Repair bills have become a bigger part of the cost of keeping a car on the road, and independent garages are increasingly central to the value conversation. The 57% figure in the headline, however, needs an important qualification: Roland Berger’s 2025 Automotive Aftermarket Pulse found that 57% of car owners across 13 major markets—including Canada—preferred replacement parts from the independent aftermarket rather than original-equipment parts. It was not a Canada-only finding about garage prices.
Canadian evidence points in the same direction on affordability, though. J.D. Power found that 65% of Canadian owners who chose an aftermarket facility in 2025 cited the high cost of dealership service as the top reason, while average per-visit spending was markedly lower outside dealerships. That distinction matters because it separates a compelling trend from an overstated statistic.
The 57% Figure Needs an Important Canadian Footnote
The strongest available evidence behind the 57% number comes from Roland Berger’s Automotive Aftermarket Pulse 2025. The study surveyed 6,000 private car owners and 600 workshops across 13 markets, including Canada, the United States, Germany, China and the United Kingdom. Its finding was specific: 57% of car owners preferred buying spare parts from the independent aftermarket rather than original-equipment channels, up 14 percentage points from the prior year. The consultancy linked that shift to rising price sensitivity as repair costs increased. That is meaningful evidence of consumers looking for lower-cost repair inputs, but it does not establish that 57% of Canadian drivers personally rated independent garages as having the best repair prices.
For a Canada-specific measure, J.D. Power provides a cleaner benchmark. In its 2025 Canada Customer Service Index—Long-Term Study, 65% of owners who chose an aftermarket facility said the high cost of dealership service was the leading reason. The research covered 9,999 owners of four- to 12-year-old vehicles. In other words, the Canadian case for price sensitivity is real and measurable; it simply rests on a different statistic than the one implied by the headline.
Canadian Data Show a Large Gap in Average Service Spending
J.D. Power’s 2025 Canadian figures put a dollar value on the difference drivers are seeing. The average dealership service visit reached $539, up from $465 a year earlier. The average aftermarket visit was $302, up from $273. That leaves a $237 gap between the two averages, with dealership visits costing nearly 80% more. J.D. Power cautioned that the comparison is partly influenced by differences in the type of work performed, so it should not be read as proof that the identical repair will always cost 80% more at a dealer.
Even with that caveat, the change matters for households keeping vehicles longer. A driver facing two or three service visits in a year may feel the difference quickly, particularly when tires, brakes, suspension work or an unexpected warning light arrive close together. The broader Canadian auto-service market was estimated by J.D. Power at $18.8 billion in 2025, underscoring how small differences at the repair counter can scale into a major consumer-spending issue nationwide.
Independent Shops Already Hold a Major Place in Canada’s Repair Market
Independent garages are not a fringe alternative in Canada’s service economy. J.D. Power reported that independent shops captured 26% of all auto service and repair visits in its 2025 long-term study, while dealerships accounted for 48% and quick-lube locations for 11%. On the revenue side, the broader aftermarket held 38% of the market, split evenly between independent shops and aftermarket chains at 19% each. Those figures show that a substantial share of Canadian service decisions is already being made outside franchised dealer networks.
The size of Canada’s vehicle fleet makes that competition consequential. Statistics Canada reported 26.8 million road motor vehicles registered in 2024, including 24.6 million light-duty vehicles, which represented 91.6% of registrations. Many vehicles eventually move beyond their original warranty periods and into the age range where owners weigh dealer familiarity against price, convenience and local relationships. For a driver in a smaller community, the practical choice may also be less about brand loyalty than whether a qualified shop is nearby and can return the vehicle to service without a long trip to the nearest dealership.
The Savings Can Reach Hundreds of Dollars on Common Repairs
A 2026 study conducted by MNP for the Automotive Industries Association of Canada examined the financial effect of repair access and shop choice. According to AIA Canada’s release of the findings, drivers could save up to 30%, or as much as $500, on common repairs when work is performed at independent shops. For labour-heavy or more complex repairs using aftermarket parts, the reported savings could reach as much as 80%. Because the study was commissioned by an organization representing the auto-care sector, those figures are best treated as scenario-based findings rather than a guaranteed discount on every invoice.
