The State and Quality Of Car Mechanic Service In Australia

A lot of people in Australia are not sure about whether they should turn to the car dealership company that they have bought the vehicle from or an experienced auto-service business. The fact is that both have a number of important aspects that have to be considered. It is also highly dependent on what kind of car you actually own. Therefore, in this article, we are going to discuss the state and quality of car mechanic services in the Land Down Under, and help you make a conscious decision.

Automotive brand services

If a particular automotive brand suffers from weak customer experiences at the dealership, then the consequences are bound to be quite detrimental. Still, according to a JD Power survey which took into account the cars bought in the period from 2012 to 2017 is showing us that the dealers are improving their services. A proven fact is that Korean and Japanese brands are currently on top.

The metrics that are essential for this evaluation are:

• • Quality of the service
• • Service advisor
• • Service facility
• • Vehicle pick-up
• • Service initiation

These 5 factors constitute the JD Power Australia Customer Service Index rating, which is made out of a 1000 point scale. The good news is that in 2017, it has increased in Australia by 48 points.

The results we have are such:

• • Mazda is at the top, with 835 points.
• • Hyundai has jumped to the 2nd position with 831 points, followed by Kia with 829 points.
• • Mitsubishi jumped from the 9th to the 4th position with 825 points, followed by Subaru with 824 points.
• • Holden and Ford are tied up at 823 pints.
• • Toyota was in the same position but suffered a downfall to 822 points.
• • Finally, we have got Honda with 817, Nissan with 809, Volkswagen with 798, Suzuki with 797, and Jeep with 781 points.

According to JD Power, the major factor that boosted the points for certain companies was customer experience.

Car service companies

The truth, however, is that a lot of people prefer to go to independent car service companies when their vehicles let them down. This is generally the case for those which are no longer under warranty, but in truth, a lot of drivers, whose vehicles’ warranties are still valid, tend to pick independent businesses for the job. Basically, it’s all about making sure that anything that is done to the car does not make the warranty void. In this case, car service companies tend to get more business.

Independent service companies have smaller garages, and instead of meeting only with the service advisor, a client gets to engage with the mechanic that is going to work on their vehicle in person. This means that they will have a chance to build a more personal relationship with them, because of the direct contact that they have. And independent serviceman is not supervised by the manufacturer, so a client is their main priority. This means that, as opposed to years of service at a dealership, getting on good terms with an independent service happens much faster.

A lot of people that work at such companies are technicians who formerly worked for dealerships. Therefore, there is a high chance that they are as technologically competent as those who work for a manufacturer’s service shop. Also, a lot of them, such as experts for body works in Epping, work on a wide variety of car brands. While they are able to get original parts for repairing a car, there is also the possibility that they have cheaper or rebuilt parts that cost less but do the job just as well.

Basically, while the state of services offered by automotive car dealerships is significantly improving, a lot of people are still opting for independent car service companies. A dealership has all the necessary knowledge and experience for their particular car model, and will quite often be able to give you the best possible service for your vehicle due to being continuously in the loop about new technologies and methods.

However, a lot of workers at independent car service shops are former dealership technicians who will do the job just as well as if you took the vehicle straight to the manufacturer. Furthermore, while they do have access to original parts, you might also get cheaper and rebuilt versions that will cost you less. In the long run, car service companies can be a cheaper yet equally good option, which is the reason why they are a preference for a larger number of drivers, in comparison to dealership services.

Nick Brown is a blogger and a marketing expert currently engaged in projects for Media Gurus, an Australian business, and marketing resource. He is an aspiring street artist and does Audio/Video editing as a hobby.