[TomsSVX]

Dealers cost more because they cost more to run.

The service dept. is what makes dealers money... not sales, not parts... service is it. Not to mention they are required to keep up on all factory training to keep their franchise. So the dealer has to pay for the training courses and pay the guys to go to them. That doesn't include the insane amount of specialty tools the dealer has to buy, etc...

Dealers are also required to have some sort of policy. Which means they are responsible to warranty the work they perform. So to "cover your ass" a lot of techs will outline more work than may be needed to make sure they covered all the bases of that job so their is no issue with the vehicle coming back and them working for free to fix it a second time

It all comes back to the bottom line.

Tom