Procter said independent garages tend to buy from people who make it easy for them and they’re not that bothered about the price they pay.

“There’s scope for factors such as Andrew Page and Euro Car Parts to hoover up business on older vehicles,” he said. “But as cars get more complex and

manufacturers widen their ranges, they are going to find it harder to cover as much of the vehicle parc as they have in the past.”

The implication is that independents will tend to focus on the highest volume models, leaving dealers to reap the benefits of concentrating on everything else.

He added that manufacturers best known for all-makes parts pro-grammes, such as Motrio, are unlikely to face more competition from other OEMs.

“It’s already a crowded marketplace and the bigger players in the independent sector, such as Euro Car Parts or GSF, have become increasingly professional.”

Offering cut-price workshop services to entice customers with older cars to stay in the network is a potential profit stream.

But it’s either a loss-leader or relies on sourcing quality parts at a discount rate.

Block Exemption means dealers are free to buy components away from their manufacturer partner, but Dr Andrew Tongue, director at the research business ICDP, said that doesn’t happen much.

“There’s inertia from the carmakers to disc-ourage them from doing that in large volumes. Bonuses are paid if they reach certain levels of sales and there’s also bundling of parts.

"Dealers may pay a bit more for the parts, but know they’re going to get them delivered quickly.”

Immediate parts availability is a key element in retaining customers.

The UK model – to remove stock from the dealer to a central distribution hub and provide deliveries several times a day – is more advanced than in many European markets.

Tongue said the benefit for the dealer was the responsiveness; vans on the move means parts aren’t sitting around on shelves getting old and dusty.

He said highly sophisticated stock management systems means availability is very good, but added the system is likely to change in an effort to cut costs. “We think we will see physical logistics getting better to avoid duplication of effort.”

Main dealers aren’t having things all their own way. It’s clear the traditional boundaries of how and where motorists are happy to do their SMR work are blurring.

Manufacturers are pushing the dealers to get better at keeping older cars in the network, but the better independent parts suppliers are responding by getting more professional and sophisticated to support their client base.

So will franchised dealers’ current interest in their parts divisions last? Spratt at the IAAF isn’t sure.

“When the market changes they will probably turn their attention back to car sales. But perhaps, as it seems likely this financial situation is going to go on for a long time, things will get more engrained and that won’t happen.”