The Auto Garage - Auto Repair Shops 101: The Dealer
by Eric Bonneman
FeedTheVillage.com - Auto Repair Shops 101: The Dealer
Aww yes, the dealership or its other common name the "stealership". I am here to both defend and debunk the dealership, and along the way shed some light on the whole operation. First, I will tell you that no one will take better care of your car, in general. These guys are trained on just your line of car and are familiar with common complaints and problems. Even the service writers are better at understanding the problem and/or service you are requesting, making getting a loaner car more of an automatic response when they know it will be a while for your car. Lets start with the basic operation. The primary function of a dealership is to ensure customer satisfaction through maintaining and resolving issues with new cars under warranty. However, the warranty process in itself is the root of a lot of dealership problems. Basically, the manufacturer gives the dealership an "open checkbook" to perform warranty repairs. The technician must show that the warrantied repair was caused by a defect in workmanship on the vehicle, and not customer fault. Now, the tech will most likley write a story on the repair order, for a vehicle under warranty, that shows a "defect in workmanship" in order to get paid and have no issues with the customer. You have to understand that dealer mechanics get paid by the job, and not by the hour. So, the fastest route to getting paid, without issue, is his/her goal. Here comes problem number one for the customer. A dealership tech only gets paid "warranty time" for a warranty repair. This time is set by the manufacturer, and is generally 50% less than standard "book time". The reason the manufacturer pays less is, they assume their techs should know the product better, therefore they should be able to perform the repair faster. The tech sees this, "I just got screwed on another warranty repair", so his secondary function is to find an excuse to make it the customers fault, making it "customer pay" time. "Customer pay" time is back to that general labor guide that pays the tech twice as much.
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