I have always bought Peugeots and get on very well with my local dealer. I have been seduced by a new DS 3 ñ so, seeing as Peugeots, CitroÎns and DSs are similar under the skin, can I take it to my local Peugeot dealer for servicing, and will it make any difference to the value I get when I come to sell it further down the line. Or should I just take it to the DS dealer? Best wishes,

Clive

Good question Clive. I really think that you would be best sticking with a supplying dealer, certainly initially, and arguably throughout your warranty period as, for all the close mechanical similarities (bodywork apart), you would probably have hassle trying to make any warranty claim through a Peugeot dealer. Even more to the point, there is more and more differentiation being created between the CitroÎn and DS Automobiles brand, for very good reasons, and a full DS dealer is going to have better information on a DS 3 than a Peugeot main dealer. If you can believe rumours in the industry, half the existing CitroÎn dealerships may lose the DS brand, so you should find out whether your CitroÎn dealer might be one of these. I asked the CitroÎn UK Press Office for advice on this issue, and they kindly advised me as follows:

ìYour reader can have his/her new DS 3 serviced anywhere, as long as itís done in accordance with the manufacturerís recommendations, for warranty purposes. If he/she has a service plan, then that would need to be fulfilled by a CitroÎn/DS dealer. I would always recommend that cars are brought back into the CitroÎn/DS network as thatís where the expertise is to provide the best possible customer service. CitroÎn and DS Automobiles are now separate brands, but DS cars are still being sold through CitroÎn dealers, and will be for a while to come (years rather than months). The process of separating the CitroÎn and DS networks is only just starting now.î

That should help you Clive, and I hope that you enjoy your DS 3 when, or maybe if, you buy it. CitroÎn UK mention pre-paid service plans, which are usually a very good buy, by the way.

Doc D