Stealerships are liars, cheats, and thieves

[TheDurk]

I haven't been to the dealer (or any other mechanic) for anything except alignment since the 4Runner got out of warranty. All this is exactly why I do my own work for twenty years and 220k miles. Listen to Tim.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Something to consider is that dealerships are franchised. Like most franchises, the owner pays for the "brand" but has freedom to run the business as they want, with some restrictions. Experience at a dealer will vary greatly. Some are out to fleece people which is what validates the stealership nickname but others are reputable places run by honest people. My local dealership, Roseville Toyota is honest and straightforward but I would never call them inexpensive. I think that's universal for all dealership repairs. I go there for the repairs that I cannot do such as tire installations and alignments. They have never pushed me once to accept services I did not come to do (and some of the techs really like my supercharged 4Runner) but that also be because I know my way around a car and the service advisors are yet to tell me something I don't understand. If I were a 20 year old woman, my experience might be different.