Having just booked in my car for a dealer service and facing a large bill as its a timing belt change, I was pondering when it's no longer worth having an official franchise stamp in the book.
I guess the answer is different with prestige marques and exotica but for a run of the mill car when is the premium no longer worth it?
Is there any solid evidence from Glass' etc.?
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I'd say five years tops, unless needed for bodywork warranty.
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Good question, especially with the Legacy.
If it was a Ford or similar, I would say that any competant mechanic could service the car after the warranty period expired without losing sleep or value. Personally, I would prefer to have the Subaru serviced by a service agent at least five years and possibly older. Mind you, with values plummetting - who cares anyway.
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about when the resale value of the car falls to about 25-30% of its original purchase price.
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That feels like a good rule of thumb. Is it based on anything other than gut feel?
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Gut feel, its about the level I wouldnt look for one or assume it was there if I was buying. The %level kinda works all the way up the price range for me.
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I suspect it depends quite a lot on your usage and buying habits. I could see a reasonable argument for main dealer servicing if it is your habit to buy brand new every two or three years and you don't do an excessive mileage. That may well contribute positively to the resale value.
For my own part, I never use main dealers now, even for the servicing of new cars or those still under warranty. On older ones or second hand ones I never have.
My circumstances are unusual though in that I do a high mileage and tend to keep my cars for a long time. Usually they are as good as worthless anyway when I do sell them. I do however, rigidly stick to the service schedule but use an independent service garage.
For example my Mondeo which I bought at 35k and has now gone north of 150k has never been to a Ford garage while I've had it. It has never let me down and its total servicing costs for "my" 120,000 or so miles have only just exceeded £1200. I have all the bills and could prove to a prospective buyer that the appropriate work has been carried out. Not sure how those costs would have compared had I used the main dealer but I'm pretty sure I've saved a fair bit.
Likewise, my wife's nearly five year old Ka which we have had from new has only ever had servicing at the same indy. It too has never had any problems.
We usually take what I like to call the "washing machine" view of car purchase. That is to say, use it until it can not be economically used/repaired any more and then buy another one. In those circumstances, I believe main dealer servicing is an expense I can easily live without.
As I said at the start though, different circumstances or buying habits might well make the alternative case.
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If I were buying a second hand car over 3 years old, I would much prefer seeing a pile (hopefully small) of bills from an indy to a couple of stamps in a book. You would have a good idea of the care the previous owner had taken as well as knowing when items like cam belts had been changed.
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I would much prefer seeing a pile (hopefully small) of bills
Ditto, but I apply that rule at any age. Whether the bills are from Authorised or Indy garage, or indeed self-serviced, does not matter. The value is what I think the car is worth to me based on the market, and I do not allow any premium for Dealer Stamps.
I have never been asked to show service history when selling, it is something I have presented in a neat file and no one has bothered to thumb through the file.
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Thanks for the replies - I wish I'd had this thought last week before booking it in and I would have been a good few quid better off.....
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but it was a cam belt change on a scooby. Unless you have a scooby specialist nearby woud you trust it to your average indy garage?
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No sweat - the mighty Woodhouse garage in Norden, Rochdale were on standy to fix Apollo 13 if Lovell had fluffed it.
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No sweat - the mighty Woodhouse garage in Norden Rochdale were on standy to fix Apollo 13 if Lovell had fluffed it.
the local yooth would have had the wheels off before the heat sheild cooled down.
Come to think of it, they probably had the copper wiring away in the oxygen tanks.
Edited by Altea Ego on 05/01/2009 at 14:14
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