Hi,

Currently a Fabia I VRs owner but will be taking delivery of an Octavia VRs CR DSG in March

I've done quite a bit of searching and reading about fixed vs variable servicing and I'm still confused.

I will do about 12K - 14K per year of mixed driving mainly made up of a 40 mile commute each day along A roads and 10 miles on M1.

Can anyone tell me what the approximate costs are for fixed and variable servicing?

What is the concensus - fixed or variable?

Cheers

Mark

Only had mine since Aug, so not yet had a service. I am on variable and do about 20k a year.

When I picked up the car it was reckoning on about 18k miles to service and that is still on track if I add what is left to what I have done so far.

My commute is 90% constant speed motorway ~40miles each way. I think the calculation is uses is largely based on the fuel flow, so the lower the mpg the shorter the time to service on variable.

I am definitely better on variable, as mine is almost the perfect commute for engine efficiency, I would guess you may be too provided the road conditions yield a reasonable mpg above 40mpg. (but don't rely on the computer, some can be 5 or more mpg out)

My commute is only 5 miles each way and mine looking like it'll want it's first service at 18k miles.

Mine is going in for it's first service next week at 12 months old, it is getting changed to fixed when it's in which is how it should have been when I picked it up but I noticed around Christmas that it's actually set to variable :wonder:

Call me old fashioned but I simply don't wish to leave services any longer than 12 months.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Still not sure which way to go.

Does anyone have any idea on how the costs of the fixed vs variable servicing compare?

Mark

We get free servicing or will do when we get the car in March so I might leave it on yearly for now as SWMBO will use it for work 8 miles each way.

A variable service is often slightly more expensive than a fixed service, between £30 - £50 depending on spec (DSG, Haldex 4x4 etc.)

However it shouldn't be the individual service cost you look at, you need to look at total servicing costs over the period you plan to keep the car.

Fixed is 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever you reach first.

Variable can be upto approx. 22,000 miles and 2 years.

If you plan to keep the car for a long time my preference would be fixed, more frequent oil changes - longer life.

If you plan to replace the car within or just outside of the three year warranty period then I'd go variable, less frequent oil changes - less cost.

If you cover high annual mileage then I'd choose varaible - reduced servicing costs.

If you do around 10-15,000 miles / year or less then I'd choose fixed - regular oil and low servicing costs.

There is no right or wrong answer, it's all down to your perception of how important fresh oil is on engine/turbo life, how long you intend to own the car, how much mileage you do, your type of driving, how much you are prepared to spend on servicing etc etc.

I agree that total cost of ownership is the best way of looking at it but as I usually keep my cars for around 5 years so over that lifetime I would only be looking at a couple of hundred quid difference between fixed and variable servicing anyway - in the grand scheme of things it's hardly worth bothering about.

I like the idea of more frequent oil changes as I intend to keep the car outside of its warranty period.

Still not 100% sure but I'm currently leaning towards fixed servicing intervals.

Just because its on variable servicing doesn't mean you can't change the oil inbetween services....

I have Octavia vRS Anthracite 2.0 Diesel which is 3 months old, and it's my first Skoda. I intend to keep it for a few years. Being an old fashioned girl, I shall have my car serviced on a yearly basis as I only do about 7,000 miles a year. I'm not mechanically minded (being a woman!) so I want to make sure the car is looked after properly. I love my vRS!

You do 7,000 miles per year and bought a diesel? Wouldn't you have been better off with the petrol?

Just because its on variable servicing doesn't mean you can't change the oil inbetween services....

Assuming you manage 20,000 miles on variable and then change the oil at 10,000 miles wouldn't it therefore make more sense just to stick with fixed service intervals?

Assuming you manage 20,000 miles on variable and then change the oil at 10,000 miles wouldn't it therefore make more sense just to stick with fixed service intervals?

I've gone for variable service regime for both my Skoda's but opted for an intermediate oil change between 18k services. Only costs £100 for an oil & filter change at the dealer but I guess I'm old fashioned in not wanting to keep the same oil in my sump for 18k miles.

A variable service is often slightly more expensive than a fixed service, between £30 - £50 depending on spec (DSG, Haldex 4x4 etc.)

However it shouldn't be the individual service cost you look at, you need to look at total servicing costs over the period you plan to keep the car.

Fixed is 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever you reach first.

Variable can be upto approx. 22,000 miles and 2 years.

If you plan to keep the car for a long time my preference would be fixed, more frequent oil changes - longer life.

If you plan to replace the car within or just outside of the three year warranty period then I'd go variable, less frequent oil changes - less cost.

If you cover high annual mileage then I'd choose varaible - reduced servicing costs.

