• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Fiesta ST Forum and Fiesta ST community dedicated to Fiesta ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Fiesta ST Forum today!


Do you need to take your car to a dealer for service to maintain warranty

Hypergram

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,329
Likes
901
Location
Orlando, FL, USA
#1
My dad mentioned that I need to keep up service with the dealer (for my 10k service in this instance) in order to keep my warranty in order. I know about the Magnuson-Moss act, but in your opinions will it make any difference if I just do the service myself or take it to the dealer in terms for future service/warrantable work?
 


Ford ST

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,921
Likes
3,051
Location
Pleasant Garden
#2
It's good to have a healthy relationship with a dealership but no you don't have to take it to them. If you do the work yourself please change the oil more than every 10,000 miles. Just save your receipts.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


OP
Hypergram

Hypergram

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,329
Likes
901
Location
Orlando, FL, USA
Thread Starter #3
It's good to have a healthy relationship with a dealership but no you don't have to take it to them. If you do the work yourself please change the oil more than every 10,000 miles. Just save your receipts.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Yeah of course. I thought I had a free service with my dealer so I was waiting till 10k to take advantage of that, but when I checked I guess it wasn't the case. In the future, I intend on changing every 5k with Mobil1 Extended Performance Full Synthetic 5W-20, and a Mobil 1 m1-209a filter.
 


CarGuy

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,057
Likes
660
Location
Daytona Beach, FL, USA
#4
If and when you fall out of warranty and something fails the dealer is more likely to help you on a major repair like an engine, turbocharger or transmission if you've had your car serviced at the dealer and with a good service history. Service it yourself and you're on your own. It's called customer assistance program but it only applies to dealer serviced cars and trucks. Plus when you go to sell it which has more value? Self- serviced or dealer serviced? Now many will complain, dealer this and dealer that, but dealer service does add value. Would you purchase a Porsche or Ferrari, etc without a strong dealer service history? A 2014 FiST that I looked at through 2 previous owners was serviced every 6k miles at a Ford dealer and it showed on the CarFax, compared to another one I looked at with zero service history period...which one do you think I bought? Which one would you buy? It adds value to the car whether you want to believe it or not. Enough said....gets popcorn ready for the comments.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 


Dpro

6000 Post Club
Messages
6,157
Likes
5,779
Location
Los Feliz (In the City of Angels)
#5
If and when you fall out of warranty and something fails the dealer is more likely to help you on a major repair like an engine, turbocharger or transmission if you've had your car serviced at the dealer and with a good service history. Service it yourself and you're on your own. It's called customer assistance program but it only applies to dealer serviced cars and trucks. Plus when you go to sell it which has more value? Self- serviced or dealer serviced? Now many will complain, dealer this and dealer that, but dealer service does add value. Would you purchase a Porsche or Ferrari, etc without a strong dealer service history? A 2014 FiST that I looked at through 2 previous owners was serviced every 6k miles at a Ford dealer and it showed on the CarFax, compared to another one I looked at with zero service history period...which one do you think I bought? Which one would you buy? It adds value to the car whether you want to believe it or not. Enough said....gets popcorn ready for the comments.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
This is actually a good thing when buying used. When I bought my 2012 Focus the car had been being serviced at one of the local Ford dealerships on a routine basis. It was nice to know. I wound up doing oil changes on that car at Ford because their Fastlane oil change service was competitively priced. On my FiST I am currently doing the early services at Ford because it has less than 10k on it.
I do plan on changing out the trans oil. That is not something they usually service anyways. As for the milestone stuff I will take it to them for that. Like what is written above it will go along away towards having potential large issues looked at in a better light. So to speak.
 


