Mazda Servicing - Mazda dealer or independant?

My Mazda 6 is ready for its 75k mile service. Mazda dealer wants around £260 for this and of course I get my service book stamped (its up to date so far from previous owners who had it "officially" serviced by Mazda dealers)

There are independant servicing companies that I've spotted on the net who claim they will also stamp the book once the job is done eg. Prestige Car Servicing - around £220 for this but they do collect and return the car in that price.

Which one should I go for? ie. is having the book stamped really worth the money in the long run (residual values when I come to sell on the car?) or should I just get it serviced partly myself (oil/filter change etc.) and perhaps more complicated bits at a local garage and forgo the book stamping.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Andy

Reply to
Andy Pandy
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It depends greatly on how long you intend keeping it.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Your Mazda dealer may also do this. A saving of just £40 isn't much really - I'd hope it would be less...

"It depends." £220 for an independent is expensive here. But *anybody* will stamp the book. It still doesn't mean much unless the garage have done what they're supposed to do.

For my Saab, the main dealers charge around £95 an hour for labour. Specialists various charge between £40 to £46 per hour. So far in my experience, the specialist I've used has charged around 110% of the price for parts compared with the main dealer. I still save a fortune.

I can save more by using say

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(or another supplier for engine oil), but there comes a time spent / stuff carried to the garage / effort / cost implications.

Reply to
DervMan

If the car is still in warranty or not long out of it I always recommend a main dealer. You might need a goodwill payment from the manufacturer.

After that you can choose who you use. I would always use someone who knows something about your car though.

You should also make sure they stamp the service book and give you an itemised invoice showing what type of oil was used and parts details. This will reassure any future owner that you have maintained it and the mileage is genuine.

I prefer to use genuine filters/parts as this gives future buyers peace of mind too.

The cost of main dealer servicing for older cars is not always prohibitive. We cannot compete with someone working from a shed or in the street (we have premises and =A3000s of special tools for starters) but we can compete with specialists. We are not always cheaper but we are normally similar.

Ask for a deal and a fixed price wherever you go.

Alan

Reply to
Alan

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