Dealership servicing on a VT

[Guest]

I am going to VT my car finance (with Mercedes) A service is due on the car which I will have done before I VT it.
Mercedes will charge me around £450 for the service, elsewhere I can pay around a third of that - as I'm going to VT the car anyway, can I have the service done elsewhere ?
(I will still be taking 'reasonable care' of it by having it serviced ...)

[ostell]

As long as there is not a condition in the contract to have a main dealer service then why not. As long as genuine Mercedes parts are used.

[Gunner229]

Thanks for that.

I took the car on a two-year PCP which is almost at an end (Last payment due in a couple of weeks)

The service was due a hundred or so miles ago.

I have been told (by a Service Centre - NOT a Mercedes Service Centre) that I shouldn't bother having it serviced if the car is going back to Mercedes any day soon.

Any thoughts please ?

[ostell]

You may be in breach of the contract by not having it serviced and they may charge you, especially if it's overdue.

[Gunner229]

Yeah, I thought that too.

I'll get it serviced.

Thanks.

(Just a note as well - I rang my dealership and was told by the off-site service booking department, that as long as the service is carried out using
i. genuine Merc parts, ii.the company is VAT-registered, and, iii. they follow manufacturers servicing guidelines (i.e. if Merc recommend brake fluid is changed every year) then it does NOT have to be serviced by a Merc dealership.)

[Phaeton]

(Just a note as well - I rang my dealership and was told by the off-site service booking department, that as long as the service is carried out using
i. genuine Merc parts, ii.the company is VAT-registered, and, iii. they follow manufacturers servicing guidelines (i.e. if Merc recommend brake fluid is changed every year) then it does NOT have to be serviced by a Merc dealership.)

That is pretty standard, long gone are the days when manufacturers were able to dictate you had to have them serviced by them.