Agree Bill, but sometimes folks do not have access to a trusted local independent shop. I thought I did at one time until there were too many mistakes made, just to get the cars done. He was not interested in doing the small oil changes either, not enough money for him.Yes, I don't trust dealerships. On a used vehicle I bought, the carfax I ordered listed a dealership did the 30,000 mile service on a traded in vehicle right before putting it up for sale. It listed things like replace battery, do valve adjustment, do transmission fluid drain/fill, do oil / filter change, change brake fluid, change power steering fluid.
I thought to myself, what dealership would have wasted all this money on service right before putting a traded in vehicle up for sale.
Could this be a lie, and probably they never did any of it.
I prefer to deal with a true blue trusted local independent mechanic who I've know for many years and who doesn't even charge me for small repairs out of how honest and how much integrity he has. I don't think any dealership can be trusted for even an oil change, and I feel sorry for those people owning a relatively new car who go to dealerships only to get a $700+ repair bill every time.
It's better to buy the OEM parts from the cheapest online dealership parts department you can find (even if it's located in another state), and have them ship you the parts (at prices close to wholesale), and have your local mechanic who only charges $80 an hour labor do the install and ask for the old parts to be put in a box and given to you. This way your can be sure the work was done, and you wallet is a lot heavier with cash by using this strategy.
So what's a gal to do? And I did know him for many years. But when I have an oil puddle on my garage floor after his service and I go back to him with his "sorry my other mechanic did not tighten the bolt correctly" THAT was enough for me,...no attention to the smallest detail. It's a good thing I wasn't on a long trip on a highway! I could go on and on...
Needless to say there are good and bad with independents and dealerships as well....