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Can I ask for some advice please? I have a 2006 3.0 Si Roadster (v low mileage) and a Coupe both due for service. Both have FSH from main dealers but I'm minded to go independent due to superior feedback they seem to get over main dealers on this forum. 2 questions please:-

a) with regards the roadster, will a specialist stamp or dealer stamp be of more value to the buyer of an ultra low mileage car if I decided to sell at some point?

b) can you please let me have your recommendations for specialists in the Stockport or Preston (Lancs) areas.

Thanks in advance

Stockport indy then Darren Wood Bmw would be the one , maybe not the cheapest but certainly offer a more than decent service
http://www.darren-wood.com/dwperformance.php

+1 for Darren Woods.
Been using him for years .
M

I was having the same quandary as you OP with my 1st Coupe - it had done just over 60K but had full main agent history.

But I ended up selling it just before the service was due, so I let the buyer decide - he wanted main agent so we agreed a price taking that into account.

If I had kept it I would probably have gone Independent - some people may want to buy the car a bit cheaper as a result, but you'll have saved on the service cost anyway! And how many 12 year old cars do have main agent history anyway? Plus if you keep it sale value is academic anyway!

Thanks all for your replies and advice.

For resale purposes to the average person, having a full main dealer service history is better but an enthusiast might prefer to see some good quality indy stamps (and invoices ofc).

The issue I’ve found with main dealers is that they don’t offer gearbox oil and diff oil changes as part of their service and instead state that these components use lifetime oil. This is fine for cars which are relatively new but as the cars age, they are more prone to having metal particles in the oil if it hasn’t been changed. As we all know, fresh oil reduces wear on these components and thus aids in prologing the lifetime of these components.

I also tend to find that a good indies are usually enthusiasts and thus are more knowledgeable than main dealer technicians (although this is a slight generalisation).

As a general rule of thumb, for the cars first three years of its life it should be serviced at the main dealer. After that it doesn’t really matter.

Thanks everyone - both cars booked in with Darren Wood.