I guess that’s one reason why, Certain cars i have dismissed from my shortlist if they not local, as servicing and any problems that arise is a bigger issue, than if the dealer was closer and even more so with the cost of fuel right now. Say the rubber starts coming of the wiper blade, i just pop into the dealers and they fix it, if it was a 100 mile trip may as well just fix it yourself. So is definitely something i have advised other on.
It’s ok to buy from a dealer far away as long as you can get it serviced near by unless it might become more expensive and time consuming than it should be and especially in steve’s case having issues from new only compounds that problem of the distance.
I get for some there none local at all, like where i used to live, when i first joined the scheme. but for me there quite a few local to pick from but others like seat, bmw, Mercedes, mini, fiat and others are not.