Is there any good reason to have your car serviced at a make dealership? They are always relatively expensive, and if a smaller garage is found that can do the servicing competently, is there any good reason to not take it there for a service? Thanks
Car servicing and dealerships?
Feb 02, 2005
5 Replies
Case for using franchised dealers:
1) Better residuals - essential for newish executive marques (BMW, M-B, Porsche etc) 2) Some warranty cover is dependent upon dealer service stamps 3) Can be competitive if they are running a special offer, but usually only for older carsAlec
Some warranty cover is dependent upon dealer service stamps-im no expert but i'd question this. I no it used to be the case if you didnt get it serviced at the dealership they would refuse to carry out warranty work. I think this was recently made illegal and now aslong as you take it to a garage thats vat registered you are ok-this is all pub talk so might be worth checking
Yes, for the manufacturer's own warranty. When you buy a new car you normally get three-year warranty. But usually only the first year is manufacturer's, and the remaining period is covered by the dealers, who can quite legitimately make it a condition that all servicing be carried out within franchise. This point was picked up in a recent Which? report, and readers were warned about it. Some manufacturers cover their cars for full three years under their own warranty scheme, and you can get it serviced in non-franchise provided it's done under maker's specification. So always check out T&C!
Alec
My local Ford garage is SO expensive. Across the road is a Nationwide Autocentre which charges far less - and if you collect Tesco Clubcard points - you get those too!
sarah
You may get more opinion on this by trying:
uk.rec.cars.maintenance
and/or
uk.rec.cars.misc
Best Wishes
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