Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd open a big can of worms! Took my Octavia 2.0TDI to a Skoda dealer today for the 3rd service and a cambelt change. When i picked the car up i had a quick check under the bonnet as i always do. When i checked the dipstick oil level i noticed that the oil was black. Is this normal?? When I asked in the garage they said it was normal because it's a diesel but I'm not convinced. Surely if it's just had an oil change the oil should not be black yet?? Advice please.....

Also on the drive home i got to thinking - if they hadn't changed the oil what else haven't they done? I checked a few obvious things, there was no grease on the bonnet catch or the door hinges. normal they put a big blob of fresh grease on these parts?

So my big question is how can i tell if they actually did change the cambelt or not?

Any advice tips or thoughts are appreciated

Thanks

Tim

As you say, shouldn't be black that quick.

Hi, when I have serviced cars often the oil is black when you dip it straight away. It was the same when I serviced my fabia and I put the oil in. Some diesel engines are like that! I have serviced alot of cars through work but if your unhappy go back. If they gave you a service check sheet and you feel certain items were not done foe exampl the boot latch greasing they have not carried out the work correctly. We have refunded customers the full service cost due to forgetting to change a key battery or something similar which shlould have been done. So check your service sheet and schedule to see then go back to them. I work for Toyota and we refund or do free services to apologise.

Hope this helps a little

Olly

Greasing catches and hinges arent on our service sheets (although I do them on inspection services, but dont use nasty white grease, just a small ammount of oil).

Oil will be black as soon as the key is turned on a diesel.

It's also highly unlikely that they've told you they did a cambelt change, charged you £350, and then didn't do the cambelt, unless they're total cowboys. This would be a big risk for a reputable dealer

With a diesel, new oil goes black as soon as the engine is run. Black oil after a change on a diesel engine is perfectly normal.

The engine oil on a diesel will turn black as you turn the key and after a 3 mile road test it will be defo as black,

Have a look round bolts you think should have been disturbed and see if they have, ie engine mounting bolts or front crank pully have socket marks on them

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

The garage in question is Winchester Skoda. I have used them before but this time I wasn't as convinced. Especially after paying £764 I expected a bit better service. Maybe they did do the service/cambelt - still not sure, but I will be looking for a decent independant garage for my next service, main dealers just seem to be a rip off.

I'm gonna give the car a proper look over this morning and see if there's anything else obvious that they didn't do.........

Edited 8 July, 201114 yr by ScubaTim