Well, you'd be out of luck in every repair shop I've been in, because their liability insurance forbids allowing customers to hang out back in the shop area to watch the mechanics. Usually they have a sign somewhere making it clear that customers aren't allowed in the bays. It's especially unlikely that they'll let some random first time customer do it. If your particular mechanics allow that, then good on you; it's not the standard that most guys are going to encounter at most places, especially in a litigious society. You aren't going to be able to hang around giving the mechanic a skills test before you start asking about prices. So no, "ignorant" isn't the right word; "reality" is the right word. It's a "reality" that you, as an average customer going to a dealership, are going to get a book price for a job when you talk to the shop without being able to interview the mechanics and inspect the shop floor. If you'll only use a shop that allows that, I recommend you never leave the maintenance Nirvana that you now reside in. As for your contention that the stories of sub par repairs are almost always owner induced, well obviously that's anecdotal, and I'm willing to bet that the anecdotal evidence on the other side of that coin (i.e. that many guys' horrible dealer experiences were a result of the dealership's greed, incompetence, or a combination thereof) would far outweigh yours, and I bet they'd disagree with your assessment.
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