Servicing cost comparison

[michael gould]

goorwich said:

michael gould said:

I think the majority of main dealers will charge as much as they can get away with......i have said before that a pal of mine who is the owner of a large motor group commented to me that "it is the job of the service manager to maximise the profit from every car that enters his service department" Dealers make more profit from their service departments than from selling cars. My local dealer is happy to make a smaller profit from my car because its helping to cover his overheads. He will always get the fools in who will pay whatever bill he can slap on them.

I presume you take your Aston to a specialist mechanic that you trust.
In that case what are your feelings regarding resale/px values and the premise that main agent servicing adds value ?
I must add that I take my 1991 Virage too a trusted specialist mechanic but as I intend to px the DB9 after 2 years I am servicing at the Main Dealership.I do however realise that on a px you really can't win.

Edited by goorwich on Thursday 7th February 15:26

My car has always been serviced from new by Stratstones......and yes I do belive that it adds value when its time to sell

[Lunablack]

Lets do some sums....

Car needs a service every year... We need to make a few basic assumptions but lets see...

Assume 8 year old car...

So 8 services at a main dealer.... Average price.... A guess at £800 each total cost £6400

Now 8 services at an independent specialist. Average price.. A guess at £500... Total cost £4000

Difference £2400..

Now the question is, is the car worth £2400 less come trade in??

My guess would be no..... Both cars have FSH...

[v8woollie]

michael gould said:

My car has always been serviced from new by Stratstones......and yes I do belive that it adds value when its time to sell

I had an interesting discussion on this very topic this morning. I doubt a full dealer service history would carry as much weight if you sold your car to anyone here. A first rate independent (Trinity, BR, Nick Mee etc) service history would engender more confidence I suspect.

[krisdelta]

v8woollie said:

michael gould said:

My car has always been serviced from new by Stratstones......and yes I do belive that it adds value when its time to sell

I had an interesting discussion on this very topic this morning. I doubt a full dealer service history would carry as much weight if you sold your car to anyone here. A first rate independent (Trinity, BR, Nick Mee etc) service history would engender more confidence I suspect.

I think you're right, however I suspect the "we" on here are the vocal minority?

[goorwich]

Lunablack said:

Lets do some sums....

Car needs a service every year... We need to make a few basic assumptions but lets see...

Assume 8 year old car...

So 8 services at a main dealer.... Average price.... A guess at £800 each total cost £6400

Now 8 services at an independent specialist. Average price.. A guess at £500... Total cost £4000

Difference £2400..

Now the question is, is the car worth £2400 less come trade in??

My guess would be no..... Both cars have FSH...

I think it depends on the car ,the age ,whether it's a keeper or if say 2 to 5 years old and you intend to px within a couple of years. If I intended to keep a car for 8 years I would take the independent route as I took with the Virage.
There was no point in spending at a main dealer on a car that was only just holding it's money.

Edited by goorwich on Thursday 7th February 16:15

[v8woollie]

goorwich said:

I think it depends on the car ,the age ,whether it's a keeper or if say 2 to 5 years old and you intend to px within a couple of years. If I intended to keep a car for 8 years I would take the independent route as I took with the Virage.
There was no point in spending at a main dealer on a car that was only just holding it's money.

Edited by goorwich on Thursday 7th February 16:15

By the same token, I bought a 2007 V8V. It was at under half what it cost when new after five years. Having enquired, it would go back on the forecourt now at the same as I paid a year ago. I doubt using an independent versus a dealer for servicing will have much impact on the sale price as long as it has a full history and has been maintained by trained experts using genuine AM parts.

[v8woollie]

krisdelta said:

I think you're right, however I suspect the "we" on here are the informed minority?

EFA

[Lunablack]

Im not much of a flipper when it comes to cars....
My V8V is already 7 years old this year...... If I can't find a suitable replacement that tickles my fancy.. (And I have been looking).... I suspect I'll be still driving it for the next 5 years...)

Actually thinking about it, I had my TVR for over 10 years, my Jeep I've had for 7 years...the wife's Yaris was her mums bought in 2002, so that's 11 years old..(just turned 10k on the clock)... Even less than George.her previous Carina we had for 11 years...... Car dealers don't do much business with me....

[v8woollie]

Lunablack said:

Car dealers don't do much business with me....

Except when you keep buying cars

[Lunablack]

v8woollie said:

Except when you keep buying cars

I've only ever bought 1 car from a dealer....1986 fiesta XR2..

[michael gould]

Lunablack said:

Lets do some sums....

Car needs a service every year... We need to make a few basic assumptions but lets see...

Assume 8 year old car...

