It’s important to have your car regularly inspected and serviced to keep it in good working order. When it’s time to take your vehicle in for service, you may be wondering whether you should take it to an independent mechanic or a dealer service center. You should have your car serviced by someone you can trust with the right equipment and experience necessary to ensure it performs as it should. Learn more about why you should go to a dealership to service your vehicle.
What Car Maintenance Services do Dealers Provide?
Your vehicle’s engine oil can be easily inspected and topped up at home. However, you still need to have the oil drained and changed at least once a year if you want to prevent the engine from seizing up. The oil filter also needs to be replaced, as there are often metal flakes from the factory in the engine sump. A dealer’s service technicians will change the filters for oil, fuel, and sometimes air, which prolong the engine’s life and keep it running optimally.
The service technicians will also inspect your vehicle’s tires, steering, suspension, and brakes to ensure it’s safe to drive. Depending on the car’s age, you may need a specialist to check the other main components of the engine.
Newer cars may be under warranty periods, where the responsibility is on the owner to keep up with regular services in the early years. These checks ensure that everything is still working as it should.
Common maintenance services that dealers offer include:
- Oil changes.
- Filter replacements (oil, air, and fuel).
- Engine tuneups.
- Tire checks (pressure, tread depth, alignment, balancing).
- Battery checks (water level, power).
- Checking other systems throughout the electronic control unit.
The Extras a Dealership Service Can Provide
Both manufacturers and dealerships want you to have a good experience so you recommend them to others and choose them when it is time to buy another car.
A dealership will be able to tell you the service history of your vehicle through the factory database, something an independent mechanic doesn’t have access to. If you purchased a used car from the dealership, you will be able to see if it was regularly serviced and if there were replacements of any large or complex parts. Having a record of when maintenance services are performed can be helpful when diagnosing your vehicle.
You likely won’t be able to get the latest software updates from an independent mechanic either. Your vehicle’s manufacturer will send these updates to the dealer, and the dealer service center will have the most up-to-date computers to install them. The same goes for part recalls, where the manufacturer will send the replacement parts to the dealership. The dealer’s service technicians also receive direct training from the manufacturer.
The benefits of taking your vehicle to a dealership to be serviced include:
- Brand- and model-specific training.
- Certification.
- Official parts.
- Official database.
Dealership Professionalism
Factory training goes a long way when it comes to getting the best performance from your new car. A dealership has the resources to give their service technicians the best training and to ensure the standards of the brand. Dealerships will have their service technicians attend regular training sessions offered by the manufacturer. At the completion of their training, the technicians also earn a certification to prove they meet the requirements to perform service on your vehicle.
Dealership Data
Used parts are cheaper for a reason. A dealership mechanic will not put a used part on your vehicle, even if it has gone through professional refurbishing. The metal fatigue from years of use can hide in a used part for many years before it fails at the worst possible moment. If your vehicle has an issue, it is better to use official new parts with a manufacturing history that is easy to trace.
A dealer can enter any services and other information into the main factory database, giving the manufacturer an overview of the part type, how parts cope in each state, and insight into any common issues in a specific model.
A dealer will also have an official record of your service history, which allows the service technician to pull up the information on what they need to do on the next service. Having this information in the database also means that you can have your vehicle serviced at a dealership in another location. This can be beneficial if you need to have your vehicle serviced while on a business trip or vacation in a different city or state.
Times When a Dealer Service Is a Must
Warranties are more flexible than they used to be, but your contract will tell you where you can take your car for maintenance. A warranty will typically cover the main components of your car, such as the engine, gearbox, and paintwork, during the first few years of ownership. Taking a brand-new car to a noncertified mechanic can end up costing you the warranty, and an independent mechanic may not be able to claim back the cost of these parts and labor from the car company.
Does Having a Car Serviced at the Dealers Help to Preserve Value?
To get the most resale value out of your vehicle, especially if it’s a newer model, it’s important to follow the suggested servicing schedules and to use original parts from the manufacturer. A lack of service history can dramatically affect your car’s value when you try to sell or trade it in. Because dealers have access to your vehicle’s service history in the database, you will likely get a better resale or trade-in value if you had the service done with them.
Wendle Ford Service Center
Wendle Ford employs factory-certified technicians with the skills and experience necessary to provide you with optimal maintenance and repair services at our state-of-the-art service center. We offer a range of services, from oil changes and tune-ups to wheel alignments and transmission services. While you wait for your vehicle, you can enjoy the many amenities we have available in our waiting rooms, including a kids’ area, free Wi-Fi, a big-screen TV, and drinks and snacks. Contact us today to schedule a service for your car.
Featured Image via Flickr by Martin
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