Dealer Service - is it necessary?

minkypagger

Hi, I have a 2006 Focus I bought from a dealership last year. It's due a service and my local Ford dealer is offering services 'from £175' - from being the operative word! I have a good independent garage - do I really need a dealership service? Does it really affect the value that much?
Thanks
M

MX5huggy

Its much more important that you have a service done than it being a stealer service. Warranty is the other issue, if you came to claim you would find it eaiser to claim if you have it serviced by Ford.

Conor_3

European law changed and a warranty is still valid if the servicing is done elsewhere HOWEVER the servicing must be done to the manufacturers schedule and using genuine parts. It's the latter where they tend to fall down as non dealership garages tend to use generic OEM parts for filters and different brand spark plugs - all of which can be used to invalidate a warranty claim despite having sod all to do with the fault.

RichyRich

Also the garage you use must be VAT Registered

Hintza

I would probably play safe until you have passed the warranty expiry date.

bclark

Since the changes in the law there are quite a few large networks of Garages who are set up to service Cars. I can't thinknof some of the names but I think that Nationwide auto centres is one and they will service your Car for much cheaper and make sure that theyuse all of the official parts so that your Warranty remains valid.

luci

Ditto what Conor said. As long as the garage carry out the service according to the schedule and use genuine Ford parts your warranty will still be valid.

Hintza

luci wrote: »

............ your warranty will still be valid.

And if the manufacturer says no?

I know you are technically correct but do you really want the hassle of a legal fight if they tell you get lost ona warranty claim.

The other thing to consider any technical upgrades will possibly be absent from going elsewhere.

Now I'm not normally a wimp on things like this but I just feel that for the first 3 years it might be better safe than sorry and for a couple of hundred quid it might just be worth using the main dealer. Bear in mind you are talking to someone who had a top end engine rebuild £1800 after cambelt failure at about 32 months.

TiTheRev

Hintza wrote: »

And if the manufacturer says no?

I know you are technically correct but do you really want the hassle of a legal fight if they tell you get lost ona warranty claim.

The other thing to consider any technical upgrades will possibly be absent from going elsewhere.

Now I'm not normally a wimp on things like this but I just feel that for the first 3 years it might be better safe than sorry and for a couple of hundred quid it might just be worth using the main dealer. Bear in mind you are talking to someone who had a top end engine rebuild £1800 after cambelt failure at about 32 months.

+1 not worth the potentail hassle. Block exemption is there for fair competitiion, but if A.N.Other garage doesnt maintain your car correctly you're stumped if anything should go wrong...plus as Hintza says you get the latest updates/recalls etc FOC at the dealer.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

The 'fear' of not using the dealer network only exists to the advantage of one group of companies - dealers. There are plenty of independent specialist garages around with labour costs half that of a dealer. They're usually staffed by ex-dealer mechanics anyway.

I could tell you stories of dealerships I've used that would make your toes curl - most people probably can. Using a dealer for servicing is no guarantee of quality - but it is a guarantee of paying over the odds.

iolanthe07

Using a dealer for servicing is no guarantee of quality - but it is a guarantee of paying over the odds.

It is also a guarantee of them forking out if anything goes wrong in the first three years. I know it's a rip-off, but I still have dealer service for the first three years; after that I go independent, although I know there could be a problem with corrosions claims