Does a FDSH really makes a difference when selling?

[MikeyD]

I am finally the owner of a car I have wanted for years, a mark4 R32. It's now got 55,000 miles with a full main dealer service history. It's due for a major service which at a main dealer is about £500! A VW specialist I have used before will do it for half that but then I don't get the main dealer stamp. It's seems a shame to break it's record but will it really make much difference to to resale value? I know when I was looking for the car I only went for ones that had a FSH but would a FDSH make me pay more??

I'd rather spend the cash on another trackday!

[LuS1fer]

No.

[Snowboy]

I would say that for the first 4 of 5 years of car age, Yes.

After that it might make a difference on a prestige or specialist car, but for a regular car it won’t matter.

[podwin]

It depends on the person who you will be selling it on to.

Some will care about, some won’t.

However, your car is more of a car for an enthusiast, and will probably look at service history and not necessarily care about whether it is from a VW dealer. I think they will actually prefer a VW independent specialist history.

Don’t worry about it, just look after it.

[Codswallop]

I doubt you would get back the extra if it had FDSH vs FSH given the service price differential tbh.

[BorkFactor]

Probably won't make any difference at all - so long as it has a full service history when it comes to selling it. I would actually prefer a car to have a history from a specialist than from a dealer!

[Vladimir]

I switched to an Indy as soon as my Defender warranty ran out. The 40k service was £370 instead of £605 and IMO, the Indy did a MUCH more thorough job.

I'm sure some main dealers are fine though.

[Krikkit]

I'll echo the above - buying a car like that I'd be looking for:
1) Specialist service history
2) Self-serviced car with bills etc included and good history
3) Dealer

[MikeyD]

Great thanks guys! I had been leaning this way already but was worried about throwing the cars rep away. It's been a while since I've had a car that actually should be looked after. That's £250 towards my next trackday! Well that will pay for the fuel anyway!

[POORCARDEALER]

Vladimir said:

I switched to an Indy as soon as my Defender warranty ran out. The 40k service was £370 instead of £605 and IMO, the Indy did a MUCH more thorough job.

I'm sure some main dealers are fine though.

This.

Some buyers want FMDSH on whatever the age of car, leave them to their clipboards and let them search, sensible buyers will want a good indy/local garage.

[kambites]

On anything remotely unusual, I'd rather see a specialist service history than a main dealer one - it somehow shows that the person who owned it took an interest in the car, rather than just mechanically taking it back to the dealer once a year.

Plus most of the main dealers I've had dealings with have been completely rubbish.

[RobCrezz]

Not to me. If its a high performance car, I would be more keen on servicing etc done by an independent specialist. If its a regular car, then as long as its been serviced and has detailed invoices then thats enough for me.

[Tonsko]

I take my R32 to a specialist in Northamptonshire and live in Shropshire. Far rather that than my local MD.