Car is coming up to 3 years old with 21k miles so needs MOT and service to comply with Ford warranty. Is it essential (or advisable) to use a Ford main dealer especially as the 3 year warranty is due to expire. I ask this as I'm not too happy with the attitude of the local Ford dealer (from whom we bought the car 8 months ago), not to mention the price quoted which is double that of a local independent. Even another Ford dealer has quoted a better price, presumably to try to win future business.

One concern with going to an independent is that The Ford dealers claim that they will update the ECU software - is this a reason to stick to the main dealer?

I should add that I normally do all my own basic servicing (oil, filter , brake pad changes etc) but normally with cars out of warranty and we usually reckon to keep cars for a fair number of years.