Car due a Service, Ford Dealer or DIY....

[tvradict]

Car clocked 50K last weekend and 50K is the next service interval. What is really worrying is that my Local Dealership booked me a provisional Service booking for 2 days later. Needless to say I didn't keep the appointment.

The last few cars I've had I've serviced myself and apart from one which dropped a valve into No 3 Cylinder, all have run faultlessly. I've had the Focus now for 2and a half years, and apart from a set of brake pads I haven't had to go near it with a spanner due to the 2 years servicing deal I got when I bought it.

The car is out if warranty now (ended in march) so is it really worth keeping up the FSH? I know my way round and engine well enough and any big stuff (cam belts etc) I'll stick it into my new favorite garage. Will the lack of an FSH affect the residuals that much??

TIA
Stuart

[plfrench]

If you are planning on hanging onto the car for some time, then do it yourself. The amount of money you'll save over a couple of years servicing it yourself will more than make up for anything you'll loose on a car that will then be 4 1/2 years old and not worth very much.

I did this with my own Focus, and due to the fact that it was completely reliable for 107,000 miles and I then sold it for £1650 to get rid of it as I had a company car on the way, I felt I had made the right decision. All I did to it was oil and filter changes (not as frequently as I should have done...) and front brake pads and discs. Also I had the garage give it a cambelt change and new clutch at 100,000. Original exhuast, shocks, springs, rear drums and shoes. As I said an absolutly brilliant car, and one the still drove as good as new when I sold it.

Paul.

[dern]

The problem is that every car buying guide going will tell you to insist on a FSH so given that it isn't a rare car you may have problems moving it on when you're done with it. Having said that if you're keeping it for a long time then I'd go for it. I've serviced our mondeo since we bought it and I'm glad I did because I saved a fair bit of money and it would be worth pretty much feck all anyway

[Zad]

I found that a happy medium is to get my local non-dealer garage to do the change. Much cheaper than a dealer, and you can put the receipt in the history manual to prove it has been done. You don't have the hassle of disposing of the oil, struggling around under the motor or getting oil all over the place.

[havoc]

Trying to sell it without a set of stamps in the book will put a lot of buyers off. But if the car is over 5y.o. most buyers won't expect main dealer stamps.

Tough call...you could do it a lot cheaper yourself, but you'll lose part of that saving in resale value and potentially the rest in taking longer to sell it on.