This is what full service history gets you :(

[Dave3283]

Well I have had the Octavia over a month now and I have worked out all of the little Jobs that need doing to it, So this weekend I set about a few of them.

My first Job was to service the car, It has full Service history ( well it has the stamps/recipts in the service book) but as it is on a 55 Plate and is well outside of warrenty I will be carrying out all of its services and minor work myself for the rest of its life with me.I drained the oil and changed the oil filter, changed the air filter and all looked good ( air filter was not to grubby so looks like it was changed at the last service) then I moved on to the fuel filter.

OMG!!!! for a car that has full service history I have never seen a fuel filter like this on any car I have had, I watched a how to video before changing my filter and the one taken out was only a light shade of grey. I dont think it has been changed in the 72,000 miles the car has covered, Just goes to show that a full service history should only be taken as a guide line that the car has been looked after.

[PC1212]

You raise a good point, do they ever do what we get charged for?

Personally don`t trust any dealers... you can never see the work what has been done as its hidden

You get a stamp, invoice for parts and a scribble in your service book with some filthy fingerprints too if your unlucky!

If you ask to see the old parts for example,are they really off your car???

Its all a bit concerning if you ask me!

[Lofty79]

I have used many dealers for full servicing as part of the vehicle service plan offer or whatever. Everytime there has been something wrong. Once the oil used on my uncles passat tdi by vw for longlife service was a 10w40 semi synth, i saw it being put in. They rectified it but had i not snuck around the back?........

I now sometimes even avoid a full dealer history as imho this can indicate a car with wrong treatment and shortcuts

The car i have now (over 200k miles) had no service history, just an old boy who wrote down what he did and when............... best car ive ever had

[Dave3283]

I always take full service history with a pinch of salt till I can prove or dis-prove the work has been carried out, dont get me wrong if it comes down to 2 cars and one has no service history at all and one has the stamps in the book this is the one I would buy, when I sell my car on ( although it will be worth Pennies as all of my cars are due to me holding on to them for so long) someone will get a good car that has been well looked after and I will have lots of documentation to back it up.

[Lofty79]

I go by which one is running/sounding better. Has less wear, lighter/lower clutch etc etc.

a very bad driver and fsh is worse than a great driver with nsh

[Dave3283]

I agree with you Lofty, I would rather have a car that has been looked after privately by some one with a bit of knowledge than a car with a fully stamped service book, unfortunatly there are not many of theses around now as there are less people who maintain their cars themselves, when I was a kid my dads garage was round the corner from our house with about 5 or 6 other garages and every weekend every garage door was open with someone doing something to their cars, now I live on a new estate with an attached garage and when I open the bonnet on my car I get looks of disgust from the neighbours.

[Lofty79]

Thats true, very hard to find an all round belter now. Either mechanically sound and rusted to death with every joint having play, or a gleamer with no clutch left.

I know a trader locally who is going out of business, not due to lack of sales, but lack of good stock

[Aspman]

I keep the invoices from my indy which detail every item he's put in the car. Better than 'interim service' which the franchise dealer put.

[Grizzle]

Would never trust a dealer servicing especially my local one anyway bunch of incompetent fools.

Self servicing for me only, that way i know its done right and the best parts/oil are used.

Just done an oil and filter change for winter Fuchs oil and OEM filter runs like a swiss watch again

[Huskoda]

Yes, I had the service illusion shattered when I took my lass' Polo to Leeds VW. One of the items I specifically wanted doing was the PAS fluid checking (Fabia 1 1.9 owners will sympathise with this). They put it on the job sheet that all was checked and well.

It was never done. No sign whatsoever that they had dug down to filler cap. Our regular mechanic checked and found it nearly empty. Then topped it for free.

The dealer has lost my custom after 6 years. I now go to a Skoda specialist instead.

[italiandave]

2 years ago an Indy changed a cam belt on my Seat, I had used them prior to do a cam belt and was confident with them – anyway the car broke down on the way home – the turbo pipe was loose, the under tray wasn’t secured – I wasn’t happy atall….

Just yesterday I was under the car and noticed a few nuts/bolts missing which were used to secure a pipe or too… this is poor – I of course put these parts right and thankfully the cam belt was done ok.

Its very hard to trust anybody really….

[Lofty79]

pardon?

[italiandave]

sorry was just sharing the whole faith thing in garages working on your car....

[Dave3283]

Would never trust a dealer servicing especially my local one anyway bunch of incompetent fools.

Self servicing for me only, that way i know its done right and the best parts/oil are used.

Just done an oil and filter change for winter Fuchs oil and OEM filter runs like a swiss watch again

I am the same as you Grizzle, I do all my servicing myself, I use only OEM parts and the best oil I can get my hands on,then i know it has a) been done and b ) been done properly, It also costs a lot less, My parts bill came to just under £65 including oil, oil filter, air filter, and fuel filter, my local indy wanted £160 for the same ( not sure they would have used OEM parts) and Skoda want £180 I have seen some garages offer full service for £99 but for that I would not expect them to open the bonnet.

