5 Things to Consider About 3rd-Party Mechanics in Salem, OR

5. Dealer vs Franchise vs Independent

Before you make any decision it's important to know exactly what all your options are. You may think "a mechanic is a mechanic" and that "there's no real difference where I go", but in fact the differences between the three are significant. A service center found at a dealer is factory-certified with a team that has an intimate knowledge of your vehicle and what it takes to keep it in peak performance. Franchise service centers, like the corporate lube-and-service centers found on every street corner, are often limited in their skill set but should be properly equipped to handle the services they do provide. They also often have a high-rate of employee turnover, so consistency and continuity of care can often be a problem at these shops. Independent shops usually have a small but consistent team of mechanics who have experience with a wide-array of services, but there's no guarantee that they have been properly trained in each manufacturer. Also, these shops usually have limited available-resources like OEM parts or proper diagnostic equipment due to a smaller budget than those enjoyed by franchise and dealer service centers.

4. Training & Certification

3rd-Party mechanic shops often have experienced and reliable technicians who do truly understand most vehicles; however, they just as often also employ technicians who are either inexperienced or untrained regarding your specific vehicle. Franchise centers often hire young and inexperienced technicians due to the nature of the services they often provide, and independent shops are under no real obligation to employ properly trained or experienced technicians due to their intimate and relatively-unregulated nature. However, dealer shops, like the one here at Capitol Chevrolet, always feature a team of well-trained and factory-certified technicians who specialize in a specific manufacturer but can handle almost-any make or model brought to them.

3. Cost

It is commonly understood that the main reason you would bring your car into a 3rd-party shop over a dealer service center is cost- the 3rd-party mechanic won't cost you as much as the dealer shop would. And, at first glance, this is actually true; most 3rd-party shops have lower labor costs than dealership shops. However, on closer inspection, that lower cost might not be all it's cracked-up to be. Sometimes that lower cost can result in work that doesn't sustain for as long as it should, and you'll have to bring your car in again sooner than expected. This cycle can quickly add-up and end up costing you more than it would have if the original work had been done by a highly-trained technician.

2. Parts

Another factor in the longevity of work done to your vehicle and the cost of said work is the quality of parts used in the servicing. At dealer service-centers, only factory-certified OEM parts will be used on work done to your car. 3rd-party mechanics are under no obligation to use OEM parts and often instead substitute them out for 3rd-party parts that, while functional, often don't have the same life-span or level of performance that OEM parts do. Using these cheaper parts isn't an act of malice on the part of these shops, it's just a function of their limitations and desire to save money, but it can end up giving you even more of a headache than you would've gotten had you brought your vehicle into a factory-certified shop to begin with.

1. Warranty

If your vehicle is relatively new, it may still be under factory warranty. If this is the case, it's best to avoid 3rd-party shops at all costs. Most warranties require that work be performed by certified and manufacturer-associated shops or else the warranty will likely be voided. Even in cases where provisions are allotted for 3rd-party shops, it's still best to have the work done at a dealer service-center to ensure that your warranty- and your vehicle- lasts for as long as possible.