MasterFit is to become the sole service franchise for the Vauxhall brand, the manufacturer has announced – a plan hatched a while ago but now coming to fruition with the growth of outlets from a current 250 to 400 by the year-end.

Vauxhall owners will henceforth take their cars to a MasterFit outlet for no-appointment servicing with most services being menu-priced, though there will be no national labour charge rate for the brand. With Vauxhall currently claiming a one-third share of the market for Vauxhalls over four years old, the move aims to retrieve a bigger share of Vauxhall's older service parc – ironically, with most new custom likely to be conquested from among Vauxhall's 58,000 Trade Club parts customers in the independent sector, currently buying some £30m worth of parts.

The MasterFit franchise may eventually extend to cover GM's Saab and Daewoo brands – a prospect described by the firm as so far “work in progress”.

Meanwhile, owners of new and nearly-new Vauxhalls will be tempted to stay with the MasterFit network by the Complete Customer Care contract maintenance package, which at £15 per month for all models including MoT insurance and breakdown recovery, is cheaper than the scheme recently announced by Peugeot. Contracts are transferable, and Vauxhall will accordingly hope to lose less custom than rivals when its cars change hands.