Nissan dealer for service. They told me what it needed and how much it would cost and even though it sounded pretty pricey, I told them to go ahead. It took three trips for them to actually fix all the issue, but they did fix them. A month later, I needed another part so I went to them for it. The price quoted was extremely high I thought so I called the two other Nissan dealerships in town and both quoted me a price that was exactly half the price quoted by the first dealership, and the same price as Autozone. Needless to say I bought the part at the other dealership. After I mentioned this to some friends they commented to me that the first dealership is always much more expensive on all their parts and service. They make their profit in parts and service - sell lots of cars and do lots of warranty work because they are price leaders on new car sales. My point is, as a new customer I wouldn't know that, I trusted the dealership to be fair in their parts and service pricing and they weren't.

 

But this is nothing new, so why so surprised? My 93 year old grandmother will tell you that you have to shop around when getting your car serviced. This game is very old....

 

What wasn't fair about it?

 

+1

Yes, this is all very old news. Yes, dealerships are more expensive. Only go there for warranty work if you can help it. Find a good, trusted independent shop for the rest.

 

What is new, is that some of them are now competing for that return business and are not charging an arm and a leg for services. Like I said before, Subaru has been pretty good cost wise to us, so they get my business.

 

That seems a little expensive.

I had my rear brakes done at Mini of Peabody in Massachusetts a few years back. I paid $406 for the pads, rotors and a sensor - which broke down to $216 in parts and $190 in labor.

That was a few years ago, so perhaps they are a bit more now, but still.

Sounds like an argument to shop around a bit - prices do vary don't they.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Yep, he's also probably the same type that will try to sue MINI when they won't cover something that is his fault.

Exactly what I said in a prior post...they are the same people. They act like they're getting ripped off unless they are paying under invoice...they expect the same when they come in for service. This DOES drive service rates up. There really are some genuinely good dealers out there, that will do anything in their power to treat their customers right...its sad how much negativity there is towards them. BMW/MINI is heavily driven by CSI scores, so to say there are dealers that don't care about their customers is simply ignorant.

 

Dealerships are great for some things. Strange issue no one else can solve? More than likely, the technicians at the dealership will diagnose it faster with fewer mistakes than your average general mechanic.

End of the day, you're best off living near and working with a specialist for your make of car. I had my best luck with VW specialists when I lived in PA, mainly because they stripped down and rebuilt that damned 2.0 motor more than anyone at the dealership could dream of. People who have a passion for the car, instead of working for a paycheck, are your best friend.

 

I will give you that they are better at diagnosing those problems for the most part. I can tell you though they are not willing to work with you on certain issues like say when I retrofitted MFSW into my MINI. They could not give me a straight answer even though there was technical literature out about because it was a fix for those who ordered it in 07 but, it came from the factory without.

 

I get the impression that you and some others in this thread are painting all dealerships with the same brush after having some frustrating experiences with your local dealership. Just like independent shops, some are good and some are bad. Granted, as they represent the brand, they should all be held to the same standard... but people are people.

 

I promise you I won't sue...you guys are crazy on this forum...I thought YouTube was bad...

You're 6th gear and you have two minis and ones a gp... I get it...you win..I'm the *** with a dumb comment...people man

 

I haven't gotta screwed because I don't go to the dealership...I'm like you, coming from a wrx, I go to Subaru to do my tire rotations, alignments and do everything else myself...this forum has loads of info to do stuff yourself...just because I made a joke doesn't make me a criminal

 

This is how you talk and it's the other people who are worse than YouTube?

 

Every person in this thread who's called the dealer "stealer" has the same complaint - it cost more than they expected or wanted to pay - and somehow that makes the dealership wrong.

Sorry folks, but the truth is just because it's what you want, it doesn't mean that's what's gonna be.....

That's the kind of logic children use, and then when they don't get their way, they resort to name calling.

So far I've read of brakes that were too expensive, a dealer who "Wouldn't work with me" which is code for "they wouldn't do it for free or under warranty or for really really cheap, cause I thought they should" and so on, I haven't heard of one instance of the dealership stealing anything from anyone.

It costs what it costs, either pay it or don't, but just because you don't get your way does not make the other party wrong. Pay it or don't, that's always your choice.....

Stop acting like name calling children, please.

Let's have some adult behavior around here for a change, OK?

 

Boy this threat has blown up far beyond it's purpose.

Thread needs closing, I think the points have been made.

 

Thread locked. Corrective action taken.

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As mentioned, this thread has outlived its usefulness. Next time keep it respectful and on topic.