Dealership Service Stamp - Is it worth it?

[Chaddie]

My XC70 D5 is due its second service in the next few weeks, so I've phoned a few dealership for a 2nd yr service quote and they range for £300-£400 (with haggling) while a Volvo specialist is quoting under £200.

A few thoughts; I'm planning next summer to see what deal I can get on a new (I'd guess another XC70) and if it's so good I'll trade it in for a new one (for Sept. 14), if I feel the deal isn't worth it than I'll keep this one for at least another 3yrs. Also my car is very low mileage so its no where near the 36k miles service (not even half that), its just that its now 2yrs old & Volvo state 18k miles or 12months whichever is first.....

So, is it really worth paying £100+ for a service just to get a Dealership Stamp in the book; if I was to trade it in next year would it really make a difference if it was Dealership or Volvo Specialist as long as its been serviced and has been stamped? As far as I'm aware it should effect the Volvo warranty or does it? And as for the "Free" RAC cover if serviced at a dealership, I have RAC cover included as part of my Bank Account, so I feel that doesn't add any extra value to me.

What's people's thoughts on where best to get this second service; if I still have the car this time next year I'd be leaning towards the Volvo Specialist since its out of warranty etc.

[V70 Stuart]

its not worth it moneywise, but for resale value people prefer to see a fully stamped dealer service book, even though it would probably get looked after better at an independant. just sold my range rover and got the price knocked down because SH was half dealer and half indie

[John_C]

If you don't get it serviced at a dealer then forget any goodwill gestures for out of warranty claims. That's about it, as long as the specialist services it to the Volvo schedule using OEM parts and the right oil with an itemised VAT receipt to prove it then your warranty is intact. Also be aware you may miss out on updates/service campaigns to fix known issues which don't warrant a full recall.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/general-advice/car-servicing-and-repair-faqs.html#dealer

[tt82]

Hmm, 1 Year Volvo Assistance Breakdown Cover which includes Europe. Comparable to any RAC/AA/Etc policy without personal cover. Also updates the car's computer. These combined will cost you over £100.

[Chaddie]

its not worth it moneywise, but for resale value people prefer to see a fully stamped dealer service book, even though it would probably get looked after better at an independant. just sold my range rover and got the price knocked down because SH was half dealer and half indie


This was my though, how much would they knock off......if its traded in next year then it could workout overall to get it serviced at the main dealers, but if I keep it and trade it in when it 6yrs+ old I'd guess it wouldn't be as important.

[Clan]

its not worth it moneywise, but for resale value people prefer to see a fully stamped dealer service book, even though it would probably get looked after better at an independant. just sold my range rover and got the price knocked down because SH was half dealer and half indie

I'm not quite sure what the logic is there , how can an independant possibly look after a volvo better than a dealer ? Surely it's the lower cost
( sometimes but not always ) of an independant which attracts his customers ? Generaly speaking that is ...
Yes the genuine stamp in the book is certainly very helpful if you are unlucky enough to have a major bill after the warranty has run out .

[Chaddie]

Hmm, 1 Year Volvo Assistance Breakdown Cover which includes Europe. Comparable to any RAC/AA/Etc policy without personal cover. Also updates the car's computer. These combined will cost you over £100.

My Bank Account gives my Full Personal European RAC Breakdown Cover, so that's not important to me; the computer updates are, however I asked last year for the Sensus System to be upgraded from v2 to v3 and it wasn't, I asked again when it when for for something else (it was in for 2 days, so they had time) and it wasn't....if they had said 'well that's an extra so will cost you X' then it would be my decision but I wasn't. So I'm not convinced with Volvo's Software Update Promise....

[A lex]

Ive just faced the same dilemma and plumped for the dealer.

Why...?

-Volvo assist is worth about €150 to me.

-The dealer incl. any software updates.

-It certainly does affect resale; if not in value, certainly in 'ease of sale'

-Volvo goodwill could come in very handy some day.

I know that on a purely technical/mechanical basis my indy would do an equal or better job, but on a car that still holds reasonable worth, a non-dealer stamp (rightly or wrongly) will put off a % of buyers.

I would never use the dealer for mechanical repairs, but for the yearly stamp on a newish car, they get the business.

[Clan]

My Bank Account gives my Full Personal European RAC Breakdown Cover, so that's not important to me; the computer updates are, however I asked last year for the Sensus System to be upgraded from v2 to v3 and it wasn't, I asked again when it when for for something else (it was in for 2 days, so they had time) and it wasn't....if they had said 'well that's an extra so will cost you X' then it would be my decision but I wasn't. So I'm not convinced with Volvo's Software Update Promise....

The service promise software is fine its all automatic the dealer cant influence what is done ..
The Sensus is a different kettle of fish it's very complex with 3 modules to be updated and is nothing to do with the rest of the cars functions . It takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes to update and someone has got to pay for that .. volvo will if there is a fault with it of course . But i guess any garage is reluctant to pay out of their own pocket these days especialy if it is functioning ok .
The Service promise literature does say a free update of the cars software is carried out , that should be pointed out to them , ask for the latest Service promise leaflet .

[Ninja59]

Which Volvo Specialist if you are going to a Volvo specialist around here then only go to Graham Wrightson in Oxton - they use Volvo Genuine OEM parts and also have FULL access to VIDA updates.

Many of the specialists around here despite being Volvo ones did not have access to VIDA which discounted them straight away in my book.

I will take a punt as well and probably say is your car going to Rybrooks or is one of the dealerships considered?

In regards to warranty they cannot stop it going to an "inde" under block exemption rules but you must use OEM parts and have invoices etc. to that affect.

