heidihidin

If price difference was negligible or non existent, which would you pick and why?
Both would use OE parts, provide same 12 month warranty and both are equipped with proper computerized equipment.
Toyota dealership is not a contender in this situation.

Thank you for your wisdom.

Htony

Independent specialty shop could cost less.

heidihidin

like I said
Price is the same

Htony

Sorry I missed it. Typically independent shop's labor rate is little less than that of dealerships.
One of son's BMW is out of factory warranty so he started using independent shop for any needed
service. The owner of the shop is native German who has worked on BMW vehicles LONG time.
Their service quality is equal of better than local BMW dealership. Our other cars are still within
factory warranty but when it expires we are planning to switch to independent shop

tghw

That's a pretty silly question if you ask me. Why wouldn't you use a dealership that works on them every day vs an independent shop that might work on 4-5 different models all year, not to mention the dealer techs who are trained specifically to work on all of them. If price was not in the equation you would have to be stupid not to use a dealership. But since cost IS a major variable, I will always use a quality independent shop over a dealership every time. Any independent shop that is charging the same rates as dealerships won't be in business very long.

jct23

My prior car was a 2012 Mercedes CLS 550 4matic, 4.7L twin turbo V8 with 402 HP @ 5,000 rpm and 443 lb-ft torque @ 1,800 rpm it would really move. I was looking at the Genesis G80 but there are none to be found as the 2024's are all in transit. Also looking at CPO Lexus LS or GS but those were short supply as well but I saw my IS 500 in dealer inventory so I found this forum and spent a lot of time reading and watching the reviews. Finally decided that since they are not going to be making the V8 much longer that I would get one last beast of a car and was very happy that it is naturally aspirated as it will last forever with simple maintenance.

Funkdawg

If price, parts and warranty are the same, I guess it would come down to quality of work, customer service and proximity to home or work.

tghw

You might as well say, when pigs fly, because that's when that's going to happen.

DocEnuf

No contest, if price and parts same, The dealership. They have the most up to date training, they have access to all service information bulletins and recalls. see only Lexus models and can often perform work for free if there is a service action update from the manufacture.
The only reason not to go to dealership would be IF they had a history of poor leadership and workmanship. If the service team is lead by poor management, their performance and quality of work will suffer.
Most techs love working on cars, not just for the money.