by Tim Howard

Created on: June 29, 2008

As an ASE Master Certified technician who has worked at both small independent facilities and large chain stores, I must confess that both have pros and cons. However if forced to choose sides I would have to pick a national chain. There are several reasons for this but the first and foremost is accountability. An auto repair warranty is only as good as the organization that is backing it. Many of you would say that the warranty is not that important if the work is done properly the first time and there is truth to this statement, but things do happen and a warranty is the best protection against future problems.

Most local facilities do offer warranties and in some cases they offer national coverage. It is in the execution of the warranty where the greatest difference lies. Your local mechanic may install a name brand part that carries a nationwide warranty. Let's take a look at how that might work in the event of a failure. The garage in your neighborhood installs a water pump on your car before your vacation. While traveling out of state the pump subsequently fails. Depending on your relationship with your mechanic, you are now faced with potentially paying for the repair again and then trying to recover the money when you return from vacation. Or if you are lucky, your neighborhood garage subscribes to an insurance company that provides coverage in these types of situations. If that is the case then you are forced to call a toll free number and be directed to a repair facility of there choice. Usually there are no out of pocket expenses but sometimes there is a deductible.

If you had your vehicle repaired at a national chain then in the situation described above you simply would have to find a local outlet for that chain. A receipt should be sufficient to correct the problem but may not be necessary. Some of the larger chains use databases that will identify a vehicle's repair history by simply typing in the VIN or license plate number. This is also handy if you are checking for gaps in your car's maintenance records. I equate this to using a national chain drug store rather than a local one. The national chain can access your history no matter which of their branches you are visiting.

Advocates of local facilities argue that you can't get more personal service that which is available in your neighborhood. In some cases this is true but not always. The technicians working at a chain store probably live near you as well. Additionally these larger facilities excel in other areas such as training and discounts. Economies of scale provide advantages that the local guy doesn't have access to.

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