Drivers waste £1.2bn on servicing

13 April 2012

MOTORISTS could save up to £1.2bn a year by switching their car servicing from franchised dealers to independent garages, according to a survey out today.

As many as 71% of owners of three to eight-year-old cars use franchised dealers for services.

Yet the cost of an annual service is 33% cheaper at independent garages, the poll from car care company motoreasy showed.

Costs also differ between franchised dealers, with a 30,000-mile service on a four-year-old Ford Focus at a franchised dealer in London costing £375 compared with just £166.25 in Norwich.

These were the differences in service costs between a franchised dealer and an independent garage for a range of cars:

David Gerrans, of motoreasy, said: 'The belief that independent and specialist garages offer a lower standard of service than their manufacturer-supported rivals was refuted by the Office of Fair Trading last December, a fact supported by our customer feedback and research.

'As many as 88% of those who take their vehicles to independent garages report no difference in the quality of work from franchised operations.'

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