Edited 19 November, 2012 by Dave3283

[mannyo]

Diesel fuel filters go black very quickly, this is why its replaced every 20K miles. They all look like that when they are removed, diesel is after all oil and is constantly running around the fuel system when the engine is running. The fuel pressure is constant and unused fuel is sent back to the fuel tank via the return lines, resulting in what you see in the first post.

[alberg]

Like above

On my 1.6tdi, I did ask to change the fuel filter at 30k.

It was like the pic on the first post.

[Dave3283]

Diesel fuel filters go black very quickly, this is why its replaced every 20K miles. They all look like that when they are removed, diesel is after all oil and is constantly running around the fuel system when the engine is running. The fuel pressure is constant and unused fuel is sent back to the fuel tank via the return lines, resulting in what you see in the first post.

I must admit mannyo I have never had a diesel filter come out that black before, my last car was a peugeot 406 HDI and I changed the fuel filter every year and I did 12,000 a year and it was never that bad , also My car had a stamp and invoice stating it had been serviced one year ago at 64,000 miles it currently has 72,000 on it, the car is set to variable servicing ( although from now on it will be serviced every year or 10,000 ) and has stamps every 2 years at around the 20,000 miles marker so it should have been done 3 times, my guess is that it was not done at the last service and as all the stamps are from the same garage I have to question if it has ever been done.

Edited 19 November, 2012 by Dave3283

[nick74]

PDs are known for blackening their fuel filter very quickly due to small traces of injector blow-by and oil from the tandem pump getting into the the fuel system. The official service interval is far too long IMHO. It should be less of a problem on a CR however.

The filter on a PD can get like the one in the pic in 20k or less, but in my experience common rail fuel filters can go double that mileage and only be slightly discoloured.

[FriendlyFire]

Same experience with mine, I serviced it myself so I know it was done.: Changed at 2 years 17000 miles and 4 years 38000 miles. on both occasions the fuel filter came out pure black. I am reverting to fixed interval servicing and I will do it once a year from now on.

A friend who owned a filling station told me the fuel in Ireland was such he wouldn't leave it past a year.

[flyerphil]

The full service history has little to do with "servicing" - its an anti clocking indicator and should correlate with the MOT history etc.

However you are right, its very annoying when you pay for servicing and its not done properly, and main dealers charging £70 per hour for labour are no guarantee that it has been done correctly, in fact they are rogues most of them.

So, do it yourself - or get a trusted private mechanic charging £30 / hr labour to do it for you - and watch him while he does it !

[Chrispy]

Based on my experience of how skilled dealer techs are and how much attention to detail that they pay, I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole if I had the choice. The only useful part that came of it was getting warranty claims and goodwill gestures dealt with, other than that they consistently got things wrong or misdiagnosed. And for £70 per hour.....

Bought all the parts myself for the 40k service and took them to a local garage who then went to town on the car, they even greased the door hinges. Car ran like new afterwards with a dramatic improvement in power, smoothness and economy.

Skoda parts desk couldn't understand why I wanted to change the air and fuel filters before 60k....that said it all for me.

[Grizzle]

how's the Focus mate??

[cheezemonkhai]

Diesel fuel filters go black very quickly, this is why its replaced every 20K miles. They all look like that when they are removed, diesel is after all oil and is constantly running around the fuel system when the engine is running. The fuel pressure is constant and unused fuel is sent back to the fuel tank via the return lines, resulting in what you see in the first post.

It's a 60k to 80k interval on the MK 2.

FWIW you can end up with the tandem pump putting oil in the filter if it's an issue.

[jrw]

It's a 60k to 80k interval on the MK 2.

FWIW you can end up with the tandem pump putting oil in the filter if it's an issue.

Was going to say it isn't 20k and hasn't been for a long time. My 1.9PD Bora is 50k intervals iirc but always have it done at around 25-30k.

[Chrispy]

how's the Focus mate??

So far, excellent thanks mate. After having the steering wheel buttons fixed and an updated map applied it's a lovely bit of kit and has had nothing else go wrong. Feels very well put together, handles brilliantly (with a much better ride than the Skodas) and I've gotten used to having lots of toys.

The only thing I miss is the power......going from circa 205bhp to 115 is a large drop, but it's the torque that this thing needs - gone from about 300ft/lb to 200 (on overboost) and that is really noticeable Round town it's fine but show it an open road and it struggles a bit. Also the MPG is nowhere near what it should be as I'm getting late 40's tank on tank - annoying when Ford claim 67 combined but you'd have to drive at 50 mph to get that and I can't be arsed. But £20 VED kind of helps, as did the insurance rebate And it's taught me to chill out and waft along listening to Michael Buble rather than scream about with Rage Against the Machine blaring out (to try and drown out the road noise that was so intrusive on the Octavia). The brakes are smaller but more progressive and just as effective but I have noticed that it tramlines like a complete beotch, something I think the optional 18"s have done as other forum members have commented about the same thing with those wheels. 235/45/18 so slightly wider than the Octy and a bigger profile which helps the ride me thinks.

Also Ford dealer was excellent when it was in for those 2 little things - very efficient and communicative.

So far not missing the faulty rustbucket Octy for anything other than grunt and a boot like a cave, both of which I'm learning to live without.

Edited 19 November, 2012 by Chrispy