Globally car manufacturer has setup car dealers to provide car service during warranty period to all new cars. Getting extended warranty is easily possible depending upon the condition of car. You have no choice but visiting car dealer ensures car service as per car manufacturer standard guidelines. Not all car dealers are the best as quality service varies depending upon the skilled labour and processes.
After warranty expire, car servicing bill raises and mostly prefer visiting independent car workshop to reduce their bill. Even if you visit to nearest car workshop during warranty, you do need to be sure that nothing is done to the car that expressly voids the warranty. Some warranties, for instance, may prohibit specific cosmetic changes.
Few days back I visited to Sai Service, Maruti dealer in Mumbai. They claim retaining 45% customers even after warranty. These customers are more of quality conscious and believe in paying more for quality. Since the demand of car servicing is increasing and dealers are out of capacity to serve them all. For instance, if a car dealer is selling 250 cars in a month, they all coming back in the next 3-6 months, they have no capacity to serve them all. Car owners have to wait for their car service bookings. It is obvious, customer satisfaction at car dealers also gets affected.
As per survey 60% car owners visit to local car workshop after warranty got expired. Every car owner wants to save on car servicing bill. Choosing good independent car workshop is another challenge.
There are corporate like Bosch Car Service is trying making independent workshops organized by providing them authorization. Bosch has a network of over 260 car service stations in India. Carnation, MyTVS and Mahindra First Choice Services are building their car workshops to organize servicing industry at par with dealers.
So how do you decide? Dealer or independent? Not surprisingly, the answer to some extent depends on whom you ask.
Car owners who prefer going car dealer say …“I’m a firm believer that you should return to the dealership. Parts are installed by rigorously trained technicians. Nobody knows the car better than these technicians”
Even they acknowledge that the initial labor costs were often higher than independents because of steeper overhead, but argued that the dealers’ greater expertise and state-of-the art equipment meant the repairs would go faster — and in the end cost less.
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/your-money/26shortcuts.html?_r=1