had car service friday, under the bonnet today look at oil and its black, is this the normal colour for PD engine oil or have I been spanked?

It's not uncommon for the oil to be very dark - even when freshly changed, oils these days are a lot darker to start with -- a lot of people expect it to be a light golden colour -- it so any more.

That said of course if the garage have not allowed the oil to drain fully - then it would become dirty a lot quicker.

I would be suprised if any dealer would do a service without changing the oil -- it's just not worth the adverse publicity they would get if found out!

had car service friday, under the bonnet today look at oil and its black, is this the normal colour for PD engine oil or have I been spanked?

Perfectly normal, diesel oil gets black almost instantly - proves its doing its job. I do my own oil changes on the VRs and its dark the next day.

GOOD!, had me worried becuase without naming names I haven't found my local dealer very good

At least you've still got one, mines turned into an Arnold Clarks grr

Its quite common for customers to think they have been ripped off (been asked on here loads before).

The oil will be black as soon as you start the engine. No matter how long you leave it not all of the oil will drain out of the sump when doing a change.