Major service not so major..?

[Gyp]

Minor service with Blade has just gone up and I've been quoted £108.

Certainly worth shopping around

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[FLAPPERJACK7]

Having worked with/for both Volkswagen and Skoda for 24 year's I can tell you now it is extremely rare to see wheels removed on a service. It's basically as little as possible for as much as they can get. As for software enhancements software updates during a minor oil change. ..no chance , he simply does not have the time. .. He has 30 minutes to find your car and your keys in the car park put a seat cover on and a floor cover and a steering wheel cover. Drive your car into the garage put the vehicle on the ramp. Find your service book. Stamp it. Print a service sheet. Collect the parts from the parts department. Check lights and levels. Drain the oil and replace the filter. Put the oil in. Do a vehicle health check. Road test (highly unlikely for them to do this at all. ). Park the car back outside for a valeter to wash it. This technician needs to sell as many hour's he can a day. So he needs to do 16 or 18 oil change services a day to remain efficient. Stay away from dealerships and most fast fit's is my advice or be prepared to drop the soap!

These places have sales forecasts and shareholder's and target's to hit every month.

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Edited 12 May, 2016 by FLAPPERJACK7

[RickW]

I'm on a 3 year PCP and hopefully will be able to trade in for a new car at the end of the deal,so I think my hands are tied as far as servicing is concerned and have to go to a Skoda dealer?

[stooz]

Mine is 3 years old now, and passed its free servicing period, So I shall be going to a good independant, but frankly an oil change an filter is easily within reach of doing at home with limited skills.

undo bolt, let oil fall out, put bolt through new filter, do up. put new oil in top.

The hardest part is getting under the car.

 

Brakes - look through wheels to see if there is any pad left. (back a bit harder)

[Michaelski]

Hi wizzi,

There's NO way (repeat, NOT NOHOWSKI)am I prepared to shell out mega-shekels just to have a Skoda Stealer update Skoda's records & switch off the service warning indicator, AND ESPECIALLY, because ( even by their own admittance)I would get little more than an oil & filter change for my money - I don't see why (as admitted by themselves) I should fork out to subsidise their "experience, training & tools", to me, this is all part-and-parcel of them flogging a car (or in my case, TWO cars) to me. Yeah, the Stealership has to be financially viable, but £170 for little more than an oil & filter change - CUMMON! And at least Kwikfit CLAIM (whether they actually do or don't the work)to be doing all sorts of the checks that one would expect from the main Dealer. Even a Skoda MAJOR service (at around £300+ smackeroodles)doesn't make any mention of what Kwikfit say that they do.

My sentiments are reinforced by FLAPPERJACK7's comments above - and he certainly does seem to be speaking with the (sad) voice of experience.

And to further reinforce my feelings, the DEFINITIVE response from Skoda UK (yeah, I moaned at them as well) was sic "due to block exemption legislation, I may have the vehicle serviced at a workshop of my choosing, and this WILL NOT affect the vehicle warranty". All THAT IS stipulated, is that "the workshop MUST use genuine Skoda parts (Oil filter?) lubricants (a mineral oil is a mineral oil is a mineral oil)& approved maintenance methods(DEFINE "approved maintenance methods.

And to RickW, see the last sentence: I too am on a 3 year PCP,& probably/or "possibly" will trade the car in for another Citigo. Is the Stealership going to dissect the full-mineral oil & tell me that it's NOT Skoda approved??? From comments on this topic by fellow Briskodians THEIR brand of engine oil seems to vary from workshop to workshop!!! But if you want the reassurance of the Stealership's propaganda, then you'll have to fork out for it - much to the Stealership's delight. I AM NOT willing to fall in with their moral blackmail - and reading some of the other Posts on here, neither are a number of other Skoda owners.

You pays yer money & yer makes yer choice - or MORE pertinently, yer makes yer choice and YER PAYS YER MONEY (LOTS of it)!

[Michaelski]

WHY doesn't Skoda have a website which itemises what recent "patches" are available & more importantly, what they consist of?

