small independent shops vs national chains

[The motor guy]

Some of these national chain repair shops are just horrible it seems compared to an independent shop. Takes forever to get work done and they have too many company policies. It's nice to take your car somewhere and have them working on it almost immediately. I took some lawn mower tires to have them mounted again at walmart cause I had to do some grinding on my mower to get them to fit without rubbing, and I went to three places to have the tires mounted cause either they wouldn't do it or the guy was not there that knew how to do it. lol Ridiculous. Walmart only charges 5 bucks per tire so it's not even worth it to try it myself, but this time they wouldn't do it cause apparently the tire was too wide and it was against company policy. It's a lawn mower really? Apparantly the first guy that did it a couple weeks ago wasn't supposed to. lol

 

[The motor guy]

I finally took them to an independent shop and they get them on, but seemed to have trouble getting the bead to seat from what it sounded like. They weren't able to get air in it fast enough. I'm surprised no one tried doing it by hand. I figured walmart was so cheap that it wasn't worth the hassle of me trying to do it myself.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Really while independent shops might not be the disaster that chain shops are, they aren't anything to write home about either, many of these are just as incompetent, and just as crooked too, the same can be said of dealers, except that you do have some protection due to the manufacturer's involvement in their business, if you get cash work done and are dissatisfied with the quality of the work complaints to the manufacturer might get decent action.

All in all the ENTIRE auto repair and service business
is filled with incompetence and crookedness no matter who runs the business.

 

[Leo99]

It's all about people not the name on the building.

Although, Firestone wanted $1200 for new struts on my Corolla and I did it myself for $450. After some practice, I can now change all four out in 2 hours.

National shops have those policies for a reason. It's not just to irritate us.

 

[daves87rs]

Wife's car is at a Indy's shop now....


It's all about who you trust...

 

[Farmer]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Wife's car is at a Indy's shop now....


It's all about who you trust...


I don't trust anyone...

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: Farmer
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Wife's car is at a Indy's shop now....


It's all about who you trust...


I don't trust anyone...


Tend to be like that at times myself...but I have known the owner of this shop for 15 years now. It is a job I could do myself normally, but due to the cold and banging up my arm, it's something I gotta let someone else do....

 

[Olas]

If you find a shop you can really trust, use them when you have to and take them a couple of cases of beer at christmas to keep the relationship sweet.
Alternative is to buy your own tools.

 

[NHGUY]

Wonder what their policy was regarding this.....http://www.wcvb.com/news/one-person-dead-after-tire-explodes-at-new-hampshire-mall/37045380

 

[Eddie]

+1 for Olas but, take the beer AFTER they do your vehicle work)

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
It's a lawn mower really?


Lawn and garden tractor tires are so easy to change that it's surprising that anyone would actually take them somewhere to have them done. I just replaced the rears on my 757 last fall, and about a year or so ago replaced the fronts on my 210. They take perhaps 10 or 15 minutes for each tire to unmount and mount.

Even at just 5 dollars each, the amount of time and aggravation you've spent running around trying to find someone to do it justifies simply doing it yourself.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: Olas
If you find a shop you can really trust, use them when you have to and take them a couple of cases of beer at christmas to keep the relationship sweet.
Alternative is to buy your own tools.


For once, I completely agree!

 

[Donald]

Odd size tires can be a problem at many places. In many cases they do not fit their equipment, but sometimes they have a guy who knows how to do it.

For tires for my Bobcat they need one of those devices that shoots all the air from its tank into the bead area almost instantly via a nozzle that looks like an open mouth.

 

[Brasileno]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: Olas
If you find a shop you can really trust, use them when you have to and take them a couple of cases of beer at christmas to keep the relationship sweet.
Alternative is to buy your own tools.


For once, I completely agree!


I have begun buying my own tools. Other "mechanics" have been outright scam artists. Very happy to take your money.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Really while independent shops might not be the disaster that chain shops are, they aren't anything to write home about either, many of these are just as incompetent, and just as crooked too, the same can be said of dealers, except that you do have some protection due to the manufacturer's involvement in their business, if you get cash work done and are dissatisfied with the quality of the work complaints to the manufacturer might get decent action.

All in all the ENTIRE auto repair and service business
is filled with incompetence and crookedness no matter who runs the business.



Painting with an awfully broad brush aren't we?

 

[fdcg27]

You can find smart and competent techs working anywhere.
You can find the opposite everywhere as well, although those who are neither smart nor competent are probably a very small minority.
I think that you'll usually find the better techs at indie shops, simply because someone's living depends upon the shop's survival and word of dishonest and incompetent work gets around quickly.

 

[Traction]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Some of these national chain repair shops are just horrible it seems compared to an independent shop. Takes forever to get work done and they have too many company policies. It's nice to take your car somewhere and have them working on it almost immediately. I took some lawn mower tires to have them mounted again at walmart cause I had to do some grinding on my mower to get them to fit without rubbing, and I went to three places to have the tires mounted cause either they wouldn't do it or the guy was not there that knew how to do it. lol Ridiculous. Walmart only charges 5 bucks per tire so it's not even worth it to try it myself, but this time they wouldn't do it cause apparently the tire was too wide and it was against company policy. It's a lawn mower really? Apparantly the first guy that did it a couple weeks ago wasn't supposed to. lol

Some mower tires can be easy, or really a PITA. I would much rather mount a 35 series run-flat tire, which only takes a couple minutes, than most mower, or ATV tires, even with the right tools.

 

[Tdbo]

As has been said, you can find competent techs at both independent shops and at chain stores.
The only problem is that you cannot find them at chain stores consistently.
If they are top notch, they are going to move on to greener pastures.
I use a small independent shop. It is a family owned business in a small town. The guy that started it had done work for me for years until his death. The son took over, employs top notch mechanics and does excellent work at a fair price.
They are extremely conservative on throwing parts on, and focus on diagnosis. Sometimes, they are too conservative and I have overruled them on a couple of repairs. They have always made things right, even if it meant on their own dime.
There are good shops around but you have to work hard to find them.

 

[Scott_Tucker]

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Really while independent shops might not be the disaster that chain shops are, they aren't anything to write home about either, many of these are just as incompetent, and just as crooked too, the same can be said of dealers, except that you do have some protection due to the manufacturer's involvement in their business, if you get cash work done and are dissatisfied with the quality of the work complaints to the manufacturer might get decent action.

All in all the ENTIRE auto repair and service business
is filled with incompetence and crookedness no matter who runs the business.


One of the problems we have in this business is cheap people who do not wish to pay a fair price for their services. If you go to a chain store because they are cheap you are going to get exactly what you pay for. They can offer low prices because they hire mechanics who will work for little money.

There is very little 'crookedness' in this business compared to others. People that say this are usually the cheap ones who know very little about the auto repair business, such as yourself. If you don't know how to fix a car yourself, how can you judge what goes on? Customers like you are shown the door in my shop.

 

[The motor guy]

So is it dangerous for the guys mounting the tire if the tire is wider than the rim? I'm still trying to figure out why the guy at walmart wouldn't do it. He was like the tire is just going to roll off the rim if you take a turn to fast. It's not a car it's a lawn mower.