[S80T60James]

Hello,

As someone who tends to buy cars used I always go for main dealer service history examples over those with mixed or just independent histories. It may or may not be better but it shows the previous owner looked after the car. Reduces the fear of the unknown I suppose...

James

[Bernard333]

Ten years ago the main dealer price to service my V70 D5 was £ 370 so clearly they are giving better value for money these days , I had it done twice at a main dealer incorrectly thinking I had to due to the warranty. The financial benefit of having the dealer stamped book obviously declines exponentially as the car gets older, having paid nearly £800 for the first two services the dealer stamp was no longer worth it because for that all I could see for the money was oil and filter changes. With 173000 now on the clock the last 149000 miles has cost £250 for oil and filters plus £117 to change the cam belt. A full dealer history would have cost over £5000 with the cam belt service included, the car is worth at most £1500 with no history and not much more if it had been main dealer serviced.

[Bill_56]

By and large I agree with posts in favour of dealer servicing, for all the reasons mentioned, not least the breakdown cover. Personally, I've always use main dealers for Volvo serie, and generally been pretty happy.

But....

...Playing Devil's Advocate, some argue that main dealers tend to only see newer cars that have nothing wrong with them. Indie specialists on the other hand may see the older cars, and so be more familiar with their weaknesses.

Just a thought for the melting pot. :)

[volvorocks]

New cars - full dealer service first 3 years. After that or older cars - serviced anywhere, or just the basics. That's what I always do.

[Clan]

By and large I agree with posts in favour of dealer servicing, for all the reasons mentioned, not least the breakdown cover. Personally, I've always use main dealers for Volvo serie, and generally been pretty happy.

But....

...Playing Devil's Advocate, some argue that main dealers tend to only see newer cars that have nothing wrong with them. Indie specialists on the other hand may see the older cars, and so be more familiar with their weaknesses.

Just a thought for the melting pot. :)

Don't you believe it ! Some of the most difficult cases are on those range of cars .... Thats when you need all the experience and volvo back up that only a main dealer can receive .

[Chaddie]

Which Volvo Specialist if you are going to a Volvo specialist around here then only go to Graham Wrightson in Oxton - they use Volvo Genuine OEM parts and also have FULL access to VIDA updates.

Many of the specialists around here despite being Volvo ones did not have access to VIDA which discounted them straight away in my book.

I will take a punt as well and probably say is your car going to Rybrooks or is one of the dealerships considered?

In regards to warranty they cannot stop it going to an "inde" under block exemption rules but you must use OEM parts and have invoices etc. to that affect.


I phoned 4 main dealers and all were about £400 to start with (either just over or just under), after a simple 'And is that your very best price?...' 3 of them dropped their prices and the other said 'We can try to match any other price you have.....' but I wasn't going to start playing one off another.

So the quotes I ended up with were:-

£399
£385 - (This was the price match one....)
£333
£300

The Volvo Specialist says he only uses Genuine Parts / Recommended Oils etc, Fully Volvo Approved & has VIDA access; their quote was under £200 (without haggling).

And Rybrook were 2 of those Main Dealers.....

[The Thong]

I've just got my car back and it's dealers all the way for me. My Volvo has been sent to various Spurious R US garages for most if it's life. I was guilty on using one of them. The dealer (ok it's cost me big) have sorted all the issues in one swoop. I'll be using dealer only now.

TT

[gjd]

Hello

Service with a dealer can also help with resale because the details go onto a system which is shared across all the Volvo dealers.

When I bought the lorry, I was able to verify the service history at my local dealer, even though I was buying it from a dealer 140 miles away. Every lightbulb change, carwash and vacuum was listed!

[Backhill1]

Try main dealer discount on line. There is many main dealers on it and I saved over £250 on my 108k service.
I would go main dealer all the way up to at least 3 years but haggle.

I grew tired of small garages rushing jobs on the cheep.

[A lex]

Got mine back from the main dealer after service today.

I dont mind admitting I feel a little short changed.

Not even an air or fuel filter change at a 90k km (€400) service.

However, the main advantages are hard to value.

-Dealer stamp
-Manufacturer good will

and slightly easier to quantify:

-Volvo card / recovery for 12m

Id pay the equivalent of about €150 for the breakdown recovery, so thats the price of the service 'down' to €250 if you like. Oil (plus the very few other sundries) costs the dealer about €50 here.

So in really brutal terms I have paid about €200 for an hours work. However ill probably get that €200 back come resale, plus I might save it many times over one day with potential Volvo goodwill against a major failure.

On balance then, a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, but overall 'worth it'.

[VolvoBoylo]

Hi Chaddie

I personally would strongly recommend a dealer service and stamp as your car is a nice clean, new example and with it only have covered a limited amount of millage for a Volvo you can do far worse, as some people like us enthusiasts look for a full dealer history as it can be traced back to find out exactly what type of work the car has had done which can tell a prospective buyer how the car has been looked after.

Also in maintaining a dealer service history this will give you more power to haggle with the main dealer if you trade you car in as they will use the dealer service history as a massive selling point.

It is in my opinion a Volvo specialist should be used for services/ repairs to cars that have a little more age on them e.g. 5 years plus and where the service or repair at the main dealer will cost as much if not more than the value of the car.

Dont get me wrong i love the independent Volvo specialists as they do have a more personal touch about them, and as my Volvo C30 is 5 years old i will possibly be taking mine to my local specialist within the next year or so when my extended warranty runs out.

I hope i have helped.

Thanks

Volvoboylo