Dealership, big chain company, they are all crooks. Don't be fooled by their catching commercials, fancy looking shops. They spent tons of money to make up their shinning faces, so we can carry out their scams.
How to avoid being ripped off?
Simple. Shopping around like women do. Women will spend 1$ for something they don't need, but better than men spending 2$ for a piece of junk they need but have no idea of. I would recommend you pull out your yellowpage and make a few phone calls. Most of the garages will offer one year warranty for new parts, so I personally don't think there would be much difference for the job they do between a shabby shop or a big dealership. Just compare the price and do the calculation yourself!
I tell you my story. Do you remember the Midas from their "trust the Midas ****!" phrase or "At Speedys, you are someone?" I was trying to fix up a hole on the exhaust pipe close to the muffler, both of them threw me a bill around 300$ saying that I have to change the muffler too because that hole is on the part of the pipe that comes originally with the muffler. Guess what? I didn't buy their **** cause I smelt their fishy butts. My muffler was working fine at the time. The result is: I spent 50$ to get the hole fixed in a small shop, and they guaranteed me a life-time warranty.
我在多市修车被骗记:宰得很痛的感觉