The practical lesson is still useful: labour rates, parts sourcing and repair procedures can produce wide price differences. A $500 swing is enough to turn a manageable bill into a much more difficult household expense, especially when the repair is unplanned. But comparison requires identical scope. A quote using an original-equipment assembly, extra diagnostic time or a manufacturer-specific calibration is not directly comparable with one using a lower-cost aftermarket component and fewer included operations. Price matters most when the work being priced is genuinely equivalent.
Cheaper Does Not Automatically Mean Better Value
Lower average spending helps explain why drivers move toward independent facilities, but price is only one part of the service decision. J.D. Power’s 2025 Canadian study found that owners expressed somewhat greater trust in dealerships for complex work. On a seven-point scale, dealership trust scored 5.94 for complex maintenance and 5.76 for complex repair, compared with 5.68 and 5.64 for aftermarket providers. The gaps are not enormous, but they help explain why some owners are willing to pay more when a problem involves unfamiliar electronics, difficult diagnosis or work closely connected to manufacturer systems.
That creates a more nuanced picture than simply dividing the market into expensive dealers and cheap independents. A long-standing local mechanic who knows a customer’s older vehicle can be an attractive option for routine mechanical work. A dealership may have an advantage when a job involves a manufacturer-specific software update, warranty work or specialized tooling. The best-value choice can therefore change with the repair. The important question is not simply which shop has the lower hourly rate, but which facility can correctly complete that particular job without unnecessary parts, repeat visits or delays.
New Vehicle Technology Is Raising the Bar for Every Garage
Modern repair work increasingly involves cameras, radar, software and electronic control systems alongside traditional mechanical components. Roland Berger’s 2025 aftermarket study found that 47% of workshops across its 13 surveyed markets had turned down at least one advanced driver-assistance system repair during the previous 12 months because they lacked sufficient capability. Among those shops, 58% cited a lack of calibration equipment as the main reason. Those are global figures, not Canada-only results, but they illustrate the investment pressure facing independent facilities as newer vehicles age into the aftermarket.
This technology gap helps explain why the cheapest quote is not always the most useful comparison. Repairs involving bumpers, windshields or certain suspension components on ADAS-equipped vehicles can involve sensor calibration or diagnostic procedures that were not part of comparable work on older cars. Shops investing in training and specialized equipment must recover those costs, while facilities without the necessary capability may have to refer certain work elsewhere. The independent sector therefore faces a balancing act: preserving its traditional affordability advantage while funding the tools required to service increasingly software-dependent vehicles competently.
Right to Repair Could Shape How Much Choice Drivers Keep
Canada has already changed federal copyright law in a way that supports repair competition. Bill C-244 received royal assent on November 7, 2024, amending the Copyright Act so that a technological protection measure can be circumvented when the sole purpose is diagnosing, maintaining or repairing a product. The change removed one legal barrier created by digital locks, but it did not by itself guarantee that every independent garage will receive all vehicle data, tools or software on the same terms as an authorized dealership.
That remaining access debate is important to repair prices. AIA Canada argues that delayed or inadequate access to vehicle repair data can force work back to dealerships and reduce competition; its MNP-backed 2026 research estimated substantial potential savings from independent service. Automakers have previously pointed to the voluntary Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard, or CASIS, created in 2009 and operational since 2010, as a framework intended to give the aftermarket access to service information, training and specialized tooling. The policy question is increasingly about how effectively that access works as vehicles become more connected and software-controlled.
A Better Repair Decision Starts With a Comparable Estimate
Drivers can protect themselves by comparing the scope of a repair, not just the final number at the bottom of a quote. That means checking whether parts are original equipment, aftermarket, new or remanufactured; whether diagnostic charges are included; what labour operations are being billed; and whether calibration, fluids, shop supplies or disposal fees are extra. Written estimates also matter because consumer-protection rules differ by province. In Ontario, repair shops generally must provide a written estimate before charging for work unless the consumer declines it and agrees on a maximum amount. In Quebec, garages must provide a written evaluation before repairs costing more than $100, subject to provincial rules.
Those protections make price-shopping more meaningful. A driver comparing a $900 quote with a $1,200 quote should know whether both shops are promising the same parts, warranty coverage and procedures. For non-emergency work, another estimate can expose a genuine price advantage—or reveal that the cheaper offer leaves something important out. Independent garages clearly have a powerful affordability story in Canada, but the strongest consumer outcome comes from combining competitive pricing with transparent scope, qualified technicians and documented authorization.
