VW Authorised Garages

[nykkieberry]

Where can I find out whether a garage is VW approved? The garage states its VW approved and a VW specialist but it's not a main dealer. Thanks!

[BenDToy]

How about looking here for them. If they don't show up then avoid them because they are not only not approved, but lying as well. I don't think they have to be a main dealer to be a franchised service centre. http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/services

[Oneeyedvic]

Is it one in Market Harborough by chance...Protheroes? If so, they used to be main dealers but VW shafted them good and proper and gave the franchise to a huge company

[nykkieberry]

No, it's a garage in Lancashire. It has a very good reputation and they guarantee genuine VW parts. My car was booked in for service, MOT and Timing Belt at a main dealer and they have quoted �650. However, after hearing the article on Radio 1 about Car Dealers being inferior to local garages, I decided to contact this garage (a lot of my VW friends use them) They quoted me �330 for the same work! I just don't want to devalue my car by not using a dealer for the service. I want to make sure the 'stamp' is genuine. Here's a sample from that article...Thousands of motorists are being ripped off when they get their cars serviced. The shock findings of a special investigation by What Car? reveal that buyers could be better off sticking to local garages than paying top-dollar at manufacturer-approved main dealers. http://www.whatcar.co.uk/News_Article.asp?NA_ID=211060

[Kos]

You should be quite safe because if the garage state they use 'genuine VW parts' then they have to and dealers can no longer force you to have your car serviced/repaired at one of their dealerships.

[Oneeyedvic]

I run a Saab, and my local Saab Dealer charges around �60 per hour. I use a Saab specialist - again uses all Saab parts and only works on these cars. He charges �20 per hour. My service book has stamps in with Saab Specialist and his name. When I sell my car I will sell it with Full Saab / Saab specialist Service History. It may devalue your car by a couple of hundred pounds but you will save that it the long term. As an aside, when I bought my car, it had a Full Saab serive history and the main dealr had put the brakes discs inthe wrong way round. Two seperate Saab specialists pointed this out to me.

[Josyjo]

If you want to be really sure, call 0800 711811 for VW Head Office, they will be happy to help. As a VW Service Advisor, I can say yes, you pay more at a VW Dealership for servicing, but if something goes wrong, or you have any cause for complaint, your Main Dealer will go a lot further to help. Having VW Specialist Technicians working on your vehicle also has obvious advantages. If it were me, I'd pay the extra, but its worth shopping around Main Dealers in the area, you may get a pricematch. :-)