Importance of a more expensive dealer service

dilby

Hi all - Purchased a Seat Arona last year from my local Seat dealer and it's due for a service. Called up and was quoted £239 which seemed expensive (my last vehicle was a Peugeot and a full dealer service with them was £119). Am I just being tight or is that quite a bit, and secondly how important REALLY is having a dealer service? We generally trade in our vehicles and I've never really seen anyone look over the service handbook, but I do hear lots of people harp on about the importance of dealer service history. (It's the only SEAT dealer in our area so the only alternative is to go to a 3rd party, which I guess they know).

Thanks

neilmcl

You can't compare prices of two services on two different cars unless you know exactly what's involved. Was this a new car purchase or used and is it still under warranty.


It's usually a good idea to get a new car under warranty serviced by the main dealer for a number of reasons. Firstly you maintain a full manufacturer service history, which is important to some buyers. Secondly the dealer will be able to act on any recall work, which can quite often be missed if serviced independently. Finally, if you're in a situation where something goes wrong outside warranty you're more likely to get goodwill from the manufacturer if you have a full service history.

AdrianC

You don't say if you bought it new or used.

Inside the original factory warranty period, there is a benefit to dealer servicing - sure, the warranty is maintained if you get it serviced to factory standards by an independent, but there is zero chance of any goodwill after the warranty expires or on things that are borderline valid claims.

Outside? Nah. BUT if you have an approved-used warranty, that may require dealer servicing for the warranty to be valid.

SEAT is just a VW brand, so quite likely any VW brand dealer (Skoda, VW, Audi) will count as a dealer service.

As for comparing costs... look at the hourly labour rate.

JJ_Egan

As above .

Look at the warranty . First year definitely the dealer , then look around for non dealer servicing .

Dealer has tools and factory manuals that others may not have .

i use F1Autocenters for a major service with oil and tracking usually comes around £200 .

tacpot12

Private buyers will be very keen on there being a full service history, but typically won't care whether a Seat has been serviced at a main dealer or an independent VAG specialist. You will always find someone that will buy your car without a service history, but you won't get the best price for it. 

Remember that "a service" is not only the planned replacement of items that the manufacture knows will wear out, but also checking items that might be wearing prematurely or have lives that are very dependent on the number of miles the car drives. You will save money by having the services carried out according to the manufacturers recommendations. You don't need a main dealer to do this. I service my own Ford Mondeo in line with Ford's recommendations. The only thing I can't do at home is replace the  brake fluid. The Ford main dealer charges £40 for this, and it only needs doing every 4 years. 

BOWFER

neilmcl said:

 Secondly the dealer will be able to act on any recall work, which can quite often be missed if serviced independently. 

If it's a recall the owner should get a letter and there should be no chance for it to be "missed"
In a broader sense, this main dealer thing does do my head in, the 'fear' is still there despite years of laws protecting consumers.
I've had lease and PCP cars serviced by independents and none have kicked off about it.
Obviously I'm not concerned about any potential goodwill outside warranty on lease/PCP cars, but IMO it's a very tenuous reason to make people pay extra for the main dealer anyway.

maisie_cat

We kept our last cars 14 years and used the main dealer for the first 5 years where there was warranty, once there was no longer warranty we found a local garage to do the servicing. 

neilmcl

BOWFER said:

neilmcl said:

 Secondly the dealer will be able to act on any recall work, which can quite often be missed if serviced independently. 

If it's a recall the owner should get a letter and there should be no chance for it to be "missed"
In a broader sense, this main dealer thing does do my head in, the 'fear' is still there despite years of laws protecting consumers.
I've had lease and PCP cars serviced by independents and none have kicked off about it.
Obviously I'm not concerned about any potential goodwill outside warranty on lease/PCP cars, but IMO it's a very tenuous reason to make people pay extra for the main dealer anyway.

No, that only generally happens when there's an official safety recall. I'm referring to the general part recalls and 'enhancements' (or whatever they're called) that the manufacturer puts out at time to time that get picked up and worked on during the standard service schedule.

Username03725

BOWFER said:

neilmcl said:

 Secondly the dealer will be able to act on any recall work, which can quite often be missed if serviced independently. 

If it's a recall the owner should get a letter and there should be no chance for it to be "missed"

To add to neilmcl's's reply above, only major or safety recalls generate a letter, lesser issues that arise are dealt with during regular services or by arrangement when the vehicle is at a main dealer's for any other reason. Having seen the notification systems for  some major manufacturers I can only say that I was amazed at the number of issues that arise - some are v trivial, some more so but are not safety related so do not fall within a letter being issued. It's worth taking your car to a main dealer occasionally if you bought it as a used vehicle or if it's now slipped out of warranty and you have serviced at an independent, to check for any outstanding notifications.

BOWFER

Not recalls.

neilmcl

BOWFER said:

Not recalls.

They're often referred to as voluntary recalls, so yes recalls.