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If there isn't an appropriate dealership locally for your next preferred new car, what's the maximum distance from your home to the nearest dealership (for the purposes of servicing, spares, warranty claims etc.) that you'd consider to be acceptable? I'm talking about a run of the mill brand of car.
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I'd need to know that I could get the car seen to without taking time off work, but that means I could look along the whole M4 corridor between here and, say, Chiswick.
If I didn't have to go to work, I'd apply the same criteria as to any other trip - how far can I be bothered to go? I might give greater weight to a town a bit further away if it was a good place to spend a morning; Leamington Spa, for example, but not Nuneaton. Otherwise, about 40 minutes would be my limit.
But talk to dealers about what they'll do for you. Many will collect and return, and if they're in a sparsely populated area they might go a little further to attract a new customer.
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I wouldn't want to travel more than about fifteen miles to a dealership. Having plenty of time on my hands nowadays I tend to wait a couple of hours or so while the annual service and MOT is being carried out, rather than opt for their 'collect and return'.
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My nearest pain dealer is a whopping 27 miles away (Mitsubishi) its not even a proper dealership either, but a manufacturer approved Mitsubishi & Suburu parts and service dealer.
It doesn't bother me though because its a Japanese built Mitsubishi so it only goes in once a year.
Now if it was an Italian or French car, well ... ??
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Nearest large German estate car dealers to us are 20 miles away. One to the west and one to the east.
Doesn't really matter. They come and fetch it and leave me a courtesy car. No visible charges either. In other words the servicing costs are the same whether they do that or you drop it off.
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Ideally I like to drop the car off first thing and pick it up on way home.
Similar to somebody upthread having a choice along the M4 corridor. I work in London & could cope with somewhere further down the West Coat Main Line if necessary. In fact for a while I used a dealership in Berkhamsted and another in Watford.
And just 'cos the dealer's convenient now you cannot assume it will stay that way. Over last few years three companies have had the Citroen franchise in Northampton over four different sites. The current iteration hunts in a pack with all the other dealers on the Bedford Road; not convenient at all. In addition a repair agency in the next village has come and gone.
Both ours are now way out of warranty and I have a trusted indy who's two minutes from the station.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 12 Jul 12 at 09:40
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My local servicing agent works on the drive outside. If I wish it, parts would be delivered to my door.
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>> No visible charges either. In other words the servicing costs are the same whether they do
>> that or you drop it off.
In a bill that big you could hide a multiple of sins.
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Last one wasn't toooo bad £200 and something I think.
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There are less-pleasant sides to living in a large city, but one of the advantages is that you tend not to be too far from a dealer.
I've been happy with all the dealers that I've done business with over the years, except the one that I bought my current car from. They have almost a local monopoly, with four dealerships in the area (I won't name-and-shame them here).
It's a pity because they are only just over a mile from where I live - walking distance. When they started being funny, I simply took the car to another dealer who is five miles away. Luckily, they have been fine.
It's an interesting question though. Instead of five miles away, supposing the other dealers were twenty-five miles away. Would I just grin and bear it? Hmm...I do like the car, but I would probably just chop it for a different brand as soon as it was economically viable.
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Wouldn't you consider a non dealer? I've only used a main dealer once since passing my test. If you live in a city I'm sure there plenty of good non main dealers around.
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>> Wouldn't you consider a non dealer? I've only used a main dealer once since passing
>> my test. If you live in a city I'm sure there plenty of good non
>> main dealers around.
>>
You are quite right. That is good advice. I only use the main dealers because:
a) the car is in warranty, and
b) to retain "goodwill" for when the gearbox goes bang (they have a depressingly high failure rate)
Last edited by: Londoner on Thu 12 Jul 12 at 14:45
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Both my nearest BMW dealerships offer a collect and deliver service. I've used it several times and they've been faultless.
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>> Both my nearest BMW dealerships offer a collect and deliver service. I've used it several
>> times
Far more than you thought you would!
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>> Far more than you thought you would!
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Actually only two dealer visits with the F30, once for the diagnosis of the control module, and another for its replacement. I could book it in for the other stuff, but I know what it'll be. The turbo noise will be "they all do that sir", the suspension noise is so slight that whatever play is causing it won't show up yet, and the headlamp fault is infrequent and intermittent, and therefore they won't be able to find it.
If it were my own car, I'd be back there going nuts, but it isn't, and life's too short. Drive it and don't worry about it unless the nature of the fault gives you no alternative. :-)
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My nearest dealer is nearly 7 miles away in Stockport and my dads is similar distance.
I do have a more local one in Salford but when I phoned them for a quote they insisted my 7500 mile two year old car needed new spark plugs! I told them to stuff it.
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I go 20 miles out to get my car serviced, its a nice drive in the countryside so no bother.
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I work from home so don't have the opportunity to drop the car off while on the way somewhere and I find it's amazing how long a round trip to a dealership can take, obviously depending on how far away they are, how busy the traffic is, and how efficiently the dealership deals with you.
The SEAT we had was probably the worst, and made me think more carefully on subsequent cars - driving outskirts of Chester to the dealership in Crewe and back again was getting towards a 2hr round trip. It's noticeable there's very few SEAT's around here!
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When I first got my Mondeo, Ford had an online service booking system so I could see what a service cost at any dealer in the country.
My local ( less than a mile away) dealer was by far the most expensive in the UK mainland and the IOW. I used to go 60 miles to Chichester thus having a pleasant drive plus , lunch in the Cathedral etc and still be £££s in.
My current beast should be serviced so I contacted my local dealer ( also less than a mile away) for a quote. It is the same cost as the same marque dealer in Chichester and seems to include a discount on labour charges and spares due to the cars age- funny that:-(
Perhaps if I use the local outfit and have them collect the car they will have pity on me ( not living in a mansion) and reduce the costs :-)
Overal a large dealer is more likely to have the required obscure part in stock so time off the road if hopefully not extended.
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>>I go 20 miles out to get my car serviced, its a nice drive in the countryside so no bother<<
Same here, an awfully nice mimse to Falmouth from here in under 50 mins, add 1 hour when the emmetts are here!
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What if there's no appropriate dealership locally? - WillDeBeest
