Fail pic for Ron....

[bratfink]

I already said that, so you're wrong to say I'm wrong Also, Hyundai DOES own Kia.

So you did, by "both counts" I meant both previous posts, poor use of quotation on my part.

Also wrong. What kind of car do you drive? .

One I can service myself. I long ago grew tired of dealerships over charging for incompetent work. If I need something specialised that I don't have equipment for (usually involving re-coding the ECM or similar) I have a trusted private mechanic I use. (I don't mind him raping me coz I know he's good).

But the reality of the service business is that manufacturers buy the parts for their cars from 3rd party companies, the car manufacturer might get a bulk deal for parts. The dealerships do not and have to buy the part effectively at cost. They pass this cost on to the end customer (plus a markup of course - they have to pay bills as well). The parts stores sell these same parts cheap becuase they have the same bulk discount leverage that the manufacturer has. Plus they can take advantage of using repro parts from 4th party (if you like) manufacturers that are not allowed to be sold by the dealerships.

Add to that the cost of the specialised tools for every make and model of car and Small mechanics shops find it almost impossible to operate on those margins.

The dealerships have to charge stupid money for the simplest work if they want to make a profit, plus they use the ridiculous piece rate pay scale that dealer mechanics are on. It's no wonder they do terrible work.

Yes, F & I is quite the ripoff, but a lot of folks are getting smarter about it, financing through credit unions, etc.

Yes people are getting better at buying cars. Still the cheapest method is paying cash, but not many people have that much cash lying around these days.
Last car I bought I did the deal with the dealership, agreed a price, shook hands then handed him my cell phone with my bank manager on the other end asking him where to wire the money. It was of course much cheaper to get a loan with the bank, so I did that first then went and bought the car. The dealers face was a picture when he realised he wasn't going to get a finance deal.
Another previous car I did the same, but literally handed him a brief case with cash in it. Much cheaper car that time though...

[horns666]

"One I can service myself"

Yeah..me too. Who needs broads. They don't know how to jack it right anyways. I've been married for nearly 24 years. She still jacks it all wrong. I mean..she'll NEVER get it right..ever. That is my life.

[RacerX]

Another previous car I did the same, but literally handed him a brief case with cash in it. Much cheaper car that time though...

Classic! You baller, you!

[bratfink]

"One I can service myself"

Yeah..me too. Who needs broads. They don't know how to jack it right anyways. I've been married for nearly 24 years. She still jacks it all wrong. I mean..she'll NEVER get it right..ever. That is my life.

Brilliant