If you do around 10-15,000 miles / year or less then I'd choose fixed - regular oil and low servicing costs.

There is no right or wrong answer, it's all down to your perception of how important fresh oil is on engine/turbo life, how long you intend to own the car, how much mileage you do, your type of driving, how much you are prepared to spend on servicing etc etc.

+1

I've gone for variable service regime for both my Skoda's but opted for an intermediate oil change between 18k services. Only costs £100 for an oil & filter change at the dealer but I guess I'm old fashioned in not wanting to keep the same oil in my sump for 18k miles.

So would not changing from variable to fixed make more sense for you?

Skoda currently offer a 2 year fixed service plan for £299 which includeds either two MOT's or £50 of vouchers.

Subtract the cost of the MOT's (£80-£100?) and it equates to just over £100 per service.

Is this not cheaper than 1x variable service + 1x £100 oil & filter change?

You do 7,000 miles per year and bought a diesel? Wouldn't you have been better off with the petrol?

It didn't really bother me whether it was petrol or diesel, I fell in love with the car overall. There was a petrol version at a different dealer, but without all the extras that we're available on the diesel, and at the time the petrol version wasn't available to view due to the Christmas holidays. The diesel was available to view and test drive elsewhere, so I went for it. I realise I do low mileage, but that's not an issue. I intend to keep this car for some time and will make sure it's looked after.

It didn't really bother me whether it was petrol or diesel, I fell in love with the car overall. There was a petrol version at a different dealer, but without all the extras that we're available on the diesel, and at the time the petrol version wasn't available to view due to the Christmas holidays. The diesel was available to view and test drive elsewhere, so I went for it. I realise I do low mileage, but that's not an issue. I intend to keep this car for some time and will make sure it's looked after.

I'm similar to you in that I have fairly low milage at the moment 8k - 9k however once I am seconded to the main office the milage will be higher. Also, its not small frequent trips - more like infrequent medium to long trips. Company car gets used for the ultra long runs which gives my car about 12 weeks off a year.

Would love to know how much longer the 'longer life' that is achieved on the engine by changing the oil rather pointlessly at 10k? My mates Polo is now approaching 130k and has been on variable since day one and hasn't skipped a beat....apart from the turbo eating its innards a couple of months ago! (think this was due to stuck fins rather than oil....as it sits on the m/way all day long).

VW wouldn't have invested millions into R&D and developing oil thats up to the job for you to change it half way through!

How do you know if your car is on variable or fixed ????

Longer life oil is used in fixed intervals too (on DPF equipped cars).

I've said it before but variable servicing was introduced simply to attract fleet buyers with reduced running costs.

Sure oil is very different to what it was a few years ago but it still deteriorates over time.

Long life or not 20,000 mile old oil will offer less protection than 10,000 mile old oil. Simple.

Mine is on 16700 and not been serviced yet.

Its two years old on March 1st

I'm getting it booked in the next couple of weeks

It didn't really bother me whether it was petrol or diesel, I fell in love with the car overall. There was a petrol version at a different dealer, but without all the extras that we're available on the diesel, and at the time the petrol version wasn't available to view due to the Christmas holidays. The diesel was available to view and test drive elsewhere, so I went for it. I realise I do low mileage, but that's not an issue. I intend to keep this car for some time and will make sure it's looked after.

The VRs has a DPF, so make sure you regularly take it for a motorway blast to keep it clean

The CR is not as prone as a PD for DPF issues, but you need to make sure you give it a good run regularly.

The only thing you may notice is that in the winter the diesels take a while to warm up, whereas petrols are up to temperature sooner.

The only thing you may notice is that in the winter the diesels take a while to warm up, whereas petrols are up to temperature sooner.

This is my only complaint really, I've only had the car a week and just passed 600 miles but it takes ages to warm up, 4-5 miles to get to 90 degrees - my Beemer can take as little as 2. I don't do short journeys usually but there are occasions when I'll do a couple of miles, stop at a shop and then continue.

I take it this is common/normal? Is it perhaps a result of where the sensor is positioned? ie Maybe the Beemer's sensor is on the block near the thermostat whereas the VRS' is on the radiator?

So would not changing from variable to fixed make more sense for you?

Skoda currently offer a 2 year fixed service plan for £299 which includeds either two MOT's or £50 of vouchers.

Subtract the cost of the MOT's (£80-£100?) and it equates to just over £100 per service.

Is this not cheaper than 1x variable service + 1x £100 oil & filter change?

Thanks for the suggestion, I had not considered that. Car only 1 year old so I don't need an MOT but may still be worthwhile.