Servicing costs

[JamesVRSmk3]

My three free services have all been used so I had to pay for a major service in July this year. The price was advertised online at £269 but due to some problems with my booking and the garage forgetting to pickup my car they gave me a sizable discount and I paid just over half the cost - without even asking for a discount!

 

Roll on yesterday and my car informed me I am due another service (minor) so booked online again and saw the price was £149. I got a call from Skoda HQ who confirmed the booking but told me it was actually £198 as the car was under three years old. I asked what difference that made but he couldn't tell me other than it would cost me more. It needed doing and I'm fed up with arguing with Skoda now so just said book it in. Does this sound right? And if so what is the justification for the added cost other than them having you by the short and curlys as you have no choice but to service it with them?

 

Anyway lunchtime today I get another call from a girl at the dealership the car is booked in to. She was also confirming the booking and didn't realise Skoda HQ had been in touch so I queried the cost with her. She checked my service record and then confirmed my car is now on a variable servicing so it's not actually due for another 10,000 miles or July next year. It turns out I had actually, without realised switched to a variable plan when servicing the car with them last time but they didn't correct the car when resetting the service indicator. Told me to just pop in anytime this week and they will sort it for me.

 

Bit of a result as I will be VT'ing in April so I won't have to pay for another service!

Edited 21 December, 2016 by JamesVRSmk3

[iriches]

Just paid £149 for a 30,000 mile (3rd annual) service on my 2014 1.4 TSI.  All it seems to be is an oil and filter change - but I did get the infotainment firmware updated to v490 and also an upgrade to the engine management software.  The latter was supposedly to fix a beeping noise at ~1400-1500rpm.  We'll see....

[gRoberts]

My dealer has put me on a long life service on a two year lease for some reason.

Apparently I'll only need to service it the one over the two years which I'm not all that keen on?

[ahenners]

My dealer has put me on a long life service on a two year lease for some reason.

Apparently I'll only need to service it the one over the two years which I'm not all that keen on?

It's a lease, why would you want to over service a car that won't be yours in 2 years time?

[gRoberts]

It's a lease, why would you want to over service a car that won't be yours in 2 years time?

Would have thought it would need at least it's first service at 10k or 1 year but they've got it at 20k. Seems a long time from the factory.

[ahenners]

Would have thought it would need at least it's first service at 10k or 1 year but they've got it at 20k. Seems a long time from the factory.

 

On the variable it is a maximum distance/time based on oil condition, driving patterns etc. Mine's on variable and I do about 300 miles a week, however the computer suggests it won't go more than about 14-15k before it is due, rather than the maximum 20k.

[James@RRG_Skoda_Rochdale]

It's a lease, why would you want to over service a car that won't be yours in 2 years time?

Also the lease company don't want to pay for anything more than they absolutely have to.

[Guest]

I have a question...

 

If your car is on Variable just now, as It was done by the dealer at the last service, changed from fixed to variable before I purchased the second hand VRS in October. Can I just wait until October next year or 10K miles and get it serviced again, and get it put back to fixed servicing? 

[ahenners]

I have a question...

If your car is on Variable just now, as It was done by the dealer at the last service, changed from fixed to variable before I purchased the second hand VRS in October. Can I just wait until October next year or 10K miles and get it serviced again, and get it put back to fixed servicing?

I don't see why not. You could probably even do it the other way around too, as the dealer advised me they use the same longlife oil regardless of whether fixed or variable.

[silver1011]

My three free services have all been used so I had to pay for a major service in July this year. The price was advertised online at £269 but due to some problems with my booking and the garage forgetting to pickup my car they gave me a sizable discount and I paid just over half the cost - without even asking for a discount!

 

Roll on yesterday and my car informed me I am due another service (minor) so booked online again and saw the price was £149. I got a call from Skoda HQ who confirmed the booking but told me it was actually £198 as the car was under three years old. I asked what difference that made but he couldn't tell me other than it would cost me more. It needed doing and I'm fed up with arguing with Skoda now so just said book it in. Does this sound right? And if so what is the justification for the added cost other than them having you by the short and curlys as you have no choice but to service it with them?

 

Skoda's fixed price servicing does indeed stipulate it applies to cars from 3 years old only...

 

http://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/service-and-maintenance/simply-fixed

 

However all decent dealers honour this price for younger cars too, at least mine did.

 

Never, ever pay more than £149 for an oil and filter change at a Skoda main dealer.

[RickW]

Just been quoted £189 by my local dealer.

[ahenners]

Just been quoted £189 by my local dealer.

 

Simpsons? I've never had any issue getting them to do a service for the fixed priced cost advertised on the Skoda site.

[RickW]

Simpsons? I've never had any issue getting them to do a service for the fixed priced cost advertised on the Skoda site.

£189 is the new price apparently,but they say they'll honour the old price of £149 as it's still on the Skoda website.