OP
Hypergram

Hypergram

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,329
Likes
901
Location
Orlando, FL, USA
Thread Starter #6
If and when you fall out of warranty and something fails the dealer is more likely to help you on a major repair like an engine, turbocharger or transmission if you've had your car serviced at the dealer and with a good service history. Service it yourself and you're on your own. It's called customer assistance program but it only applies to dealer serviced cars and trucks. Plus when you go to sell it which has more value? Self- serviced or dealer serviced? Now many will complain, dealer this and dealer that, but dealer service does add value. Would you purchase a Porsche or Ferrari, etc without a strong dealer service history? A 2014 FiST that I looked at through 2 previous owners was serviced every 6k miles at a Ford dealer and it showed on the CarFax, compared to another one I looked at with zero service history period...which one do you think I bought? Which one would you buy? It adds value to the car whether you want to believe it or not. Enough said....gets popcorn ready for the comments.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
So I should take the car in for service at the regular increments to protect the service history and make good with the service dept., but still change my oil every 5k miles (or whatever increment)?
 


Ford ST

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,921
Likes
3,051
Location
Pleasant Garden
#8
It only adds value if you sell it to private party. If you trade the car in it doesn't matter they're just probably going to auction it off anyway.
I watch a YouTube channel called normal guy supercar. He does DIY videos of Ferraris, Maseratis etc the amount of money he saves by doing his own work more than make up for the value it increases on those cars.
Literally saves like $5,000 on a brake job.

He has spreadsheets of it and everything.

So yes I will disagree I'm not going to spend money at a dealership and waste my time to possibly increase the value that I don't even care about.

Not to mention a real technician doesn't even look at your car. This is what I went to school for it's just a oil tech. To each their own but I definitely disagree.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


Ford ST

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,921
Likes
3,051
Location
Pleasant Garden
#9
Just to give you a perspective I got paid $4 for a basic oil change how much time do you think I put into that?

I guarantee you nobody will look over your car better than you will.




Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


Clint Beastwood

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,591
Likes
2,338
Location
Laguna beach
#10
So I should take the car in for service at the regular increments to protect the service history and make good with the service dept., but still change my oil every 5k miles (or whatever increment)?
It's a balance, and factor in the value of your time.

You can do all your own oil changes, but you will also need to meticulously maintain your documentation, date/mileage of the change, how much oil added, what brand/grade of oil, what brand/type of filter, save all the receipts. If you fail at any of those, and experience a mechanical issue, you may wind up having to fight with a dealership/ford. Not guaranteed, but possible. If you want to be lazy, you can pay someone else to do it.

Some of my cars I change myself - I got an oil extractor vacuum pump thingy and it makes the changes really easy. When I am under warranty I tend to either use the dealership, or I use a local oil change place that records everything so it shows up on a vehicle history check. It's kinda neat that the mileage of each oil change shows up on my carfax :p
 


Dpro

6000 Post Club
Messages
6,157
Likes
5,779
Location
Los Feliz (In the City of Angels)
#11
It only adds value if you sell it to private party. If you trade the car in it doesn't matter they're just probably going to auction it off anyway.
I watch a YouTube channel called normal guy supercar. He does DIY videos of Ferraris, Maseratis etc the amount of money he saves by doing his own work more than make up for the value it increases on those cars.
Literally saves like $5,000 on a brake job.

He has spreadsheets of it and everything.

So yes I will disagree I'm not going to spend money at a dealership and waste my time to possibly increase the value that I don't even care about.

Not to mention a real technician doesn't even look at your car. This is what I went to school for it's just a oil tech. To each their own but I definitely disagree.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Oh I get this, for the most part I have done all my car maintenance non dealer. But seeing as I have a warranty and I want to remain warranty friendly with the dealer who already willingly looks past my performance upgrades I do a certain amount of taking it to the dealer so it has a friendly service record with Ford if a major warranty issue should come up.
This all depends on where you live and how easy it is to do some of your stuff on your own as well.
I live in a very nice apartment I have off street parking . I do not own right now therefor its trickier to do things for me. Sometimes convenience goes a long way.
When I can get a full synthetic dealership oil change with filter for $30 or less its kinda hard to pass up. The mileage milestone Ford recommended services? Ya gonna follow those under warranty for what I wrote above.
 


