Here's how to choose between a car dealership and an independent mechanic

For years in Los Angeles, I kept an old Saab 900S as my "beater" car.

Stuff was constantly breaking on it, but I wanted to fix only what was absolutely necessary. If it started and the transmission could shift gears, I was good. The sunroof didn't work, a sun visor fell off, as did most of the heater and A/C knobs, the seat heaters and the air conditioning system failed, the power antenna conked out, and the car would stall at idle. It also fired off an endless stream of warning lights.

Because my Saab-specialist indie mechanic had seen it all, he could advise me on what to repair and what to ignore. I wanted to ignore everything, and he wasn't obsessed with making money off me, so we only fixed was was absolutely necessary: battery, brakes, fuel lines, and so on.

The best thing an automotive cheapskate with an old car can do is find an honest independent mechanic. Plus, indie mechanics are almost always cheaper than the dealership (although if they don't know what they're doing, obviously they can be more expensive because you'll have to re-fix whatever they screwed up).

If you want to keep careful track of every service you get for your car, from oil changes right on through to timing belts, engine builds, and bodywork, the dealership is you best bet.

The dealer's service department will keep track of when you need recommended service, contact you when the time rolls around, and provide you with documentation in the event that you want to provide this in a private transaction should you decide to sell your car yourself.

One cool thing about working with an indie mechanic is that you often learn a lot about your car. With the dealership, your car disappears for a few hours and is returned to you later, washed and vacuumed.

With an indie, you're more likely to get a breakdown of what's wrong. If it isn't life threatening, you can always take this diagnostic knowledge (which some indies charge a small amount to amass) and go the DIY route.

For example, you're having your oil changed and the mechanic notices that you need new brake pads. You could buy the correct pads, watch a YouTube video, obtain the correct tools, and do this job yourself, saving several hundred bucks.

Dealers can service your car in a day, but you need to be prepared to give that entire day over to the process. Service departments can get busy. I had some basic service done on a Mazda I once owned and it took something like eight hours.

Typically, the dealer will have a customer waiting room, often with some vending machines. Luxury dealership will often have a shuttle service, to take you to a nearby urban center (or back home) to ride out the service appointment.

Indie mechanics generally don't have those things, although my Saab guy in LA had loaner cars. Which was awesome if you were into vintage Volvos that made odd noises and were kept running with spare parts and love.

What indie mechanics do have is resourcefulness.

Why purchase a couch when you can make a perfectly good one out of a salvaged back seat? Why buy a coffee table when you can fashion one from an old engine block?

Much cooler, anyway.

And if you're lucky, they'll let you drop a quarter in the jar to drink the house coffee.

True, if you love Cadillacs or Mustangs, you can stick with your dealer through thick and thin. And it will be fine.

But the indies just seem to get down into that special thing that makes people passionate about their cars. And for better or worse, a car dealer wants to sell you a new Caddy or 'Stang, not talk to you about how great your 10-year-old model is.

So if you want to bond with your mechanic over a shared affection for vintage Buicks, indie is the way to go. I actively looked forward to hanging out with my Saab mechanic, because I felt like I was going to a sort of Saab clubhouse.

Another plus is that you do get to meet lots of other owners who share your affection for a particular brand. This is the kind of thing that makes getting your car worked on fun, rather than a chore.