I've been quoted

If you'd asked me before Saturday I could have posted you the servicing costs of Merritts in Aylesbury as I had to pop in and collect a miniature Octavia (yes, the one I ordered back in April). They have this big board displaying all the prices for all the models and the intervals.

sounds cheap to me but im used to servicing mercs....

Well your 30k will have been a minor service, so it's 110 quid for an oil change. That said, I had my air filter changed at my 30k, and the whole service was

Fuel Filters aren't normally cheap. I don't know the Fabia price, but I remember paying over

Butts list the 1.9D (not sure if it's turbo) fuel filter at 15 quid. So even adding on delivery and "dealer premium" it still shouldn't be more than 20 quid...

Not sure how long it would take to change one though, and I expect this is where the hit of the cost is!

Rob.

On the way to one big sunday in Leic - we changed a fuel filter in 5 minutes, if that. I don';t know about the air filter though. It just seemed a bit much, even a lot more than my 20K service.

I guess if it keeps the car running for a few thousand more miles I should be less reluctant to shell out that kind of cash.

:cheers:

Air filter takes much the same time to swap, simply taking off the housing cover, swapping the element, wiping over the housing and putting it back.

Like you say though, it's not so much the cost of the service itself as the cost compared to the minor service. Well worth phoning round some other garages though...

Rob.

Its booked in now - but if they moan they want to change the discs + pads on the rear, I'll tell them I can't let them because I can't afford it after their extortionate service charge...

I guess I'm just going have to a hell of a lot of gardening to get some extra cash in... :(

edit: & before someone moans that having dodgy discs at the back is dangerous, its not affecting brake reliability or performace, yet. And, I'm determined to wear them into the ground before I change them. ( I'm so tight, I have to get the maximum effort out of everything I buy, before I renew - This could be why I had wire showing on my first set of tyres before I changed them at 20K )

Fuel filters these days are all put in line with quick release clamps. Procedure - release pressure in the fuel system, remove old filter, insert new one - five minutes for a garage technician with the car on a lift should be plenty. Having said that - I suppose it may be different for diesel, but I don't really expect it is.

I haven't managed to reach 40K in the Fabia but the "10k" service was

I shall do.

My 30K was

Originally posted by flyingscot in this post

Looking at the invoice it was 70.30 for Labour, 14.80 for oil,

:eek: 10k service should only take about 45 minutes! That oil price is pretty good though...

Rob.

Originally posted by devonutopia in this post

10.58 for an element

Hmm...based on price and description, that sounds like an air filter to me!

Rob.

and that was done on my 30000 service...? :confused:

I'll check out the invoice when I get it, to be sure.

I'd be right in saying the air filter does NOT need changing every 10K, right?

Originally posted by robmawer in this post

:eek: 10k service should only take about 45 minutes! That oil price is pretty good though...

Rob.

Don't care I didn't pay for it! It did seem to be on the high side mind even though it was a 12 month inspection service as the car had only covered 7000 miles. By comparison the same service on the Octavia Ambiente TDi was for

Originally posted by devonutopia in this post

I'll check out the invoice when I get it, to be sure.

I'd be right in saying the air filter does NOT need changing every 10K, right?

I thought it was a 40k thing, but it's best to do it when it gets clogged. The only other thing I could think of it as being is related to the oil filter, but then I thought that was replaced in it's entirety rather than just an element...

Rob.

As per normal I've started a thread about a query, and got myself even more confused than when I started it... :confused:

I'll just check out their invoice for any strange anomolies. At least I have a credit card I can put the charge onto for another month.

"Element" could be either air or pollen.

Air filter on the Octavia is a 40k item but it's only 11 quid and can get clogged much sooner depending on driving conditions. Mine was filthy when the car was remapped so we did an early change then (about 35k). Could probably have benefited from a change at 20k judging by the condition of it.

Originally posted by devonutopia in this post

As per normal I've started a thread about a query, and got myself even more confused than when I started it... :confused:

I'll just check out their invoice for any strange anomolies. At least I have a credit card I can put the charge onto for another month.

Jason - better still, ring them back and ask why it's so much more than the 30k service. No harm in letting them know you're interested in what work is going to be done, and will be checking the invoice. You're entitled to know where your money's going.

true, true. I think I'll compare the 30K & 40K invoices first and see later. As far as I can tell there's not a great deal of extra work to be done - just a little bit more checking over.

a few posts earlier you mentioned magnatec, as far as i know thats not the right spec oil for the fabia. !

my 40k fabia tdi service cost 120 at an independant and it doesn't invalidate the warranty as long as skoda parts are used.

wouldn't let the xxxxs in my area service my octavia, which is why i switched to the independant for the fabia, seemed a decent job.

But what would I know I'm only a engineer with 20 years experience of rotating metal.

The oil I got for the Fabia was Esso Ultron. I can't remember exactly which Esso Ultron oil but I will check in the garage. It's the same oil as supplied by the dealer in the service.

It's always good looking at the car a bit before the service. I know that a VW dealer used to charge for screenwash no matter how much was actually needed! It could be filled up to the top before you go in and you'd still get charged for it! Independant garages can be a great thing. My Dad used to have an old Volvo which he would service at independants because Volvo charges were on a par with BMW garages and an independant could do it for 60% less! Even times when he wanted minor jobs like the handbrake tighted the local independant did it for free. In the end he used to give the mechanics a

Can recommend a good independent in Swindon if anybody wants one. A good independent garage is worth their weight in gold.

Is magnatec really not a good oil for a TDI fabia??? I'm confused now. I just assumed magnatec was decent because of its clingy properties. "protects from the moment you turn the key" as the TV ad says...

:confused: