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Was specifically offered two prices. One, more expensive, with Citroen parts another with generic parts. Observed to the service receptionist that I was surprised to find such a deal in a franchise site. She explained it was standard process for older vehicles as many owners were unwilling/unable to pay full price. ""
Cannot see any sense in getting an older car repaired by a franchise dealer, surely the labour charges would be far higher than your independent and parts the same price if using generic.
Not always - quite a lot of main dealers charge very reasonably now as they are competing against the independents and can have lower costs sometimes...no doubt it's like a supermarket - they can buy parts in bulk to get better rates so they can charge the same as the independent and their lower labour rates.
Indeed - when my car needed a new clutch back in 2016, the difference in price between my local main dealer (OEM parts) and an indie (Bosch generic parts) in the next town (where I was working at the time) was £20. I didn't really know much about the quality of the indie so I stayed with my dealership.
I have similar problems locally as there's not enough trustworthy reviews for local indies for me to have my car serviced at one - they certainly are cheaper on that front, but as you say, not quite as much as you'd think.
The other benefit of using a main dealer for replacement parts is that they often guarantee them for much longer - mine does a 3yr guarantee except for things like clutches.
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