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Originally Posted by shakran
And in fact, 3rd party mechanics have MORE of an incentive to be good at their job than dealerships do. Lots of people take their cars to the dealership because that's what they think they have to do. And if they're in that mentality, it's not like you're going to take your Acura to the Ford dealership if you decide you don't like the service. But for a 3rd party guy - - if you don't like his work, you're outa there, finding a new 3rd party guy.
That, added to the fact that the 3rd party guy owns his business, and that's it, whereas the dealership/Jiffy Lube has the full support of its backing company. .. the economics aren't hard to work out.
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We've always taken our Volvos to 3rd-party mechanics once their warranty ran out. We go to a great guy right now named "Helmut"--nevermind that Helmut is actually a little old Vietnamese guy. It's a family-run operation--his two college-educated sons do the work and Helmut oversees the shop. There is not a day you go in there where the shop isn't full of other European imports--Mercedes, Porsches, BMWs and the like. Our former mechanic (we moved, and so had to leave him behind) was much the same--family-owned business, very busy.
The key in finding a good mechanic to try is to be observant--do they have a lot of repeat business? Are they busy? Are they recommended by a colleague or friend with a similar car to yours? Ours came recommended by a colleague of my father's, and now we wouldn't think of taking our cars anywhere else--Helmut saves us a LOT of money.
Both of the 3rd-party mechanics we've had have ALWAYS taken the time out to explain what was wrong with the car, show us what they were going to do/what was done, etc--without having to be asked. A good mechanic is proud of his work and won't rush you out of his shop--and a good 3rd-party mechanic is looking to build a relationship with you where he can earn your repeat business.