Car owners more satisfied with independent repair shops

According to a survey published in the June 2011 issue of Consumer Reports, car owners are more satisfied when their car has been serviced by an independent repair shop.

The survey asked what their overall satisfaction was with repairs and whether they were satisfied with the price.

They translated these into "scores" giving dealers an average score of 80 across all vehicle makes vs. 87 for independent shops - a difference of nearly 10%.

Some of the bigger differences in the scores comparing independents to dealers were Jeep which had an 11 point difference between the ratings suggesting Jeep dealers are much worse than independent shops - Jeeps parent Chrysler was 10 points lower for dealers vs. independents. Volkswagen dealers were also 10 points lower compared to independents.

Land Rover owners didn't have enough data at independents to compare, but they were also the most upset about the price of the repairs. Ouch.