Clint Beastwood

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,591
Likes
2,338
Location
Laguna beach
#12
Oh I get this, for the most part I have done all my car maintenance non dealer. But seeing as I have a warranty and I want to remain warranty friendly with the dealer who already willingly looks past my performance upgrades I do a certain amount of taking it to the dealer so it has a friendly service record with Ford if a major warranty issue should come up.
This all depends on where you live and how easy it is to do some of your stuff on your own as well.
I live in a very nice apartment I have off street parking . I do not own right now therefor its trickier to do things for me. Sometimes convenience goes a long way.
When I can get a full synthetic dealership oil change with filter for $30 or less its kinda hard to pass up. The mileage milestone Ford recommended services? Ya gonna follow those under warranty for what I wrote above.
Do you pull off any parts/tune before hitting the dealer? Or just go in there with the full mod list onboard? I usually remove anything aftermarket before going in but I am reeeeeal tired of climbing down and removing the turbosmart dv each time :)
 


Ford ST

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,921
Likes
3,051
Location
Pleasant Garden
#13
Oh I get this, for the most part I have done all my car maintenance non dealer. But seeing as I have a warranty and I want to remain warranty friendly with the dealer who already willingly looks past my performance upgrades I do a certain amount of taking it to the dealer so it has a friendly service record with Ford if a major warranty issue should come up.
This all depends on where you live and how easy it is to do some of your stuff on your own as well.
I live in a very nice apartment I have off street parking . I do not own right now therefor its trickier to do things for me. Sometimes convenience goes a long way.
When I can get a full synthetic dealership oil change with filter for $30 or less its kinda hard to pass up. The mileage milestone Ford recommended services? Ya gonna follow those under warranty for what I wrote above.
Well if you live in a apartment I fully understand.
I have a two car garage, and it's full of tools.
When I bought the car they gave me 6 free oil changes. I've had them change the oil, and rotate the tires three times in 8,000 miles.




Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


Dpro

6000 Post Club
Messages
6,157
Likes
5,779
Location
Los Feliz (In the City of Angels)
#14
Do you pull off any parts/tune before hitting the dealer? Or just go in there with the full mod list onboard? I usually remove anything aftermarket before going in but I am reeeeeal tired of climbing down and removing the turbosmart dv each time :)
FBO and tune going in. Its Galpin they are the Performance Dealer. They have Galpin Autosports which mods customers cars for mucho money.
They mod stock new Fords and then put them up for sale as Galpinized! Lol
On any given day over there you will see 3-4 Ford GT’s in for servicing. You hear highly modded stangs ripping around on the streets around there as well.
I don’t hear a word from them about any of my mods.
 


maestromaestro

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,008
Likes
381
Location
Houston
#15
Would you purchase a Porsche or Ferrari, etc without a strong dealer service history?
Well, a FiST is not a Ferrari to state the obvious. I always thought that not worrying too much about the FiST is one of the positives about the car. So, if I were buying a used one (and I did get one with 400 miles on it), so long as it didn't have a lot of apparent abuse/high miles and a laundry list of owners, I'd be unconcerned about its being serviced at the dealer. It is a different story with a Porsche - I was quite anal about the provenance of my 993 when I bought it.
 


green_henry

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,028
Likes
757
Location
Pleasant Hill, CA
#16
It's a balance, and factor in the value of your time.

You can do all your own oil changes, but you will also need to meticulously maintain your documentation, date/mileage of the change, how much oil added, what brand/grade of oil, what brand/type of filter, save all the receipts. If you fail at any of those, and experience a mechanical issue, you may wind up having to fight with a dealership/ford. Not guaranteed, but possible. If you want to be lazy, you can pay someone else to do it.

Some of my cars I change myself - I got an oil extractor vacuum pump thingy and it makes the changes really easy. When I am under warranty I tend to either use the dealership, or I use a local oil change place that records everything so it shows up on a vehicle history check. It's kinda neat that the mileage of each oil change shows up on my carfax :p
Not to highjack the thread, but I also have an extractor vacuum pump thingy. It helps keep everything clean and tidy. But when it stops pulling oil, I drain the dregs the old fashioned way (by removing the drain plug). Do you do the same?

I used to use JiffyLube when I was lazy, but when I noticed that my visits (for my previous vehicle) were not showing up on CarFax, I decided to do my own going forward.
 


