Car service - Do I HAVE to go back to the dealer?
- Thread starter Ripper
- Start date
Not true if it's a factory warranty.
It's only a Ford Focus. Any garage can service one of those. And warranty is not affected if they use OEM parts.
It can mean the difference of paying barely £150 to paying £300 or more at a dealer.
That's new then? Seat refused to cover my car under warranty because Ford serviced it before they sold it to me.
2010 IIRC. Regardless though, there is no guarantee that going to a non-franchised dealer is good for the car. Don't forget that a non-franchised dealer may not have the right diagnostic software and certainly won't be aware of any technical updates, recalls or service bulletins that might have cropped up.
I still maintain that if you can afford a brand new car, you can afford to get it looked after properly (and maintain the utmost of its resuduals - ie. is it worth saving £50 on a service to lose £200 of value?)
Ah right, fair enough. Mine was late 2009/early 2010. Basically a month after I bought the car the ECU went wrong. It was only just in warranty, but as when I bought it from Ford they serviced it, Seat refused to touch the ECU under warranty and wanted £1200.
In the end I had a big argument with Ford and they paid it. But I was explicitly told that their service was the reason for voiding the warranty.
Interesting to know it's changed since mind.
In the end I had a big argument with Ford and they paid it. But I was explicitly told that their service was the reason for voiding the warranty.
Interesting to know it's changed since mind.
This.
It seems like a no brainer to take out a service plan these days when buying a new car. In fact i would try and negotiate that into the price
This.
It seems like a no brainer to take out a service plan these days when buying a new car. In fact i would try and negotiate that into the price
You end up paying for it one way or another though. Be it inflated purchase price or higher cost of servicing.
What happens if the dealer goes bump, are you left with nothing then?
I would just get it done by the dealers, saves any hassle down the line. Our car needs wheel alignment after hitting a pothole. I'm having the dealers do it as otherwise it is a massive can of worms with regards to blame.
If I took it somewhere else and they tracked it wrong, or damaged the steering rack, or a million other things, I don't want it to come and bite me on the arse for the sake of a few dollars.
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from experience, a dealer will be more likely to fix something they "technically" don't have to for free if you've used them since buying the car from them.
At my work (indi) we regularly service cars that are still covered by manufacturers warranty, we do however use genuine parts when doing so.
We actually usually refuse to do any none manufacturer warranty jobs unless its one where the customer pays us, then its up to the customer to claim it back from their warranty company. This is due to the hours and hours we have spent on the phone to companies in the past while they make us jump through hoops and give the car's entire life history.
Most recently - Broken spring on rear of Mitsibushi Shogun 3 years old. "which spring was it, do you think they were towing, what caused the break, do you think it could have been a pothole etc etc etc. I hate them, trying to find a way out of paying out for a claim, ended up being very rude to the person on the phone and hanging up.
At my work (indi) we regularly service cars that are still covered by manufacturers warranty, we do however use genuine parts when doing so.
We actually usually refuse to do any none manufacturer warranty jobs unless its one where the customer pays us, then its up to the customer to claim it back from their warranty company. This is due to the hours and hours we have spent on the phone to companies in the past while they make us jump through hoops and give the car's entire life history.
Most recently - Broken spring on rear of Mitsibushi Shogun 3 years old. "which spring was it, do you think they were towing, what caused the break, do you think it could have been a pothole etc etc etc. I hate them, trying to find a way out of paying out for a claim, ended up being very rude to the person on the phone and hanging up.
IIRC the VW one is £329 or thereabouts, for 3 years or 30,000 miles worth of services.
Given that's likely to be 3 services, unless they're doing main dealer services for £100, then it's much better value.
If the dealer goes bump, you go to a different one. Unless you've bought something exotic, you rarely have to travel far to find another dealer.
Take it to a different one?
But are you buying the servicing from the dealership itself or the manufacturer?
If the dealership goes bump then you are out of pocket.
Usually you are buying it from a group. Such as in Audi Macclesfield's case, Inchcape Retail.
The likelyhood of this group of dealers going bump is minimal seeing as they own hundreds (if not thousands) of dealerships across multiple countries.
Caporegime
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Couple of thoughts. Just because you can afford it, doesn't mean you should spend it. That's how wealthy people really think.
Secondly, lol at the suggestion that getting it done properly means getting it done at a ford dealership. The two are almost mutually exclusive and I'd rather get it done at a trusted independent any day.
Secondly, lol at the suggestion that getting it done properly means getting it done at a ford dealership. The two are almost mutually exclusive and I'd rather get it done at a trusted independent any day.