main dealers or independant for mot/servicing

[Bevii3]

Hi all, im looking at a 2015 leon 1.4 act tomorrow, and if i go through with the purchase what do you all recommend when it comes to servicing and mot's? do you use independant or main dealers? personally ive always avoided main dealers and only buy the car through them. but if you all say otherwise when/if i get this car ill stick to using the main dealer.

I always hear bad things about main dealers especially a few local to me in the fact the will find problems (maybe even make them) to build up costs. Even if the basic costs are already extortionate.

Thanks, im interested in hearing any views

 

[Deleted member 103408]

I never use main dealers only local guys who have good reputation and keep me happy with the work they do on my car.

Some say that it affects resale value, personally I have never found that to be the case but i guess if you have full dealer service vs local people prefer the main dealer.

From my personal experience and from what i have seen on here a lot of main dealers really dont know the cars.

Find yourself a good VAG specialist to look after your car.

 

[Bevii3]

thanks for the response, I agree with you. im part exchanging my current car which i've had just over a year and the 1 service and mot i had was with my normal trustworthy independent dealer. and when getting valuations I always get asked if it has main dealer full history and they always seem to use that as an excuse to offer me less. but this car will be one I keep so shouldnt worry to much about resale.

Although whenever I look online at the carswith ACT and I never seem to see any higher mileage ones which always makes me sceptical

 

[Deleted member 103408]

Afraid I dont know the 1.4 very well but are you looking manual or DSG box with it.

 

[Bevii3]

Afraid I dont know the 1.4 very well but are you looking manual or DSG box with it.

manual

 

[Deleted member 103408]

That's good as the 7 speed DSG has a bad reputation.

 

[IbizaNI]

thanks for the response, I agree with you. im part exchanging my current car which i've had just over a year and the 1 service and mot i had was with my normal trustworthy independent dealer. and when getting valuations I always get asked if it has main dealer full history and they always seem to use that as an excuse to offer me less. but this car will be one I keep so shouldnt worry to much about resale.

Although whenever I look online at the carswith ACT and I never seem to see any higher mileage ones which always makes me sceptical

Just a theory but maybe it's so good that owners like to keep a hold of them rather than get rid of them at high mileages? Probably no truth to that at all but remember people who do high mileages tend to get a diesel.

I've had my 2015 1.4 EcoTSI for about 6 months now and I don't see why I should get rid of it, mechanically sound, nothing wrong with it, good balance of power and efficiency too in my opinion. I plan to keep mine for about 3-4 years and intend to have all non-wear and tear related maintenance sorted out by the dealer, I forked out for a Seat extended warranty so if non-wear and tear stuff goes wrong, I'll know maintenance was done by a Seat dealer and they can't wiggle out of any warranty work. Stuff like brake discs, pads, clutches etc. I'll go to a Seat specialist near me or even a mate I know who's a mechanic as it'll be much cheaper than going to the dealers.

 

[Dr.Dash]

Find yourself a good VAG specialist to look after your car.

This.
I've owned VW Group cars for 20 years and my experience of Main Dealers is generally poor. Servicing has frequently missed items, or tried to charge for things not done, failed to reset service indicators or marked the service book incorrectly etc. Not exactly life changing issues but indicative of a lax attitude.

Independent specialists actually seem to know what they are doing, do it on time and correctly at about 2/3's of the cost. I currently use Midland VW. Only had one service with them, but couldn't be happier with the level of service, and that's been my experience of using independent specialists over the years.

 

[Walpurgis]

One minor point in favour of dealer servicing is that you get a year's free UK and European roadside assistance thrown in (they say it's worth £245!). Obviously, if you already have roadside assistance by paying for it direct or get it "free" with a bank account, this is of no benefit.

According to Seat's servicing brochure, you should also get a video service report and a free wash and vacuum - but I got neither of these with my last dealer service. You may need to book the service online to qualify for these benefits. But when I tried to book online for my last service, the Seat Web site was down so I ended up booking directly with the dealer who arranged the roadside assistance.