Importance of a more expensive dealer service

neilmcl

Username03725 said:

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.

As an example, the not so recent BMW EGR valve recall never generated any letters and if I wasn't a clued up owner who got his car serviced at the dealer I would more than likely not come across it until it was too late and I had a very expensive repair to fork out for.

BOWFER

neilmcl said:

BOWFER said:

Not recalls.

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

Nothing that is 'left until you're in sometime' is a recall.
If it is, next time I'm recalled to work I will remember to just saunter in when I feel like it.

JGB1955

When I bought my Ford car (pre-registered with 5 miles on the clock) I told them that they would never see it again. That worked fine.

molerat

Goodwill

Software updates.  Modern cars are computers with wheels and unless the indy is willing to pay for access they are not going to do them

I get 12mths full breakdown / recovery with a dealer service.

Speedster2

My Skoda Octavia is nearly 8 years old now. The only time it has been serviced outside of the dealer network was last year when they were closed because of C-19, so I went to a Good Garage Scheme independent who I’d used for servicing a previous car.
I’m still happy to go to the dealer, I get decent customer service from the local team, undoubted knowledge of the brand (they are run by the biggest multi-marque franchise in the Southwest inc VW) standard parts prices and a clear servicing price structure. I think the car is benefiting from dealer service compared with cars I’ve owned but just had serviced ad-hoc, and will maintain its value better than ones serviced at independents.

[Deleted User]

If I was buying a brand new car from a dealer then I'd most definitely be getting it serviced from the main dealer and making sure that book is stamped.

If it's an old used car with patchy history that you plan to run to the end then it doesn't really matter where you go or who does it.

dilby

Thanks for the replies everyone - lots to go through there. The car wasn’t new but a year old when I got it. I hadn’t considered the computer side of things - are computer updates generally part of a dealer service these days?

greyteam1959

You could try the 'how much !! ' line with the dealership.
You might be surprised at the discount they will offer.

oscarward

My wife’s 4yo Lexus gets a year of manufacturer warranty every time she has it serviced by an official dealer.  My 5 yo jag Is serviced by an main dealer under the 3 + year plan for not much more than an indie would charge.

ontheroad1970

oscarward said:

My wife’s 4yo Lexus gets a year of manufacturer warranty every time she has it serviced by an official dealer.

Had this with Mercedes Approved too.