 

If they did, then Skoda owners could actually see whether they needed any updates and take the appropriate action.

 

At the moment, these "updates" (or more pertinently, the LACK of them) appear to be held over the head (a bit like the sword of Damocles) of Skoda owners, purely as a means to force them into having the car serviced by a main Dealer, rather than a trusted Independent. 

[RickW]

Anyone here traded in a PCP without a full Skoda dealer servicing? Would love to know what happened.

[FLAPPERJACK7]

Even the Skoda technician who does a software update does not know what the update does. Come on we are talking about Vag. ...The guys that screwed up. Mislead everyone for year's on emissions.

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[Michaelski]

When I get round to it (before very long, in fact) I intend to formally write to Skoda UK, and ask them exactly what "patches" (& what they referred to) have been released in the last 10-12 months.  I'll Post whatever the response is, but what I'll be asking for is hardly classed as unreasonable, & I "hope" that they will be obliging.

 

From my experience, I actually trust Skoda UK, so am hoping for an ethical response.    We'll see!!! .

[Gyp]

From an insurance perspective it would be a responsible thing to enquire what changes had been made from the manufacturers original specification, and from a personal safety perspective it's important to know if the behaviour of the car has changed in anyway.

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[MickA]

Being an ex Citigo owner I to use to complain about servicing costs, well any serving costs that are more or less OTT on price.

 

I paid £99 1st service, 2nd service £179. First service I received my car back valeted, I think my car must have been the 100th car they had washed that week, out of the same bucket of water. I washed my car before I took it in (yes I'm a bit anal about cleaning my car) so it came back dirtier, at least they changed my oil and filter.

2nd service again they changed the oil but I told them not to wash the car. They happily told me they had done an update, it shows some sort of module had been changed and updated.

Both times they had pumped the tyres up to within an inch of their lives, I wondered why the car was crashing about on the return journey on the A38.

 

Winding on I bought a SEAT Toledo,a very nice car, needed a car with three seats in the rear.

 

1st service much like the Citigo but £139 to service, they wouldn't do it at a reduced price, I used Skoda as SEAT were £179 for a 1st service.

Just had the second service done, Skoda wanted £179 and SEAT wanted over £200 (can't remember the exact figure)

Anyways I bit the bullet and took it to my local independant for it's 2nd service, they quoted £140 and do remove the wheels for an inspection/brake strip, also used genuine VAG parts and recommended oil/filter. No car valeting, no fancy showrooms, no bulls**t, I could have had a courtesy car though but declined as I was 1/2 mile from home, and to think I used to travel 25 miles to the Skoda dealer. Anyway when I picked the car up the very nice lady told me I'd been quoted too much and presented me with a bill for £99.26p, lovely jubbly.

 

Footnote.... why do most garages/dealer service centres over inflate tyres, yes fault found with my local garage, they have theis trait too. 2.5 bar, should be 2.1 bar. The mind boggles really.

[Michaelski]

Well guys (& ladies, of course) I've had the official answer from Skoda UK.

 

I, very politely, enquired of Skoda as to exactly what "patches" affected Citigo's from May 2015 - until now, and precisely what they referred to - ie. did they relate to any safety aspects etc etc of the vehicle.

 

I received a telephone call from Skoda UK today, and their official stance was that "we are not prepared to tell you what patches have been advised to Dealers/Stealers, and we are not prepared to tell you what they referred to.  Our technical people do have this information, but we regard it as being privileged information: not available to be released to owners, and not (even if there were safety issues involved) anything that they feel owners are entitled to.    But Skoda Dealerships have this information, & if you have your car serviced by them, then these patches (whether or not there actually are any) will be downloaded when you have a Service".

 

So there, in a nutshell, & by their own admission is the answer: if there are any patches, irrespective of how they may/may not affect your car, you can only receive them by utilising the involvement of a Dealer.

 

Says it all, really, once you've shelled out your money for their vehicle, you're then solely in the hands of the Dealers.