 

An abrupt young woman wasn't happy with me when challenged about the cost and the fact that I'd found a lower price of £115 at another Skoda dealer not a great distance away.

Edited 3 January, 2017 by RickW

[ahenners]

£189 is the new price apparently,but they say they'll honour the old price of £149 as it's still on the Skoda website.

 

An abrupt young woman wasn't happy with me when challenged about the cost and the fact that I'd found a lower price of £115 at another Skoda dealer not a great distance away.

 

That's some difference, which was the other dealer?

[RickW]

RRG Bolton,although my local dealer said they aren't a Skoda franchise;maybe trying to worry me that it would affect the warranty/resale?.

Edited 3 January, 2017 by RickW

[ahenners]

Skoda website seems to think they are:

http://www.skoda.co.uk/dealers/rrg-skoda-bolton

Handy to know, I'll bear them in mind if Simpsons won't play ball come service time :)

[RickW]

I'm conceding on this one for convenience and having the 'oil change' done for £149.

[James@RRG_Skoda_Rochdale]

RRG Bolton,although my local dealer said they aren't a Skoda franchise;maybe trying to worry me that it would affect the warranty/resale?.

RRG skoda Bolton shares the same site as our Toyota branch and is a fully legitimate authorised repairer for the skoda brand. So your warranty, service history and resale value will remain untouched.

They're having a new purpose built site approved as we speak.

[MrAdamwood]

I'm conceding on this one for convenience and having the 'oil change' done for £149.

Ask for a discounted price to reward you staying in the dealer network as you know you could get it done cheaper. I ended up paying £100 + vat

[glosrich]

Lot of fuss about paying for a relatively cheap service. ..

You only have to do it during the warranty, what's the matter.

If you're not prepared to pay for these things, buy an old banger to drive and have lots more spare money

..lol

[RickW]

Lot of fuss about paying for a relatively cheap service. ..

You only have to do it during the warranty, what's the matter.

If you're not prepared to pay for these things, buy an old banger to drive and have lots more spare money

..lol

I have an old banger to drive already thanks,an Austin A40,it's brill :p

 

I'm quite tight when it comes to penny pinching;£34 is a meal out with a starter but no pudding in a relatively nice restaurant. :nerd:

[harrylime]

I have an old banger to drive already thanks,an Austin A40,it's brill :p

 

I'm quite tight when it comes to penny pinching;£34 is a meal out with a starter but no pudding in a relatively nice restaurant. :nerd:

Trying to save £34 for a little effort is not penny pinching, it's common sense, and I would not call relatively cheap for an oil change service. Relative to what, a VW Phaeton service?. Perhaps Glosrich has more money than sense ( a theory supported by his condescending comment), but I, for one, resent and resist main dealer prices as much as possible. You'd have to be a pretty good hourly rate for a saving of £34 to not be worth a couple of phone calls. It's this reluctance to save a few quid here and there that's one of the reasons for record levels of personal debt

[Richie647]

Guys (and girls), My Octavia 1.4 Tsi is due a service - a major (£269)  as the car is telling me and letter through the door etc. However, the car is now out of warranty (expired end of October), do I stick with Skoda dealer for service or do I go elsewhere? I must point out that I get rid of this car on 1st March, while I agree that the logbook needs a stamp to show that the car has been looked after etc. I think that there must be a cheaper alternative than £269 - has anyone else been in this situation? Are there VAG approved garages that we can use? Anyone's thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

Best Regards

 

Richie

[glosrich]

Trying to save £34 for a little effort is not penny pinching, it's common sense, and I would not call relatively cheap for an oil change service. Relative to what, a VW Phaeton service?. Perhaps Glosrich has more money than sense ( a theory supported by his condescending comment), but I, for one, resent and resist main dealer prices as much as possible. You'd have to be a pretty good hourly rate for a saving of £34 to not be worth a couple of phone calls. It's this reluctance to save a few quid here and there that's one of the reasons for record levels of personal debt

For the record I wasn't being condescending. I just don't understand the big fuss over paying for 3 services within warranty.

Yes out of warranty I will be changing my own oil and filters. I just want the protection for 3 years in case my car has a major fault, so I can claim on the warranty.

I agree about shopping around for a good deal, and some Skoda dealers do seem to make up prices rather than to stick to the national fixed pricing.

No hard feelings anyway.

[harrylime]

For the record I wasn't being condescending. I just don't understand the big fuss over paying for 3 services within warranty.

Yes out of warranty I will be changing my own oil and filters. I just want the protection for 3 years in case my car has a major fault, so I can claim on the warranty.

I agree about shopping around for a good deal, and some Skoda dealers do seem to make up prices rather than to stick to the national fixed pricing.

No hard feelings anyway.

Absolutely no hard feelings at all and I agree, my Octavia PD is serviced by local independent, who I trust more than main dealers. I'm looking at buying a nearly new petrol model, so I will be locked into the system for 2-3 years