First, don’t get me wrong: dealerships offer excellent service and are usually your safest bet for car maintenance. After all, the dealership is staffed by factory-trained technicians who know your car better than you do. Plus, you’ll be paying a much lower rate than you would at an independent shop, which is especially helpful if you’re having problems with an older car. However, dealerships have also been accused of ripping people off. While a dealership may offer a great deal on a car, you’ll pay a lot more for car repairs if it turns out that the mechanics aren’t as knowledgeable as they should be.
One common trick used by dealerships is to try and sell you extended warranties, which don’t even cover the actual repair. While you can still get extended warranties from your car’s manufacturer, these don’t help you much because they are usually tied to the estimated time for repairs. Even worse, extended warranties aren’t worth the money. Furthermore, extended warranties are rarely necessary, and you’ll often have to pay more for them anyway.
A mechanic’s claim that your car needs to be serviced at a dealership is a myth that many people make. The mechanics will argue that your car needs to be repaired at a dealership, which will cost you additional money, and you’ll be left wondering: is it worth it? If your car needs a basic oil change, or an alignment, it may be fine to get it done at a local garage.
