Main Dealers Vs Specialists

Maintenance and repair are the biggest operating expenses you face for your automobile besides the cost of fuel and insurance.  If you keep up with your car’s regular maintenance schedule you have a good chance of preventing many breakdowns that happen due to lack of maintenance.

The question regarding the maintenance of your car is should you use a national main dealer for your maintenance programme or should you find a specialist tuning garage to take care of your car.

While you can get guarantees from big garages, more than likely you will get high prices and extra charges.  The maintenance and repair you get will be from a technician who works on multiple types of cars.

Finding a specialist tuning garage and performance shop means you get a shop owner and technicians who work only on the type of car you have.  The extra knowledge these experts possess translates into a better performing car. 

Additionally, should you have something break on your car the specialist will have a much greater chance of knowing what the problem is.  Because they specialize in just one or two brands of automobiles the in depth knowledge translates into shorter troubleshooting times and lower bills for your repair.

Better brand knowledge also translates into more in depth experience in preventative maintenance.  For example, if your shop knows that the timing belt on a certain model of Vauxhall tends to go out at 55 thousand miles instead of the 75 thousand miles the main garage thinks they will advise you to change it out based on their experience. 

That recommendation to change the timing belt could wind of saving you several hundred, perhaps even a thousand pounds.  Other items on your car often in need of maintenance and repair include regular oil and filter changes, brakes, exhaust systems, belts, hoses, and fluids.

To find a quality specialist garage get recommendations from friends, family, and co workers.  Call the shops or go by and see them to see their facility.  Let them know you plan on spending a considerable amount of dosh at their shop over the next several years and want to make sure you find a quality company to partner with.

Look to see if the technicians drive the brand of care they work on, this is always a good sign.  Do they offer a ride back to work or to your home when you bring your car in for maintenance?  Perhaps they offer a loaner car service for you to drive while your car is in their shop. 

Make sure to get some referrals from the shop of happy customers and ask them when the last time they had an unhappy customer.  Ask them what happened and talk a little bit about the experience.  Everyone has an unhappy customer sometimes just make sure they are open and honest about what happened.

You want to be comfortable where you are taking your car.  By doing your homework you can ensure you partner with a quality company that will keep you and your car safe and spend the appropriate amount of money on maintenance and repair.  It may not be the cheapest in the short term, but make sure you consider all of the costs involved in making your decision.