I have an 02 plate citroen xsara,and when I bought it(from Reg Vardy)I took out the extended warranty.Now its time for its three year service:help:

So far Reg Vardy have quoted me £280(incl.parts,labour + VAT),but after a few calls to a number of local citroen specialists,have managed to get a quote as low as £90 + vat:o

My question is,on the documents for the warranty,it clearly states that for the warranty to remain valid,any servicing has to be carried out by Reg Vardy or an approved citroen mechanic Does this mean that if I have the car serviced at one of the independent specialists,my warranty will become invalid?

Thanks in advance:D

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Thanks for that:thumbsup: I had a feeling that that was the case,but wanted to make sure first.The garage I have in mind,states that all the parts used are genuine citroen parts,so I should be ok there:)

Annoni_mouse,

I am in the exact same boat but have just had my fiat Punto serviced and MOT'd for £129! The original quote was nearly double!

All I done was call Autoworld (FIAT dealer) and got a quote from them, then called Reg Vardy and said I wish to cancel my MOT and Service as I have found it much , MUCH cheaper! They didn't beat Autoworld, but they did come and collect my car and deliver it back to me.

I have don’t this twice now so I would shop around and then go back to Reg Vardy. They should come back with a better quote.

Originally posted by Annoni_mouse
Thanks for that:thumbsup: I had a feeling that that was the case,but wanted to make sure first.The garage I have in mind,states that all the parts used are genuine citroen parts,so I should be ok there:)

One thing to take into account is that if you take your car to another garage and they find a serious fault, they may simply change it and try to bill you.

Both my front shocks had gone on mine but as I took it to Reg Vardy they had to replace them free of charge :clap:

Been kinda discussed before here (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34977&highlight=warranty)

Basically with block exemption (http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/facts/blockcars.htm) now in force you can take your car to anyone to be serviced as long as they are VAT registered, use genuine parts and stick to the manufacturers service schedule. Your warranty will still be valid.

Even with a new car nobody can tell you where to take your car for servicing , unless you have a service agreement.

However, a full dealer history may be viewed as preferential by a prospective buyer.

I am in the motor trade and work very close to service and warranty dept and i must say you as a customer are gettin ripped off by the main dealers BIGTIME.At the company i work for i have had a invoice for supply and fit a wiperblade cost 45.00 where you can do it yourself for a fiver.

My advice is find a good friendly small garage to do repairs for you they look after you more and treat you as a person not a invoice number and use original parts aswell.

Here's a example of a big repair Headgasket

Small garage may charge 350-500
main dealer will charge 1000-1500

;)

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Ginner,

Do the block exemption rules apply to second hand cars bought from a dealer as well as new cars ? The link you gave seemed to refer to new cars only.

Well got the car booked in at a garage on queens road-£90+vat!They are citroen specialists and use only citroen parts,so im hoping it'll be ok:D

The thing is,with reg vardys charging nearly three times that amount,its ALMOST worth invalidating my warranty,rather than pay rip-off prices:rant:

Originally posted by Annoni_mouse
Well got the car booked in at a garage on queens road-£90+vat!They are citroen specialists and use only citroen parts,so im hoping it'll be ok:D

The thing is,with reg vardys charging nearly three times that amount,its ALMOST worth invalidating my warranty,rather than pay rip-off prices:rant:

Depends on what goes wrong with the car after really!

Depends on what goes wrong with the car after really!

Well,the only reason I took out the extended warranty on this car was because of a bad experience I had with the ECU on my previous motor(a Rover:rolleyes: )which,more or less killed the car:help:

Originally posted by Greybeard
Ginner,

Do the block exemption rules apply to second hand cars bought from a dealer as well as new cars ? The link you gave seemed to refer to new cars only.
I'm not 100% sure but I think it's aimed at removing the "The warranty's only valid if you service with us" trap.
Therefore if you have an active warranty on a car (new or second hand IMO) then you should be able to have it serviced where ever you want, so long as the garage meets the requirements.

I tend to stick with main dealers cos (I'd like to think?!?) they know their car better than a garage that may service multiple makes.