Dpro

6000 Post Club
Messages
6,157
Likes
5,779
Location
Los Feliz (In the City of Angels)
#17
Well, a FiST is not a Ferrari to state the obvious. I always thought that not worrying too much about the FiST is one of the positives about the car. So, if I were buying a used one (and I did get one with 400 miles on it), so long as it didn't have a lot of apparent abuse/high miles and a laundry list of owners, I'd be unconcerned about its being serviced at the dealer. It is a different story with a Porsche - I was quite anal about the provenance of my 993 when I bought it.
Any car that has a good maintenance record including dealer service records used is a good thing. I have bought owned and sold many cars. The keepers were either 1 or 2 owners max with records or with good records even if it was like 3 owners.

Just because your Porsche is a Porsche does not make it any different than a FiST or my E36 M3 at the end of the day they are just both cars.

It’s really just your perception of it because you feel its a Porsche its special. I get it, though while I like them I do not hold them up as any kind of grail.
Ya they have a storied race winning Marquee but damn everyone owns one lol. At least in California. Lol Pretty common place.

In fact that makes the FiST more special as not everyone owns one. Plus you don’t see them all the time. Lol Its all perception.

Any car not properly maintained at a dealer for the first part of their life while they are under warranty is asking for problems.
YMMV
 


CarGuy

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,057
Likes
660
Location
Daytona Beach, FL, USA
#18
Well, a FiST is not a Ferrari to state the obvious. I always thought that not worrying too much about the FiST is one of the positives about the car. So, if I were buying a used one (and I did get one with 400 miles on it), so long as it didn't have a lot of apparent abuse/high miles and a laundry list of owners, I'd be unconcerned about its being serviced at the dealer. It is a different story with a Porsche - I was quite anal about the provenance of my 993 when I bought it.
I like the part how you took out the point that I made about my own car purchase based on 2 previous owners servicing the 72k-mile 2014 FiST I bought over the one with similar mileage but with zero maintenance history. History is an important purchasing tool for any vehicle whether it's an exotic or not. I own a Porsche too but I'm definitely not the typical snobby P-car owner and I know that service history is what made up my mind between the 2 Fiesta STs I was considering. Only a fool wouldn't consider it. Provenance is provenance no matter what make or model.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 


Last edited:

Ford ST

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,921
Likes
3,051
Location
Pleasant Garden
#19
Any car that has a good maintenance record including dealer service records used is a good thing. I have bought owned and sold many cars. The keepers were either 1 or 2 owners max with records or with good records even if it was like 3 owners.

Just because your Porsche is a Porsche does not make it any different than a FiST or my E36 M3 at the end of the day they are just both cars.

It’s really just your perception of it because you feel its a Porsche its special. I get it, though while I like them I do not hold them up as any kind of grail.
Ya they have a storied race winning Marquee but damn everyone owns one lol. At least in California. Lol Pretty common place.

In fact that makes the FiST more special as not everyone owns one. Plus you don’t see them all the time. Lol Its all perception.

Any car not properly maintained at a dealer for the first part of their life while they are under warranty is asking for problems.
YMMV
What is your definition of asking for problems?

What is properly maintained all they do is change the oil. A careful car owner will do a better job than a oil tech all day everyday.
They slam the lug nuts on when they rotate the tires. They don't give two craps about using a torque wrench.

I just can't understand your opinion on this.

We can agree to disagree.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


Last edited:

maestromaestro

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,008
Likes
381
Location
Houston
#20
I like the part how you took out the point that I made about my own car purchase based on 2 previous owners servicing the 72k-mile 2014 FiST I bought over the one with similar mileage but with zero maintenance history. History is an important purchasing tool for any vehicle whether it's an exotic or not. I own a Porsche too but I'm definitely not the typical snobby P-car owner and I know that service history is what made up my mind between the 2 Fiesta STs I was considering. Only a fool wouldn't consider it. Provenance is provenance no matter what make or model.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
You are missing the point. I’m not saying that a well documented history is not a factor, it is absolutely is - especially if it’s a tie breaker. What I am however saying is that the level of due diligence is lower for a $20k car/purchase vs. a $80k one. You’re not going to call on an food inspector to check the patty on your hamburger you are thinking of ordering at McD, but you (well, me) would bring a reputable house inspector when you’re buying one, new or not.
 




Top