by Jeana McKinley

Created on: November 06, 2008   Last Updated: November 21, 2008

There are many choices when it comes to places to get vehicles serviced. What it boils down to is the question of having your maintenance done at a dealership or a corner garage.

Some consumers prefer to get their service maintenance done at a dealership. The dealership has many upsides to having work done in there place of business. They have an established reputation and image of quality. Normally they already have a majority of the factory parts your vehicle needs all ready in stock. If they sell the vehicles, they have the parts to fix them. Which cuts down the chances of waiting for out of stock parts. Also, dealerships are larger businesses, so they have more employees. This means better customer service and more mechanics for less down time while vehicles are being fixed. Dealerships also have some of the best qualified mechanics. Another important issue that turns customers to dealerships is their ability to smoothly handle warranty work. The services are guaranteed and knowing vehicles are in good hands is always wonderful.

On the other hand there are a few downers when placing your business in a dealerships lap. These companies are expensive compared to other maintenance businesses. Parts and labor prices especially of dealerships can be outrageous. Another issue is besides regular oil changes having to make appointments for almost every service. Sometimes that can be easier said than done, It can take days or even weeks to get larger jobs on vehicles set up in the shop. This is not convenient for most customers as now a days everyone has a busy schedule.

Another option is the local corner garages that do service maintenances. Just as dealerships, local shops have perks too. Corner garages are a lot cheaper than going to dealerships. These business's prices are dictated by the owners, they do have more of a price competitive edge. Also since there is fewer workers, you know exactly who is performing the maintenance. These local garages strive to make you happy with your service to get the word out about their business. There are also established corner garages, give great customer service, it's a win-win situation. One of the greatest upsides to local shops are their business hours and walk-in policies. Corner shops are known for being open later than dealerships and almost always accept walk-in appointments. Something everyone can appreciate, this gets the maintenance done in a timely manor and according to your schedule.
These local corner garages do sound so glorious, just remember that they have down falls too. A large number of these businesses prefer not to handle warranty work. So, not all of your vehicle needs can be performed there. Also, With the competitive prices comes workers that are paid less. Paid less can mean less quality as well, with workers not making a good wage they are likely to not care about your vehicle. Not caring equals less attention to detail and bad customer service. Lastly, with a small amount of workers employed it could take a couple days extra to get the bigger maintenances finished. Not a good situation for consumers with places to be.
For your next visit think about your situation and the needs of your vehicle. All of these things should be considered to make an auto savvy decision on your vehicle service maintenance.

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