Frank,

I have had a totally different experience with an indy mechanic.

He has been working on Volvos and Saabs for twenty-five years. He only uses OEM parts and the car is returned exactly as it was given to him. He is so well regarded that it can take up to a month to get an appointment

The dealer, OTOH, has used to wrong oil, put a deep scratch in the hood, left grease stains in the interior, incorrectly torqued the wheel bolts, failed to grease the locks & hinges, and botched the recall repairs. This is far from a complete list. I know that these problems are the result of poorly trained and supervised support staff for the mechanic.

But, why would I continue to take my car to the dealer when most likely I will be either redoing the work or cleaning up the mess.

Surely there are excellent dealers. I just don't believe you can generalize and dismiss indy mechanics out of hand.

Bryan