noone1:
Manufacturer doesnt cover brake pads and even a monkey can change brake pads. If argue a cheap place that does 1000 brake per year even has more experience.
I think you misunderstood my post. I don't know how it works in the US or the UK but if your car still has a warranty or if it is in the mentioned 3-5 years manufacturer goodwill period, you can not only loose the warranty but that goodwill period. Also, when you bring the car to independent shops, they often do not use OEM parts, which can be a safety issue. There is a huge free market for fake OEM parts, brake pads and rotors are a favorite for these fake parts distributors. Official dealerships buy their parts directly from the manufacturer, the risk is much much lower.
Official dealerships also always get the latest maintenance instructions and updates, independent shops usually don't.
Also, when you want to sell a car, the maintentance history is very important. I would never get a used high performance car which has been serviced by an independent shop. These shops, mostly the ones specialized on vintage cars, are good for older cars but new cars? Not really.
Another example: Service actions. I went to my Porsche dealer for switching the winter to summer wheels and there was an open service action (spark plugs, sparks) to execute. Now imagine I went to an independent tire dealer to switch the wheels. I would have never found out about that service action. Same goes to software updates and other stuff.
New(er) cars should always be serviced at the official dealerships.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet (2015), Porsche Cayenne S Diesel (2017), Audi R8 V10 Plus (2016), Mini JCW (2015)