One of the biggest questions that NYC mechanics are asked when it comes to VW repair is this: “Is it better to go to the dealer or an independent shop?”. This is one of those questions that has been deeply studied and there is definitely an answer…when it comes to VW repair in NYC, it is always best to choose the independent shop over the dealer. Not sure if you believe it? Here are a few reasons why:
You Will Save Money
Even if you choose a specialty VW repair shop, where technicians are experts in VW care, you will still not spend as much, on average. There has always been a rumor that dealers are more expensive, but no one ever really did any serious research on it…until 2010 when CBS News published a study that decided to take a close, hard look. What did they find? On average, when the same repairs are done on the same type of car at an independent shop vs. a dealer, the dealer charged $300 more each year. Here’s how it breaks down…you know you need preventative maintenance on your VW and you also can expect some type of more expensive service like brakes. At a dealership, for the year, the average car owner spent over $1200…at an independent shop, $900.
You Will Save Time
Another thing that you should know about going to a dealer vs. going to an independent shop is that in most cases, going to a dealer will take longer. Many times, in fact, it will take days or even a week or more for a repair to be done at a dealer, but repairs at an independent shop are done much quicker, in most cases, in a day.
You Will Get Higher Quality Work
Finally, you will find that the work is typically of a higher quality when you choose to go to an independent shop. When it comes to a dealer, you may see that they have a lot of cars there and it can be difficult to even get an appointment. However, this is kind of an illusion as many of the cars are likely there for warranty or recall work…not everyday problems that motorists have. At an independent shop, however, you will find that they are used to the more complicated repairs and will do them with the highest amount of quality.
