What Car? Q&A - Who can service my Merc?

I bought a Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI recently. Can I keep the service history up with any garage that offers services or does it have to be with a Mercedes dealer? I recently had a flyer through my letterbox about servicing and it mentioned something about block exemption. Obviously, it's cheaper to use my local garage as opposed to the Mercedes one, but will I lose my warranty?
Mark Beech

A: The servicing and repair industry is a multi-billion-pound concern in the UK.

Changes to the so-called block exemption rules, which cover car sales and servicing in Europe, were designed to open up the market to more competition and give motorists greater choice and cheaper prices.

Action by the Office of Fair Trading also forced manufacturers to drop clauses in warranty policies which insisted that servicing work needed to be carried out at franchised dealers for them to remain valid.

However, there are two important conditions that you need to consider.

First, the work must be done to the same standard as a franchised dealer. That means it has to strictly follow the manufacturer's guidelines and procedures for the work. Second, it must also be carried out using approved parts.

If the garage you are considering using can meet to these two conditions, and is also VAT-registered, then your service history and warranty will be intact.

Depending on where you live, you might even also be able to reduce the cost of the service by shopping around within the franchised network. Prices vary considerably, and unsurprisingly they're generally highest in central London, so it's worth taking a look.

Your local dealer might also reduce the prices if you tell them you've had a better offer elsewhere, so try this tack too.