Oh yeah! Am I, I meant!

Yes you're on mine!

The local Toyota dealer.
A) Because the independent garages we've tried have messed up in one way of another.
B) Unlike some dealers, Toyota ones don't charge rip off prices.

You managed to have exactly the opposite experience to us.

The local independent garage because:

1. the Toyota dealers we've tried have messed up in one way of another.
2. just like most dealers, Toyota ones do charge rip off prices.
3. you don't have to use a dealer to keep your warranty

There is no golden rule. Some dealers are good, some are poor. Some independent garages are good, some are poor. I've had both f!ck up in my time (one of which led to my car sitting in a puddle of it's own oil, the other led to enough water leaking in when it rained that I had to start leaving towels on the seats overnight just in case) and currently I have a Toyota dealer who do a good job for a reasonable price. That's pretty much all you can ask for.

Jon

One thing's for sure, after two bad experiences I won't be letting Kwik-Fit anywhere near my tyres again.

Agreed

"You can't get thicker than a Kwik-Fit fitter..."

When I was phoning round Kwik fit was nearly £100 more expensive than the main dealers so shop about.

C

I'm living within crossbow range of the nearest dealer so we go there out of laziness.

Local independent. In fact, they are my local Skoda dealer, and I had been taking my previous Skoda there for as long as I have been living here. Their prices are reasonable, and they look like they work on cars. You speak to the mechanics if there is a problem, not an intermediary.

When I got the Crossfire, I took it to my local Mercedes Chrysler service company (remembering that this car is a Mercedes in all but name). Lots of glass, very clean, and no contact with the mechanics. You go through the salesperson on the desk. It’s all very theatrical, and very tidy and neat. It also looks expensive, and I felt their MOT & service was rather steep. Looking at the place and the kind of cars it handles, I’m not surprised.

When I took it to the aforementioned independent for a service for the first time, they phoned me up and told me that it took less time than they though, and certainly less time than the official service manual told them it would take. Clearly Mercedes charge not by actual time taken, but by time the book says.

My car goes for a service next week. Hopefully it won’t tell me it needs another one for another 2 years!

I buy my tyres from BlackCircles, and they get fitted by my local Formula 1 branch, which is much cleaner and nicer than KwikFit.

I'm sure most dealers do the same. There's a "set time" for each task and hence they charge accordingly.

Just to put my own automotive repair failures into some perspective...




http://hackaday.com/2012/05/21/man-stranded-in-the-desert-makes-a-motorcycle-from-his-broken-car/

^^^That should be in the Win thread!