dealer servicing vs independants

An 02 plate Yaris should still be in warranty. Not much choice then.

Hmm. Independants, unless they're specialists in a make, tend to miss some items on servicing that need changing such as crankcase ventilation valves etc. They tend only to do the main stuff you can DIY as well as checking bushes/brakes.

A good idea is to do one at an independent then the next at main dealer. Also get jobs like brake fluid changes and suspension bush replacements done at independents.

make sure and use genuine Toyota oil filter and proper rated oil

Why? EU regulations now prevent a manufacturer from insisting that services during warranty are carried out at a franchised dealer.

What always bothers me: How do we know that service departments use proper rated oils? Usually they put 5L on the bill whatever; my engine block will only take 4L max.

True, but I'd bet it'd be one hell of a lot harder to make a warranty claim if you'd done all your own servicing (always using genuine parts) or got a local garage to do it, compared to having had the main dealer service it. Also, if there's something that was affected by a recall the dealers, in theory, would always have the latest recall information and perform the neccessary replacement before it caused a problem, something a local garage might not be bang up to date with information on.

In theory I know they should directly inform customers of recalls etc etc. and there shouldn't be any difference in theory, but I'd wager that in practise it doesn't work like that (more regarding warranty claims than recalls). I'm just speculating, as I've never owned a car within a warranty period, but if I did own a brand new car, I'd figure out how many miles I'd be doing within the warranty period, and factor in the expense of main dealer servicing (including things like cambelts) into my costs before I bought the thing. I've heard so many people who've bought a new car whinge about the next service costing £400 cos it needs a cambelt and they can't afford it (and such like) - IMHO these people shouldn't own cars if they don't know what they cost to run.

Peter

so contest it

Or ask for the rest of it! You paid for it. Useful for top ups or the lawn mower. Collect 4/5 leftovers and get a free oil change - hand them the oil to put in and check they don't charge you for your own oil. If they say you can't have it as it all comes out of a big

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Not always true.

They prevent it when the manufacturer is honouring any warranty themselves. Many of the imported marques use a UK finance house to underwrite the warranty (Mitsubishi for example) - and the UK company acts as an importer only. If you have to claim on the warranty at any point, the franchised dealer deals with this with the warranty provider, which is not always the manufacturer.

Different for cars originating in the EU etc.

Cheers Dan