How to... cut your service bills - Take your car on holiday

FOR You could halve the cost of a service
AGAINST Having to disrupt your holiday

If you are planning to take your car on holiday in the UK or France, why not time a visit to coincide with your next service?

Much cheaper labour rates mean you could save enough cash to pay for the fuel, or stock up with some duty-free while in France.

For details of French garages, visit www.day-tripper.net.

I tried it and saved money
A main dealer in West London quoted me £331 for the first service on my diesel Citroen C8. I contacted the Citroen dealer in France I've used while on holiday, which quoted me 151 euros (around £100).

The service in France was impeccable, the car was road-tested afterwards, and the whole process took 90 minutes.

It was cheaper for me to take a day trip to Calais, fill up with diesel at 69p a litre, have a good lunch and buy some wine, than to use my local UK dealer for service.
Keith Atkinson, London, Citroen C8 owner