So, i know it's funny and cool to be against "The Man"... Make up clever names like "Stealership", I get it.

Calling them this seems very childish, and a bit uneducated.

I've worked for several dealerships. The amount of training the technicians receive is second to none. Does the local mechanic at the gas station have access to or receive the latest training, technical manuals and tooling? No. Then you may say that our trucks are old models and therefore there are no updates to the technical manuals or advanced training for our vehicles. I cannot speak for Land Rover, but, when I was at VW, we would receive updates, technical bulletins etc. for older vehicles on a regular basis. Piaggio sends out updated materials and technical bulletins for older models all the time.

In my tenure at dealerships in both the automotive and motorcycle industry, and having worked in every department of those dealerships at some point, I can tell you I've seen many, many "good" mechanics really really **** up someone's vehicle by using outdated electronic equipment to diagnose or repair vehicles, or using knowledge gained on one type vehicle to attempt a repair on a vehicle that has little or nothing in common with the training or experience they have, other than that vehicle using an internal combustion engine, having wheels and being a motorcycle or "car". Those vehicles usually are the ones that end up in the dealership to be repaired. By the time the dealership tech rights all the wrongs perpetrated on this poor unsuspecting vehicle, the hours can really add up. This is why dealerships appear to be very very expensive.

I see all kinds of "repairs" done by garages, shops, and shade tree mechanics come into the shop, because people always know better than the "stealership" and we're too expensive. A quality job is too expensive? but paying for the same repair 2 or 3 times is economical?

I'm at 3 or 4 week long training/certification classes per year. I have over $25,000 wrapped up into my tools at work. I own a 4 drawer service cart that has around $10,000 worth of electronics within, scopes, laptops, (yes, plural), multimeters, brand specific diagnostic equipment etc.

Every technician where I work is a well educated, hard working and honest professional with several years in the field. Our service manager and service advisors are honest professionals.

Believe me, I know that not all non dealership mechanics are two bit hacks, there are a lot of real pros out there who don't work for dealerships, and I also understand that not all dealerships are operating on the level or with any type of professionalism, but, most are. Dealership agreements with manufacturers dictate this, believe me, Land Rover, VW, Piaggio, etc, don't want their reputation lying in the hands of unprofessional service personnel.

A dealership maintained vehicle is a rare and amazing find. Our VW goes to the dealership for every service. even after it reached 100,000 miles. If the local LR Dealerships would accept my truck in, (she's too old), I'd take her in there for a good once over, I don't know every nuance of the Discovery, but, I'll bet there is someone at the dealership who does.

Sorry about the rant, but, being an enthusiast, who works at a dealership gives me a somewhat unique perspective.

Thanks for your time.

 

you lost me after this fish and spoon bit.

 

The mechanics abilities are always in question when their motives are to persuade the owner of problems he/she does not have. Also why is it that dealership mechanics can never pinpoint a problem. How many times have you heard a dealership tell you or a friend that they can't find the problem you are talking about. ASE test takers does not make a perfect mechanically inclined person. I'm sure they get it right about 50% of the time. But it is the motives for the dealership's profits that bother me. Plus these mechanics are too used to changeing cabin filters and trying to figure out why a light bulb does not work. They do not get to really tear down or rebuild. Most of that stuff is sent out to other mechanics who are often called local or shadetree. My brother's business performs most of the transmission work for the dealerships around Charlotte, NC. Walk into any dealership garage and look at the jobs they are performing. This one over here needs a surpentine, and this one a tailight. Oh yeah this one over here is really confuseing us. The owner says it doesn't start when hot, but it never happens to us. How about just giving the vehicle back to the owner and saying we couldn't find a problem. Not the answer. I would rather spend my money on a hillbilly repair than get swindled. And of course the dealerships never lie to you.

 

Deaerships are there to sell cars, make a slice of the finance arrangements, provide warranty service, make a profit on other service, and make a profit on parts. They are the top of the food chain. The only better equipped shops are NASCAR, NASA, the military, and R&D departments.

But there is a place for all vendors, because not everyone can afford the dealership prices. But in major metro areas you can find plenty of vehicles that have enjoyed regular trips to the dealer on schedule. And then we have the DIY hobbyists, who enjoy (most of the time) tinkering with our toys.

The car factories, in part to support the dealer network, have made vehicles much more complex, requiring special tools and equipment. Over engineered, so complex that a corroded battery terminal triggers immobilization of the vehicle, etc. But still the indy shops survive, because the dealer practices drive away customers and repeat business. Now that is not to say indy shops don't also suffer from strange management practices. I was using one place for my 12 vehicle mini-fleet at the office, they got all my work. One day their new service writer insisted that my 94 454 Suburban needed a $485 set of plug wires. Sorry, that took the entire business to another shop. Treat all customers fairly. Don't gouge the well funded ones.

As for tranny work, Mercedes considers them a module, like the ECU, and don't even cover them in their shop manuals.

 

Larry, thanks for that perspective. A very thoughtful and well written post indeed. Good to see that you take pride in your work and expertise. The world needs more of that.

Yes, dealerships get a bad wrap. Some deserve it more than others.

I suppose a bad economy combined with an older vehicle such as ours makes their services to expensive to justify. Sometimes the owner is shooting themselves in the foot and wasting their own time, but heck, that is what this forum is for!

 

You got that far?

 

Who eats fish with a spoon...?

 

And to give another point of view from another mechanic that worked only as a mechainc, not "having worked in every department of those dealerships" as the op has, I only know that half the mechanics I have met in dealerships are idiots, and half the mechanics in indy shops are idiots.(I won't go into professional shade tree mechanics)

You claim that indy shops do not have access to programs such as alldata or mitchell-on-demand...? You are uneducated then. Most indy shops have access to the repair info of many makes of vehicles through one form or another. They may not have brand specific data, but they do have access to recalls and TSBs just like the dealership.

That is nice that you love and respect dealerships the way you do, but before you go off on indy shops, do some educating of yourself.

 

I agree with the OP, there are plenty of good people at dealerships, and the brand specific accumulated knowledge is second to none, especially for non-domestic vehicles.

Lemme troll this out there:

If mom & pop shops with Mitchell's, All Data, and Google are the ****, why do they keep calling me at the dealer wanting to poll my techs & parts people for information, wiring diagrams, "quick questions", etc?

 

That's the half of the mechs that are idiots, just like my buddies at the dealership that call me for help with their questions.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people out there passing as automotive technicians, when in reality they merely 'know how to turn a wrench'. They have infested both the dealerships and the indy shops.

Now before anyone gets pissed at me for detesting shadetree mechanics, let me tell you I am 100% in support of DIYers. I just hate it when someone claims to be 'better then them thar stealership' mechanics goes around fixing most simple problems and a few complex problems in shade of a tree and when they mess something up, they blame the manufacturer for designing a faulty system and the dealerships and indy shops for not supporting him. That is when the owner brings the car to a shop and the nightmare begins.