And if one doesn't like this attitude, then the (unspoken) solution, is buy some other make of vehicle!!!

[stooz]

if it is a safety issue - it becomes a recall. so anything else isnt an issue unless you have something you think is wrong and there might be a patch for it already. hardly something to worry about if you prefer not to use a dealer.

[Michaelski]

Hi stooz,

My thoughts entirely: if it REALLY mattered, then "it" would be out there somewhere.

As no Briskodian (& these guys seem to know what is going on) has any definitive word, then whatever patches (if any) have been released in the past year, can't be all that important. At least not important enough for a Skoda Stealership to charge £169 for not much more than an oil & filter change.

It's not just the money (inflated though it is) there's also a principle there - should one be dictated to in this day & age?

[FLAPPERJACK7]

£169 for an oil change a spit in the coolant a hiccup in the tyre's a walk around the car to see what they can sell you additionally. Definitely no updates unless it's part of a recall or service action. No wheels will be removed. A stamp in the book (if you have one, from producion week 50 of 2013 you won't have one.) Then off for a poor quality service. wash. What is stated on the website as to what they do. .. is a lie. It was written by someone who has not been near a spanner for year's if ever.

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[Rooted]

http://master.skoda-auto.com/mini-apps/recall-actions

 

You check if there are Service Campaign works outstanding.

Your car being serviced should go on the Diagnostics if it is in for a service,

they should know if there are any TPI's, Service Campaigns or Software Updates or Enhancements required.

 

If the car is not being Services as Skoda Official Websites indicate they should be or buy the Service Schedule / Guidelines 

then 'Mis-selling' is going on.

 

Actually with Mis-selling, Upselling, and lying Skoda and VW Group Main Dealers are quite familiar.

 

Ask what you are getting for your National or Fixed Price Servicing, 

and before paying have the Service Desk person confirm all has been done.

Edited 20 May, 2016 by GoneOffSKi

[Michaelski]

Hi FLAPPERJACK 7,

My coolant (as with my screenwash) will ALWAYS be up to the recommended mark - I always check them: my tyres will be EXACTLY the correct pressure (I'm anal about keeping those exactly right: there ain't not nuffin that is wrong with the car (IMHO) & there's nothing that they can try to sell me, and as the car has only done some 5000 miles, the brakes (both front & rear) should be like brand new, & I may (or equally, may not) be the recipient of some updates. So, in return for my £169, I'll get an oil & filter change: the Service Indicator Warning (not that it has flashed yet) "may" be reset. AND (what seems to be REALLY important to the Stealership)the fact that the car has been serviced, will be updated on Skoda's records.

Of course, the Stealership "may" do all sorts of other things, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

And en passant, so to speak, the cost of a Major/2 year Service at my local Stealership is well over £300: I haven't even checked what I would receive for that sort of money - but my guess is, not an awful lot! At least if I go to an Independent, I can stipulate what I want checking, rather than being told what I would get!!!

[FLAPPERJACK7]

They would change the pollen filter for the extra 130 odd quid. They will probably try and sell you an ac service and they might ring and say it needs a rear brake clean inspection and adjustment if you did go to them.

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[Michaelski]

Hi FLAPPERJACK7,

There ain't not no way, not nohow, no sirree, are they going to change the Pollen Filter - at one year & less than 6K miles, I'll not accept it. Also, at this age & mileage, the A/C won't need re-gassing, & neither will the brakes need even checking. If I'd have been pushing 10k at the one-year stage, I might just have considered it. I may (repeat "may") patronise the Stealership, but if I do, it will PURELY be because I'm on a PCP, and having the car serviced by a Main Dealer seems to be specified in the small (VERY small) print.

So I may, debatable though it still is - & under CONSIDERABLE pressure FROM SWMBO(who doesn't believe in EVER rocking the boat) pay through the nose for simply an oil & filter change, but THAT'S IT.

[Rooted]

The Pollen Filter Schedule is at a Major Service though when on Fixed Servicing, so a year after a minor service, 

but then some people take into consideration Location Location Location.

ie Countryside living and environment being driven in.

