How Much Is A Typical Car Service

If you find yourself asking how much is a car service, you're not alone. Research suggests the majority of people don't have a clue how much a service costs until they get to the garage. Millions of motorists book their car service in the UK without checking if there's a cheaper alternative beforehand. Prices can fluctuate quite dramatically depending on make and model, location and other factors. In order to find the best deal and to save money on a car service, it pays to do your research.

Take the Ford Fiesta, the UK's best selling car of 2010. A Ford Fiesta service at a Franchised Dealer can cost up to £225. Doing something as simple as booking the service online can save you as much as £70 on that model, in some cases more.

So what factors contribute to the price of a car service? The obvious one is location. Areas where labour costs are higher tend to have a big impact on the price the consumer pays. Rural areas typically fare better against urban areas such as London, and the north of the country have lower labour costs in comparison to the south.

Even garages located within close proximity of one another can offer varying prices. One may have higher operating costs than the other therefore charge more for their services. Before booking a car service or MOT, do a bit of research to see if switching to a different garage can save money.

Independent garages generally don't have the operating costs or the prime locations of some franchised dealers, so they can keep costs down. These savings can then be passed on to customers, meaning lower prices and a job well done.

A popular misconception is that a car service for a small car will be cheaper than a luxury car. This is not entirely true. A new Jaguar XJ6, for example, requires less time than a Ford Fiesta for the same service. That reduction in time can mean a saving in labour costs, and if labour is charged at £20-40 per hour that can be quite significant.

What Car? Magazine suggests shopping around, "Our advice is to shop around, ask lots of questions and get a final all-inclusive price before booking your car in for a service. It may be that you'll have to drive 20 miles to get the best deal, but it can be worth it for the sort of savings that we've shown you can achieve."

Clearly there's a lot of factors that influence the price of a car service. Howeve

r by taking a little time to shop around, it's possible to make some significant savings .

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