Re-sale value with full dealer service history?

[Thekilt]

SO, not Volvo related (Jag) but it has got me thinking. The Jag dealer has quoted us £477 for an interim service this if for all filters (including pollen and fuel) and also apparently Air con service and fuel additive.

This got me thinking, say we have the car for 2 years, we spend almost £1,000 on servicing over the two years with a jag dealer for the service history, is the car really going to be worth that much more with a Dealer service history rather than a local garage service?

Would you pay X amount more for a dealer service history?

If it was more of a run around car i would be doing the service myself, but I would prefer to keep a stamp in the book when it does come to sell.

[Polestar Pete]

I don't think so.

The last service I did on my Macan before I part-exed it was from a tire shop (they quoted me hundreds of pounds less than Porsche). The dealership didn't bat an eyelid and didn't offer me less of a trade-in value because of that. Trade-in value seemed to be mainly based on condition and mileage.

[Thekilt]

Originally Posted by Polestar Pete

I don't think so.

The last service I did on my Macan before I part-exed it was from a tire shop (they quoted me hundreds of pounds less than Porsche). The dealership didn't bat an eyelid and didn't offer me less of a trade-in value because of that. Trade-in value seemed to be mainly based on condition and mileage.

That was my thought. therefore no point paying extortionate pricing at dealers on a car of this age. we feel we will keep this one at least until the wife goes back to work and starts earing so we can buy an electric car.

[TeamG]

Until very recently, I always serviced all my vehicles myself, even from new. I keep them in good condition and specifically clean (inside, outside, engine bay and underneath). Dealers have never questioned my own service stamp (I’m VAT registered, but nothing to do with the motor trade and I tell them that). Ford have honoured the warranty on two cars as I used Ford parts and followed their service schedule which they printed for me each year free of charge.

Only recently have I paid a dealer to do this. Citroen printed a tailored service schedule for my wife’s 2019 Grand C4 Spacetourer based on her annual mileage, plus listed each part number for me to source cheaper if I fancied. When they offered to do a 2 year major service including cabin filters, brake fluid change etc for £215, it wasn’t worth my effort to do it myself. Toyota have also provided a schedule for my Aygo with no questions, advised on part numbers for service items and offered discounted parts if I went through them.

Volvo on the other hand…. Their dealers cannot give me a straight answer on the required service items (have phoned a few that contradicted each other). They are also not prepared to give me any discount on parts “you’re not a trader, then you don’t get a discount” and won’t provide me any part numbers as I may “try to get them cheaper on ebay”.

[XC90Mk1]

I think it’s generally accepted that most main dealers are actually pretty shoddy when it comes to servicing etc and no, no one will pay to have the history.

I always put a file together of each item I buy (keep the invoices) and the miles/date (I write it in the service book and sign) and always find people very happy when I sell my car.

Independents also are respected. I would use a main dealer for the first 2 years as that’s when the updates and such like come into play which you won’t get from others. But to be honest you have to be pretty silly to pay their prices.

I recently bought genuine front pads for the Volvo. Retail £90, I paid £55 with discount from local dealers. Take it there and they will charge £90 for the pads and 45 minutes Labour at £200 an hour and then ‘ancilliaries’. All a main dealer is good for is 2 things. Software updates and turning £55 jobs into £275 pound jobs whilst paying a school leaver £9 an hour.

Do it for the first 2 years then clear off.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Thekilt

SO, not Volvo related (Jag) but it has got me thinking. The Jag dealer has quoted us £477 for an interim service this if for all filters (including pollen and fuel) and also apparently Air con service and fuel additive.

This got me thinking, say we have the car for 2 years, we spend almost £1,000 on servicing over the two years with a jag dealer for the service history, is the car really going to be worth that much more with a Dealer service history rather than a local garage service?

Would you pay X amount more for a dealer service history?

If it was more of a run around car i would be doing the service myself, but I would prefer to keep a stamp in the book when it does come to sell.

Full dealer history doesn't mean much come sale time... it looks good on paper, but the value of the car doesn't increase by what you've spent on servicing at a main dealer come sale time (maybe a bit more, but not worth talking about really). If you add all what you've spent on servicing over the course of ownership vs how much extra (if anything) you'll get on a trade in or via private sale, then really dealership history isn't worth the paper its written on.

Whilst a car is under warranty, it makes sense to go to the main dealer for servicing & software updates. After its expired, there's no point. Although, you don't have to go to the main dealer whilst a car is under warranty either... you can go to an independent Jag garage & the warranty won't be affected because they specialise in those particular vehicles like the dealership & use Jag parts also like the dealership.

So to answer your question... no the car won't be worth much more with dealer service history in comparison to a local garage service.

Would I pay x amount more for car with dealer service history? No... I don't trust dealerships. They overcharge for basic work & are only interested in one thing... your credit card or cash. I'd rather see piles of DIY receipts being honest... that shows to me someone has tried to save a few quid by doing their own work, as they didn't want to throw it away by paying through the roof at a dealership. That type of sale would suit me more & I'd have more appreciation for it. Show me a book full of stamps, that doesn't interest me one bit.

[DaveNP]

The difference I would expect from a Dealer Service History would be possibly a slightly easier/quicker private sale rather than any added money. Given the poor reputation a lot of main dealers seem to have to many they might be less appealing than a good independent.
One thing that would put me off would be Polestar Pete's servicing by a tire shop, my son was given my sister's old car, recently 'serviced' by the tyre shop that fits you up kwikly, when we went over it there was no evidence of the new spark plugs that were on the latest bill, and the overall condition was what I'd expect of a car with no service history, it did have some very nice performance tyres which cost nearly twice as much as the ones on my V70, which seemed a bit excessive on a Peogeot 207.

[Polestar Pete]

Yeah, I totally get this, I would be cautious of servicing a car with just a random tire shop.

1) I have a good relationship with the guys working there - they’ve looked after my tires for years without ripping me off.
2) It was the last service before handing it over at the end of the PCP deal. Said deal didn’t demand main dealer servicing.

[Thekilt]

Thanks for all the feedback. Given we feel that we will keep this car for a while now, unless circumstances change or it breaks, we will go with a local garage for the service. A lot cheaper and also means i can get my bike forks serviced which is a bonus as the Jag service would have eaten into that pot of money!

Cheers

[DaveNP]

Originally Posted by Polestar Pete

Yeah, I totally get this, I would be cautious of servicing a car with just a random tire shop.

1) I have a good relationship with the guys working there - they’ve looked after my tires for years without ripping me off.
2) It was the last service before handing it over at the end of the PCP deal. Said deal didn’t demand main dealer servicing.

To be fair the work that I have had done recently on the V70 was by the workshop arm of the local independent tyre shop that I've used for years now, they have a good reputation for honesty and customer service, they started with the tyre fitting, exhausts and brakes under the name 'The Garage' and opened the workshop recently as there was a demand for their approach to fixing cars.
I can see the advantage of using the cheapest option if it was just to get a stamp in the book at the end of a PCP deal, I suspect if it goes on to be resold by a Porsche dealer they will give it a full service anyway for their own protection.