When to dump your service station guy

There are plenty of good reasons to switch to a reputed or recommended multi-brand service centre from an authorised service station and then there are some reasons not to. Authorised service stations are expensive, an important revenue source for car companies. But, if you want to save some hardearned cash in the long-term and probably get better service, you should consider switching to a more inexpensive multi-brand service centre at some point in your car’s ownership tenure. Let’s first list out the reasons of why you should stick to the authorised service station of your car brand. The big reason: Warranty. If your car is within its warranty period, you are better off going to an authorised dealer. Any part that is covered under warranty will be changed free of cost, subject, of course, to the fine print in your owner’s manual. The second reason is the easy availability of spare parts. All authorised service centres will stock the required spares and you won’t have to worry about where to get the genuine parts from. The third reason is if you want specialised work involving the complex electronics done on your car. The mechanics would be familiar with its operating environment, being masters of one car, unlike jacks of many trades at multi-brand service centres. Your authorised service station would have the right software and tools to carry out diagnostics or repair procedures on your car, some of which may even be covered under warranty.

Reasons to switch

If your car is out of the warranty period, there are not too many reasons to continue visiting the authorised service station and end up paying huge, sometimes really unreasonable, labour costs. Take, for instance, the cost of replacing wiper blades on your car. An average set of wiper blades for a mid-size sedan cost about Rs. 350 a set. The labour charge to change the wiper blades is Rs. 250! Now, changing wiper blades is almost a do-it-yourself job that takes about a minute with its clipon, slide-off design and involves barely any “labour”. Saving on the high labour costs are not the only reasons to switch from an authorised service station. You also save massively on time spent at the service station in many cases. Since authorised service stations are far fewer than multi-brand garages, the queues one would encounter are likely to be bigger, resulting in many owners waiting for a whole day for a job that should take about three hours. Regular services involve just a general inspection, an oil and filter change and, a wash. No reason to pay more or spend a whole day at the station. And then there’s the convenience. If you are a car enthusiast and want to check on every part that goes into your car, you are better off with a friendly neighbourhood multi-brand garage. You can choose the oil you want (probably of a higher grade than what’s available at the authorised service station) and get small jobs done for hardly any cost—like getting rid of dings and dents or a general inspection before a long trip. Most cars come with a warranty of about 2-3 years with an option to buy an extended warranty for another year or two. If you own a car brand that has a reputation of reliability, there’s no reason to splurge on the extended warranty. Instead, you could pick a reputed (or recommended) multi-brand service station and go there. If you are worried about sourcing genuine parts, the government has just made it easier for you. A few months ago, the Competition Commission of India was probing why 17 carmakers in India were not selling spares “over the counter” to customers, which has resulted in many of these companies now openly selling genuine spares to customers in the open market at lower prices than what’s available at an authorised service station. The long and short of it—if you have a car that’s older than four years and want to save on service costs, go for a multi-brand car service centre.

The author is automotive journalist

OLMdesk@outlookindia.com