Originally posted by hondatech
that's cool Epoch i like to fix independant repair shops screw up's. Please take your car to them first. I love when people get cheap and end up going to a non dealer shop. I have a legend in my stack of to do work orders right now that had a steering column put in at joe smoe repair shop and now the srs light is on all the time. You know why? Because these shops don't know shit and broke the customers srs control reel putting the steering wheel back on. If you want your car fixed right, I would take it to a factory trained professional. it might be more than the other guy but you know the guy knows what he is doing.
*cough*reputable dealership alternatives*cough*
There's a big difference between joe shmoe's grease monkey pit and a talented mechanic that knows what he's doing.
My fav shop to date is Rusty's Honda/Mazda in Santa Cruz... excellent place. I had my brake master cylinder go out on me when I was away at school, and they got it fixed quick and done right... But what I also liked is that the mechanic noted that my clutch master cylinder as looking a little not-so-hot as well, so he sat me down with a Haynes, walked me through the repair steps, and gave me tips on how to do it perfect when I graduated and moved back to where my tools were.
You rarely get that kind of attention at a dealership... also, they do, whenever possible, take you to the bank... I've even seen them make nearly deadly mistakes (Telling a customer his rotors and pads were shot, when it was actually the master cylinder... this wasn't me though...).
But each shop is different, and I'm not characterizing any one dealership shop... I'm just stating my personal preferences...