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View Full Version : Dealership Vs Joes Garage



murphypeople
03-05-2007, 12:02 AM
I do not have a L/M dealership near home or work. I have taken my Taurus to a "Joe's Garage" place. They have proven reliable over the years. When I did have a problem there...they turned it into "no problem." I mean this in a positve way regarding their customer service ability.
Are the MMs that specialized that dealer service is required/highly recommended? Same goes for the Tranny shop I have been using. Again I am hip to the dealership thing...but even the Ford dealerships close to me is less than the best. They work but I have to push them. Re: the Ford dealer...the Service Writer was recently promoted from Phone Attendent...not kidding:shake: . This made getting my E350 issue taken care of that much more difficult. I had to deal with the Service Manager all the time on that one. Anyway...

JMan
03-05-2007, 04:33 AM
Either a dealership or a Joe's (Independant garage) are only as good as the people working in them. That goes for any business in the service industry. If you have a really good indy shop, stick with them. They certainly will give you more personable service by numbers alone! I work in the auto industry and visit dealers and indies. Although I have several choices in FLM dealers in close proximity, I won't go to any of them. That is certainly not the case everywhere, but unfortunately it is here where I live. I have a repair shop I can trust and they get all my work. They like it because they don't have to sell me anything, I request it on my timetable. That makes for a good relationship!

Best luck,

J

magindat
03-05-2007, 06:28 AM
I find that a Joe's Garage is much more excited by my car than the dealership. Furthermore the local dealership is intimidated byt heir own lack of experience with the Marauder.

RF Overlord
03-05-2007, 06:44 AM
Are the MMs that specialized that dealer service is required/highly recommended? Actually, the problem is usually the other way 'round...most dealers are clueless when it comes to the Marauder.

I have 2 small independent (fairly) local garages that I trust, and I feel much more comfortable taking The Blackbird to either one of them than I do taking it to any of the local F/L/M dealers. As JMan said ^^^, any facility is only as good as its staff, and I'm sure there are plenty of honest, competent dealer service departments out there, just none in MY area... *sigh*

ckadiddle
03-05-2007, 06:46 AM
You are a minnow when you visit the dealership, but you are a nice sized fish when you visit Joe's garage. You have the good folks on the board to educate yourself and Joe's garage on any particulars. If you really like Joe's garage and wish to stick with them, there are service manuals that show up on that show up on auction sites. You could buy them one for their shop. who knows? If they really like Marauders, it could become a specialty for them.