 

Like air filters, maybe a Airfilter in a vehicle used mostly in the countryside stays clean for 40,000 miles and 4 years,

while a City Based car used for commuting only 6,000 miles a year but sits lots in traffic behind dirty polluting Taxis and Buses needs 

a new Air Filter Annually.

Location location location.

[Michaelski]

Yeah well, My car ISN'T used for commuting (coz I don't commute not no more): its' 6k is a mixture of countryside & urban driving (but not in stop/start conditions): the air filter is still (I checked) clean enough,& I'm not (& certainly don't need to be) a "heavy" braker.

So I again come back to receiving simply an oil & filter change - not that they're REALLY essential at 6k - the oil is still slightly off-gold when I check it, and since new, the level has not dropped one iota.

[Michaelski]

A (sadly - I'm sorry) belated reply to RickW.

If you read your PCP propaganda, and also check out the various Search Engines regarding PCP's, then YUP, if you have your car on a PCP, YOU HAVE to use official dealers for your Services. Failure to do so (as the car legally belongs to the finance supplier, & you haven't complied with your agreement with them) could mean that if you wanted to return the vehicle after the PCP had expired, they "could" impose extremely large(& I mean "large") charges before accepting it back. If you wanted to use the car as a deposit for a further vehicle, they "could" also substantially reduce the MGFV. Either way, on a PCP, you're snookered behind the Green.

If you were intending to pay the balance outstanding & then own the car yourself, then the vehicle would be yours, and neither of the two above stipulations would apply.

Sadly, this means that you are tied to having official Dealers Services (& paying their inflated prices) unless you opt for retaining the car at the end of the period.

In roughly-round figures, this means some additional servicing costs of a few hundred Pounds over the first 2 years of the agreement - if you're planning to use the car as a deposit on another car, then you're likely to be wooed into signing for a new car BEFORE Service No. 3 is due.

THAT isn't made clear when one blithely signs up for a PCP.

[Citigouk]

I just checked to see what was done on its second ever service (presumably it's major as I was charged £200+) and as far as I can see they did everything they do in a minor but they also did an inspection service and a interval service, can someone just confirm I'm not just being ripped off and didn't spend 2 1/2 hours at the dealers while my car sat in a parking space?

I was under the impression that the 3rd (30k) service was the largest as that's when filters seem to get changed?!

 

Like some others have pointed out above the 3 years 30k servicing which skoda offered seems very well worth taking up at the time.

[ronime]

I was under the impression that the 3rd (30k) service was the largest as that's when filters seem to get changed?!

 

Like some others have pointed out above the 3 years 30k servicing which skoda offered seems very well worth taking up at the time.

The largest one will be when they change the cam belt, water pump and spark plugs.

[RickW]

A (sadly - I'm sorry) belated reply to RickW.

If you read your PCP propaganda, and also check out the various Search Engines regarding PCP's, then YUP, if you have your car on a PCP, YOU HAVE to use official dealers for your Services. Failure to do so (as the car legally belongs to the finance supplier, & you haven't complied with your agreement with them) could mean that if you wanted to return the vehicle after the PCP had expired, they "could" impose extremely large(& I mean "large") charges before accepting it back. If you wanted to use the car as a deposit for a further vehicle, they "could" also substantially reduce the MGFV. Either way, on a PCP, you're snookered behind the Green.

If you were intending to pay the balance outstanding & then own the car yourself, then the vehicle would be yours, and neither of the two above stipulations would apply.

Sadly, this means that you are tied to having official Dealers Services (& paying their inflated prices) unless you opt for retaining the car at the end of the period.

In roughly-round figures, this means some additional servicing costs of a few hundred Pounds over the first 2 years of the agreement - if you're planning to use the car as a deposit on another car, then you're likely to be wooed into signing for a new car BEFORE Service No. 3 is due.

THAT isn't made clear when one blithely signs up for a PCP.

Thanks very much for making that clear,I thought as much to be honest. Best increase my deposits in the piggy bank then.