Independant or main Dealer?

[ronks]

My 2000 Tuscan will need a 12,000 service very soon and I am in two minds whether to use an independant or a main dealer for the service. This car is my 7th TVR and I have mainly used indies in the past because my car always seem to come back in a worst state from a main dealer. For the Speed six I am a bit limited....so what do you think indi or main dealer? Would using an indi affect the history? I have done a search back thru the archives and there does not seem to be a general consensous..

[joospeed]

I always advise the dealer route with SP6 cars, the only indie who seems to have a good reputation with teh factory and rave reviews from customers is Andy at APM .. well worth a call if you want the indie route. I don't at this point recommend anyone else for SP6 cars outside the dealer network.

[T88CAN]

I`m with Joos on this one, keep your main dealer history up to date incase you need help fighting your corner should you have any Speed 6 problems

[TUS 373]

T88CAN said:

I`m with Joos on this one, keep your main dealer history up to date incase you need help fighting your corner should you have any Speed 6 problems

Agreed. You can always go to an independent for interim work at your own discretion e.g. an extra oil change, swap leads and plugs, rebalance/rebuild throttle bodies. But when it counts, you need a TVR dealer stamp in the service history. Otherwise TVR may not want to know you when you want them to be at their most sympathetic. It should also appeal to potential buyers when you come to sell, that your vehicle has been meticulously dealer maintained. (Not saying that independents are bad - they are often VERY good, hey Jooles? A good independent is worth their weight in Mobil 1).

[beano500]

Sooner or later, though, someone's going to have to be brave enough to use the services of one of the independents, aren't they?

I'm continuing to talk to one about his own experiences, and I think I will be brave* enough to go that route. No car make/model remains the dealer preserve for ever, and "what's the worst that could happen"?




PS * feel free to substitute other words if you think they are more appropriate!

[stepr1]

I would always use my local indie (Offord Motor Company) for my Red Rose. I bought the car from TMS and they didn't service it correctly. It ran like a pig for the first 4 months. Took it to Offord and now its like a new car. They are less than half the price of a main dealer and I will always go back.

[tvrinbfg]

Speed Six engines can be a little fragile. If it is serviced by a main dealer, TVR can't argue that it has not been done right. Better still TVR Power in Coventry are very competitive price wise and are owned by the Factory.

[ronks]

My previous car was a Griff 500 which I had for 5 years and the 1st year it was serviced by the main dealer and it ran like a pig, I then switched to a trusted indi who maintained the car with a passion, and it never missed a beat in 4 years and spent most of its time in foreign countries.

Well all tend to have our cars serviced by a main dealer who is in our area which means for them the business just walks in off the street. They don't exactly have to work to get our business. For an independant his workmanship and his reputation is what will attract the business, for that reason I always find indies far more interest in the cars. I live and work in Germany and I have always brought my TIV out here to stretch her legs out on the autobahns so when I get the car serviced I need to feel confident that the car is serviced perfectly, and I never get this feeling from a main dealer...the car is always nicely washed though!! If my Tuscan is going to go pop then there is nothing anyone can do about that but I cannot afford to have the car breakdown in the middle of Germany for something which could have potentially be spotted....preventive maintenance.. The screwed down bonnet also does not help!

thanks for all your points...

[and]

for the best of both worlds - price and backup if things go wrong - it's got to be tvr power.

[crusty]

I had my 2001 Red Rose serviced at Fernys last week and am very impressed. It's running like a dream and I wouldn't hesitate in using them again