Now that my Freelander 2 is now over three years old & out of warranty do I carry on taking it to a maindealer for servicing or use my local garage who I know & trust as he does a good job @ a fair price.

Only thing with keeping with the main dealer is that should you have a problem out of warranty they MAY help you out with a part payment towards a repair. Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

I will continue to use an Indy now that the warranty is out on mine - mind you I am lucky my local Indy is Team Valley Land Rover  No Longer the owner of a 2013MY Fuji White GS

"Fiat Lux" a philosophy not a car

Don't you mean when you have a problem ....? Remember that you might have had no problems during warranty but that the car is now 3 years old and increasingly likely to have a problem. You should perhaps be thinking more about an extended warranty rather than cheap servicing and don't forget the cheaper servicing option at LR dealers for cars over 3 yrs old.. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Go with the independent and save yourself approx. £200 a service but you may change your mind when you realise that you may not get a FREE!! cup of coffee though.
My experience of main dealers is that they rarely diagnose a fault but keep on replacing parts and increasing the bill until they eventually find a fix. Tattoos - Why would you choose to look like the wall of a public toilet?

My first service was with my mechanic that I've been using forever & he is very good. He found a small problem & said I should get LR to fix it, which they did. So no issue there. My mechanic is very close so it is far more convenient, & supplies car & coffee if needed! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I have had good service from main dealers but I think the best solution is to find a good independent Land Rover Specialist. They will be more expensive than a local garage but given the relative complexity of Landies I think the specialist experience is worth it. In my experience the thoroughness and quality of the work from Independent Specialists exceeds that of the franchised dealers and you can easily save hundreds of quids on each annual service.

Its I guess a roll of the dice. I have just gone independent at 3 years from new. Using LR service parts at a 20% discount and correct oils.

I am not lead footed or doing loads of off road. Will change all diff/transmission oils etc by 50,000 miles but currently can afford the hit if it goes tits up. My biggest concern is a series of electrical stupid faults.

If I get two years without issues it all pays for itself in my view and by then it may be time for a change anyway as I may not want to invest in new cam belt etc and car will have a full service history via a indie FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

I normally avoid main dealers like the plague on the assumption that they're going to charge the earth, but just paid £275 for an interim service on the LR 3+ scheme. At first I thought £275 was a lot to pay until I rang a local independent Land Rover specialist and was quoted £290. So perhaps main dealers aren't so bad after all?

That's a good price. Let's be clear about terminology - Dealers sell and service cars. LR Approved workshops like TVLR do the work to LR standards, with full warranty work, software updates, etc - I wouldn't class them as "Indy". Independents may know about Land Rovers but don't have the LR seal of approval and may or may not use Genuine parts. I usually take mine to TVLR as well, even though it's a 400 mile plus round trip. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

I believe its all about trust. If you have used a main dealer and are pleased with their service then I don't see why you should move on as finding an indie that you can trust can be difficult and can take years to build up that trust.

I have had issues with main dealers (may I add not LR ones) in the past when my wife had a new car so 'had' to use them for the warranty.

I'm a bit lucky in that I have taken all my cars over the past 20 years to an independent garage because I have known the bloke who owns it for over 40 years. He doesn't do mates rates, wouldn't expect that, but he's a good mechanic and I can trust him.

I use Duckworths at Market Rasen. A great main dealer, but not too big to lose interest. I bypass Stratstones and Marshalls to get there too! 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Ive just had the major B service done by LR Main Dealer at Chesterfield. £350 all in under the Land Rover 3+ scheme., think it was £275 for an A service.
If you do go that route just ensure it is the LR 3+ scheme as the dealer played dumb when I asked for the quoted £350 (from their own web page) and quoted me the standard £525 initially until I reminded him.

Any work they pick up (mine needs brakes doing all round) they will provide you a video and a quote, but you don't have to use them for that work.

main dealers will give your vehicle a quick and sometimes damaging wash, and again a quick hoover, but a proper service, I think not.

but you will get a stamp in the book after all.

Iain

I agree with what's said on here about good Specialist Independents. Went down that road with my Disco 2. However when looking for my Freelander I looked for one that had full main dealer service history. Only reason being if it does go badly wrong then LR are more inclined to contribute................. apparently.

With the one I've just bought, I'm not sure what I will do. Its getting on a bit but I like the idea of the 3+ fixed price servicing.