Where you get your new car serviced is your choice
If you’re fortunate enough to be in a position to afford the purchase of a new vehicle you’ve also probably been lead to believe that having your car serviced in an independent garage or anywhere outside of the manufacturer franchise set up from where you purchased the vehicle, will void your vehicle warranty.
This my friends is not true.
Block exemption Regulation (BER)was created in 1995 to allow competition in the motor industry among member states of the european union. In 2003 this block exemption was updated to allow vehicle owners to have their new vehicle serviced in an independent garage if they chose to without nullifying their manufacturer’s warranty.
It was updated again in 2010 to allow independent garages to have more access to technical data and software from vehicle manufacturers needed for the repair and maintenance of all vehicles.
With 40% of the running costs of your vehicle going towards maintenance it’s important that you know you have a choice on where you have those repairs and servicing done. Convenience, value for money and most of all trust are the most important things you should consider when choosing where your have your vehicle serviced and maintained. This could be in a dealer franchise but it can also be an independent garage thanks the European block exemption regulation.
As long as the garage is reputable, using original equipment (OE specification) parts and filters ,the correct manufacturer’s specification oil and the work is carried out by a suitably qualified technician to manufactures specification your warranty is safe.
Tommie Rafferty