So 8 services at a main dealer.... Average price.... A guess at £800 each total cost £6400

Now 8 services at an independent specialist. Average price.. A guess at £500... Total cost £4000

Difference £2400..

Now the question is, is the car worth £2400 less come trade in??

My guess would be no..... Both cars have FSH...

There is no cost advantage having it serviced by say BR than Stratstone they quoted the same price (ish) and its a 130 mile drive to BR and only 35 mile drive to Stratstone........I agree however a 7 YO DB9 is not worth much more with a full main dealer service history but it might make it easier to sell

[yeti]

v8woollie said:

I doubt a full dealer service history would carry as much weight if you sold your car to anyone here. A first rate independent (Trinity, BR, Nick Mee etc) service history would engender more confidence I suspect.

So out of interest, what about someone unqualified who dismantles their engine without an idea what they're doing and then puts it all back together, again without an idea of what they're doing - just a workshop manual. What's the value of that car come sales time?

[MrCrazy]

Been away for a few days and didn't expect this number of responses to this question.

The only reason I asked the question was to kind if sense check the dealers prices and to be able to judge how much of a stiffing I was going to get.

I know that AM dealers will charge more as they do have considerable on costs and also they carry the burden of ensuring their technicians are kept fully trained - that doesn't come cheap.

There is no way that I would let any Independant service my car as, whilst I may make a saving, it is my opinion that the car would not be as saleable when the time comes to change.

Yes, the cars are expensive to maintain but we all know that when we buy them!

[steveatesh]

MrCrazy said:

Been away for a few days and didn't expect this number of responses to this question.

I did as Jon replied mentioning taking your own oil. I went a got some popcorn to watch the fun with

[v8woollie]

michael gould said:

There is no cost advantage having it serviced by say BR than Stratstone they quoted the same price (ish) and its a 130 mile drive to BR and only 35 mile drive to Stratstone........I agree however a 7 YO DB9 is not worth much more with a full main dealer service history but it might make it easier to sell

No cost advantage indeed. Grange would have matched the BR price too. However, there is a level of expertise and attention to detail that only the best independents have, and BR are probably at the top of the tree given their background. Very few if any dealerships have engineers trained to the level of the BR guys or with such a complete understanding of the Gaydon era Astons. That coupled with an hourly labour rate at half the dealer rate and their expertise becomes more cost effective to take advantage of.

That said, I am very happy with Grange and for any warranty work that is required I would have no hesitation in letting them take care of it.

[yeti]

v8woollie said:

However, there is a level of expertise and attention to detail that only the best independents have, and BR are probably at the top of the tree given their background. Very few if any dealerships have engineers trained to the level of the BR guys or with such a complete understanding of the Gaydon era Astons.

Well said. It's the difference between people who've 'done a training course' to the people who helped design and build the cars. No contest.

You can lead a horse to water...

[michael gould]

v8woollie said:

michael gould said:

There is no cost advantage having it serviced by say BR than Stratstone they quoted the same price (ish) and its a 130 mile drive to BR and only 35 mile drive to Stratstone........I agree however a 7 YO DB9 is not worth much more with a full main dealer service history but it might make it easier to sell

No cost advantage indeed. Grange would have matched the BR price too. However, there is a level of expertise and attention to detail that only the best independents have, and BR are probably at the top of the tree given their background. Very few if any dealerships have engineers trained to the level of the BR guys or with such a complete understanding of the Gaydon era Astons. That coupled with an hourly labour rate at half the dealer rate and their expertise becomes more cost effective to take advantage of.

That said, I am very happy with Grange and for any warranty work that is required I would have no hesitation in letting them take care of it.

I totaly get this and Im sure BR would at least as good a job, if not better than a main dealer, but, for me to take a day off work to take it to BR would cost me a considerable sum in lost time (more than the cost of the service)

[yeti]

michael gould said:

I totaly get this and Im sure BR would at least as good a job, if not better than a main dealer, but, for me to take a day off work to take it to BR would cost me a considerable sum in lost time (more than the cost of the service)

Can't argue with that

[Bravo73]

MrCrazy said:

There is no way that I would let any Independant service my car as, whilst I may make a saving, it is my opinion that the car would not be as saleable when the time comes to change.

MrCrazy by name, MrCrazy by nature.

[v8woollie]

michael gould said:

I totaly get this and Im sure BR would at least as good a job, if not better than a main dealer, but, for me to take a day off work to take it to BR would cost me a considerable sum in lost time (more than the cost of the service)

Understandable. For me I love the opportunity to drive to Halford as it is a good drive for me, I love the full english breakfast at the Halford Hotel and in an hour on the train I am back at my desk in London.

Drop off at 8am, in London by 9:30. Perfect