Mazda Targets Older Cars in Bid to Win Work Back From Independent Garages

Independent garages face a new challenge for older vehicle servicing as Mazda UK launches an expanded service plan specifically designed to bring out-of-warranty cars back into its franchised dealer workshops.

The manufacturer has opened its Mazda Service Plan to owners of older vehicles, including cars that weren’t originally purchased through a Mazda dealer.

And Mazda makes little secret of where it expects many of those customers to come from.

David Wilson-Green, Director of Customer Service and Aftersales at Mazda Motors UK, said owners of these older vehicles will typically be using independent garages and fast-fit centres, with Mazda seeing the initiative as an opportunity for its dealers to establish long-term relationships with those motorists. Mazda UK Press

Early results suggest the strategy is already attracting some of them.

Around 10% of Mazda’s new service plan sales since launch have been for vehicles more than 10 years old, according to the manufacturer.

Mazda says owners of 13-year-old MX-5 and CX-5 models are among those now choosing to have their cars serviced within the franchised dealer network.

Mazda opens service plans to existing owners

The new programme is administered by eDynamix and is available through Mazda dealers when customers purchase new cars and Mazda Selected approved used vehicles.

The significant change is what happens outside the dealership.

Existing Mazda owners can now purchase a service plan through Mazda’s UK customer website, potentially allowing the manufacturer to establish a direct aftersales relationship with motorists who have never bought a vehicle from a Mazda retailer.

That includes owners who bought their car privately or through an independent used car dealer.

Plans can be paid for upfront or through monthly instalments, while Mazda also uses its digital ownership services to provide service reminders and online workshop booking.

For independent garages, that matters because the battle for servicing work is increasingly being fought before a motorist decides where to book their next service.

Competitive labour rates target older cars

Price has traditionally been one of the independent sector’s major advantages when competing with franchised dealers for older vehicles.

Mazda appears well aware of that.

The company says affordability is central to its strategy and that owners of older vehicles will benefit from competitive labour rates within the dealer network.

Wilson-Green said:

“Typically, these customers will be using independent garages and fast-fit centres.”

Mazda sees attracting those customers as a way of building relationships not only for servicing but potentially for future vehicle sales.

That makes the programme more significant than a straightforward servicing promotion.

A 10 or 13-year-old car would historically be well into the part of its lifecycle where independent garages expect to capture servicing, maintenance and repair work.

Mazda is effectively attempting to extend the franchised dealer relationship much further into that period.

Monthly repair fund could be particularly significant

There’s another element independent workshops should watch closely.

Mazda Service Plan customers can make additional voluntary monthly contributions towards unexpected replacement costs that aren’t covered by their normal scheduled servicing plan.

If the additional money isn’t used, the customer can reclaim it when the plan finishes. Mazda UK Press

This has potentially important implications for customer retention.

A conventional service plan encourages the customer to return to the dealer for scheduled servicing.

Adding a pot of money towards unexpected work potentially strengthens that relationship when additional repairs become necessary.

For independent garages, those additional jobs can represent an important part of workshop revenue.

The more manufacturers can establish an ongoing financial relationship with owners, the greater the potential for dealer networks to retain work that might previously have migrated to the independent aftermarket.

Why older vehicles matter to independent garages

The aftermarket opportunity created by ageing vehicles is substantial.

Once cars move beyond their manufacturer warranties, owners have traditionally become more likely to move away from franchised dealers in search of competitive servicing and repair costs.

Independent garages benefit not only from scheduled servicing but from the additional maintenance requirements that tend to accompany ageing and higher-mileage vehicles.

Brakes, suspension, tyres, exhausts, batteries and other wear-related components can all become increasingly important workshop work as vehicles age.

This makes Mazda’s success with vehicles over 10 years old particularly noteworthy.

These aren’t three or four-year-old cars hovering around the boundary between dealer and independent servicing.

A 13-year-old vehicle is firmly within a market that many independent workshops would traditionally regard as their territory.

Independents can still service Mazda vehicles

It’s important to stress that Mazda owners are not required to have their vehicles serviced by a Mazda dealer.

Mazda itself confirms this in its servicing guidance.

Where vehicles are serviced outside the Mazda network, the manufacturer advises owners to ensure that parts fitted are genuine Mazda components or parts of equivalent quality where warranty requirements apply, and that detailed servicing records are retained.

Mazda also operates an information portal specifically for independent operators.

Registered independent garages can access resources including repair and maintenance information, parts identification and Mazda’s Digital Service Record.

Registration provides free access to some applications, including the Digital Service Record, while technical information is available on a paid basis.

That means the issue isn’t whether independents are able to maintain Mazda vehicles.

It’s about who owns the customer relationship.

Customer retention battle moves online

There is a wider lesson here for independent garages.

Manufacturers increasingly have tools that allow them to maintain direct relationships with motorists long after the initial vehicle sale.

Mazda’s ecosystem includes the MyMazda app, maintenance reminders, digital service records and online service booking. Its expanded service plan now adds another way of retaining customers financially as their vehicles age.

For independents, competing with that proposition may increasingly require more than simply offering a lower hourly labour rate.

Garages could consider whether their own customer-retention processes are strong enough.

Service reminders, MOT reminders, online booking, digital vehicle health checks, maintenance plans, transparent pricing and payment options can all help keep a workshop in regular contact with customers.

A garage that only communicates with a motorist when their car is already in the workshop risks leaving an increasingly large gap for manufacturers, dealer groups and national chains to exploit.

Independents retain some important advantages

The independent sector nevertheless retains significant strengths.

Local relationships, convenience, flexibility and direct contact with the technicians actually working on a customer’s vehicle can be difficult for larger dealer networks to replicate.

Independent garages also have the advantage of being able to work across multiple manufacturers rather than tying a household to individual franchised networks.

For motorists running two or three different makes of vehicle, a trusted local garage can offer considerable convenience.

But Mazda’s strategy demonstrates that franchised networks are increasingly prepared to compete harder for older cars rather than accepting that they will inevitably migrate into the independent aftermarket.

Could other manufacturers follow?

That may ultimately be the most important question for independent garages.

Mazda isn’t simply discounting a service on an ageing vehicle.

It is combining competitive labour rates, fixed-cost servicing, monthly payments, digital customer contact and an optional contribution towards unexpected costs in an effort to maintain the relationship with motorists much further into their vehicle’s life.

And there is an obvious commercial incentive.

Retaining an owner for servicing generates workshop revenue today while keeping that customer connected to the brand when the time eventually comes to replace their vehicle.

Mazda explicitly identifies both servicing work and future car sales as benefits of the strategy.

If the programme proves successful, similar attempts to extend dealer retention deeper into the ageing UK vehicle parc would hardly be surprising.

For independent garages, the early figure may therefore be worth watching.

If 10% of Mazda’s new service plans are already being sold for vehicles more than a decade old, the assumption that older cars naturally migrate away from franchised dealers may no longer be something the independent aftermarket can take for granted.

External resources:

Mazda UK – Service plans expanded to out-of-warranty cars

Mazda UK – Information for independent operators

Mazda UK – Servicing and maintenance FAQ

Mazda UK – Service and ownership support