Don’t take your car to the dealer for service, maintenance or parts, rather find a nearby auto mechanic you have learned to trust who will save you not only lots of money but time and pain.
I find the best mechanics work from the smaller independent shops. They have someone upfront, usually a wife, and a few mechanics out back. These days they must also be able to afford the online package which hear is rather expensive. You can usually drop the car off in the morning, they give you a ride home and pick it up that same evening. And what’s so very important, the mechanics will talk to you, take you back and show you and point things out rather than having to sit in a room full of vending machines and CNN blaring down on you, [here in Texas it’s Fox News] with to contact with the mechanic.
If you did not know here it is from Edmonds:
According to the most recent data from the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the new vehicle department of a car dealership accounts for about 30 percent of a dealership’s gross profits. In addition to car sales, that figure also reflects profits from finance and insurance (F&I) products sold on new cars. That means such things as Gap insurance, alarm systems and, notably, extended warranties.
The used vehicle department represents nearly 26 percent of a dealership’s gross profit, according to NADA. In addition to car sales, the figure also reflects profits from F&I products sold on used cars.
So where does the majority of a dealership’s profit come from? It’s not from car sales: at least not directly. It’s from the service and parts department, which accounts for 44 percent of the dealership’s gross profits, according to NADA.