As motorists we all dread the day when our cars start making 'a noise'. Sometimes it can be a knocking noise, sometimes it's a high pitched squealing noise, but whatever kind of sound it is, it’s sure to strike fear into the heart of most of us car drivers and make us fear for the contents of our bank accounts.
There's not really much that you can do to stop your car from having problems now and again, but you can make sure that you keep it in tip top condition by having regular services carried out on it, and getting problems looked at as soon as they start. The longer you leave a problem for, the more likely it is to develop into something more serious - not to mention far more expensive. The whole point in regular car servicing is because these items that get changed during servicing intervals have come to the end of their shelf life so to speak and are no longer effective. Therefore filters, oil, break pads, disks etc need changing/replacing.
Getting My Car Serviced
When it comes to servicing your car, do you go to a main dealer or should you find an independent garage to do the job for you? It's really a matter of personal choice. Since October 2003, the European Regulations that surround new car services have changed to allow new car owners to go somewhere other than the franchised dealer to have their vehicle serviced during the warranty period. However, if you choose to do this, you still need to get the car serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and only use their approved parts to carry out any necessary repairs. This new ruling allows car owners to shop around for more competitive quotes for servicing of their vehicle.
If you go to somewhere outside the main dealer network, then you must make sure that you keep records that will prove to the manufacturer that you have adhered to their service and preferred parts criteria to ensure that your warranty is still valid. IE your servicing book is stamped at the required service schedule, invoices kept to prove parts used and obviously only genuine manufacturer parts are used.
Registered Dealers
As you’re probably already aware, registered or main dealers are often more expensive than the smaller, independent garages.
One of the reasons for this is that the design of new cars is becoming increasingly sophisticated all the time, and in many cases, body parts are often being put together in units. This means that rather than being able to repair a small part - for example, if you need to replace the glass on a headlight, then you'd have to replace the entire headlamp unit. This, as you'd expect can make it much, much more expensive to carry out the repairs and can be a real problem if you don‘t have the expertise to do it.
In addition to this, many new cars have a computerised element - some are controlled in almost every aspect by an on-board computer, while others have just a little computerisation. When things go wrong around these elements, the job may end up being far more complex than you first thought - and it will usually need the specialist training that a main dealer will have to check it out and fix it properly. If someone tries a quick fix, they‘re likely to make things far worse in the long run. A specialist independent garage will have the expertise and equipment to carry out the repairs as opposed to a general car garage - do your research online to find a specialist independent garage in your area.
Because of their specialised experience, main dealers often have highly-trained and specialised staff - who can cost more to employ than non-specialist mechanics. This means that you can often save a significant amount of money on repairs and services by going to an independent dealer rather than a main dealer. However, its worth noting that independent garages who specialse in certain makes like ACC UK Ltd of Farnborough Hampshire who are Independent Volvo & Toyota specialists have Motor Vehicle Technicians who have trained in those makes so have the experience and expertise of the main dealers.
It will generally be cheaper to have your car serviced outside of the main dealer network, however you must be careful. Get recommendations, if possible, ask your friends or colleagues to recommend you a good garage that they have used. You need to find a good, trustworthy mechanic, and not someone who will make up all kinds of problems and then charge you the earth for them.
If you find yourself a good mechanic, then you've struck gold and you can save yourself a lot of money, however in some cases, such as those mentioned above, they won't have the specialist equipment or expertise to be able to fix your problem - and in those circumstances they should refer you back to the Main Dealer rather than try to fix it themselves. Using a specialised independent garage such as ACC UK Ltd of Farnborough Hampshire will help keep your costs down - they specialise in Volvo & Toyota but have the knowledge and expertise to cover all makes and models. A true independent specialist such as themselves have all the latest diagnostic equipment to trace faults quickly and efficiently so that problems can be identified quickly, thus saving you money. An independent garage who specialises in particular makes of vehicle usually have fully trained vehicle technicians who have years of experience with that particular make as opposed to a general run of the mill garage - so its best to seek out an independent specialist garage as opposed to a jack of all trades! Happy Motoring!
