First service cost shocker !

[Cymru Blackline]

£235 sounds more like the 'flexible' 2 yearly/18000 mile service. Fixed 1 year/10000 mile service should be £150-ish.

Try another dealer mate.

[Ttaskmaster]

Fixed price: "Fixed price servicing is available to customers at participating ŠKODA retailers only"...

 

Sorry I should of changed my profile as Im no longer in Scotland but now based in Oxford!

 

We have a Škoda dealer here in Reading, just past Calcot near J12.

Also a very good mechanic (and some other not-bad ones) in Earley, just round the corner from J10/A329M.

[renton]

Ttaskmaster it was the dealership in Reading that quoted me the £235. !!!

[TheWanderer]

Have you tried that link to the booking system and what did it return?

 

Like I said I tried it and got to the point where it asked me what I wanted and then cancelled it out, as I've got about 138 days available.

[renton]

Yep tried the link for the same dealer at it comes back with a price of £149.

I'm just worried that I will book it in and then they will call me and say it's actually £235.

[TheWanderer]

I don't think that they can once you have booked it in, the only time that they may increase the cost is if something more major needs fixing or doing and they can't do that without your consent.

[Ttaskmaster]

Ttaskmaster it was the dealership in Reading that quoted me the £235. !!!

 

I'm guessing this was Marshall Škoda, then... formerly Parkview, formerly Ridgeway and now Marshall's of Reading, Newbury, Oxford, Croydon and Barnstaple?

Blimey, at this rate we'll be going to, I dunno, the Czech Republic for our servicing....!!

[BoxerBoy]

Coincidentally, I strolled through a Skoda showroom today, where my eyeballs were seared by by a fluorescent yellow/green Superb Sportline, but all staff were too busy planning their lunch breaks to bother me. So I just lifted a service brochure that caught my eye among all the old car magazines with "Skoda favourable" road tests - and hey presto, there is some very small print on the back cover that reads "For Skoda vehicles 3 years to 10 years old"

Minor service £149

Major service £269

I think our new 3 year annual service plan cost about £330 from memory.

[courty]

My car is booked in for its first service this Friday. It's got 16.2k on the clock and is 16mths old, variable service even though the service clock has been on since 10k.

Correct me if I'm wrong but when the car hits 20k am I then expected to take it back in again for another service? CBA with that three months down the line!

[renton]

So Ive just phoned the dealer back to try and take advantage of the offer on the Skoda sit for the service plan @ £278.22 for the first two services and he said to me he isnt sure if they can do it and would have to speak to the business manager to find out. 

 

He thinks because it wasnt applied when I bought the car it wont be an option ???

[BATVANVRS]

I never use main dealers, purely based on the fact that most of them are not really customer orientated, inexperienced mechanics working on your vehicle & they just live for the actual moment rather than looking after the customer long term.

 

Do yourself the best favour you can do & visit an independent specialists, I live in London & travel to Unit18 in Milton Keynes.

 

http://www.unit18.co.uk/volkswagen-audi-seat-skoda-specialists

 

Speak to Alistair, tell him your a member from Briskoda.

 

Service sorted  B)

[Item]

I just had my first oil change (minor) here in NZ. 13500km and 360-odd days from first rego.

 

Cost me NZ$299 which is about 175 quid at current exchange.

 

My first "major" is due at 30,000Km or 10/1/18 (2 years) whichever is first. Was advised that would cost NZ$550 (330 quid), plus anything else wear & tear which may need doing.

 

(still under warranty)

[silver1011]

So Ive just phoned the dealer back to try and take advantage of the offer on the Skoda sit for the service plan @ £278.22 for the first two services and he said to me he isnt sure if they can do it and would have to speak to the business manager to find out. 

 

He thinks because it wasnt applied when I bought the car it wont be an option ???

 

I'm not sure how many chances you need. Walk away. All the signals are suggesting your chosen dealer is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.

 

They should be able to price up a competitive service price with their eyes shut.

 

Never ever, ever pay more than £149 for a minor / fixed service from a franchised Skoda main dealer.

 

Vote with your feet.

[silver1011]

...and hey presto, there is some very small print on the back cover that reads "For Skoda vehicles 3 years to 10 years old"

Minor service £149

Major service £269

 

That same small print is on the website...

 

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

 

However all good Skoda main dealers who still view customer service and loyalty as their primary aim will honour the fixed pricing on all Skoda's even those under 3 years old.

 

Both my local Skoda dealers will happily apply those prices.

[allan1888]

When using the booking system and getting a price for £149.99 the 3 years rule doesn't apply. If you click on the info next to the price it clearly states it's for skoda's 12 months old. If the dealer is being awkward about it stand in their showroom in full view of other customers and call Skoda customer service and raise a complaint. They tend to sort issues quickly when that happens

[nicknorman]

When using the booking system and getting a price for £149.99 the 3 years rule doesn't apply. If you click on the info next to the price it clearly states it's for skoda's 12 months old. If the dealer is being awkward about it stand in their showroom in full view of other customers and call Skoda customer service and raise a complaint. They tend to sort issues quickly when that happens

Yes but it's a bit like sending food back in a restaurant - you never quite know what might happen to it when it's out of your sight! The OP lives in S England where there is plenty of choice, so better to walk away and find a different dealer that doesn't fail at the first hurdle. Oh and complain to Skoda about them by all means.

[GoneToBeemer]

Yep tried the link for the same dealer at it comes back with a price of £149.

I'm just worried that I will book it in and then they will call me and say it's actually £235.

I booked mine in online for its first service, albeit on variable so was at 18,600 as I mentioned before - was £149.

After the service I was presented with an invoice for £180 odd...I just showed them the email confirmation and they promptly changed it to £149.

Also, it's worth mentioning that it doesn't matter if your car is on fixed or variable servicing, the first service (either at 10k or 20k) is always just a oil and filter change and nothing more - don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Ttaskmaster]

The OP lives in S England where there is plenty of choice, so better to walk away and find a different dealer that doesn't fail at the first hurdle.

 

Looks like most of the official Škoda dealers near the OP (and me) are run by the same company, though...

[Ootohere]

Re post #42.

If the 1st Variable Service (Flexible Service/ Inspection Service) is @ 2 years then it should certainly not be 'Just an OIl & Filter Service', 

Vehicles need Care & Attention and inspecting after having maybe had nothing since some rubbish PDI and little if anything since.

 

When you have a Fixed Service (First Minor Service)at 9,400 (10,000) miles or 372 days which ever came first even that is not Oil & Filter or should not be.

(Who cares about the Wash & Vacuum, you want your family and others safety looked after with a trained person checking the vehicles mechanicals_

Then again at that next service @ 2 years or sooner would be a Major Service / Inspection Service & get a Pollen Filter changed.

 

There is a Pollen (Cabin Filter) to change & 2 years if that is the first Service the car on Variable is in, there should be a Air Filter getting checked, but possibly not replaced.

 

So you have your Minor Service with Fluid checks, visual inspections, diagnostic check. possible Software Updates or Enhancements (joking)

Road test, Health Report etc. 

 

So the same as a Minor in cost plus One Pollen Filter, but not a Major Service Charge and taking money for parts not used because they might have needed to be

but never did get used.

Edited 18 January, 2017 by Offski

[Croat]

In Croatia every one is saying service prices are going up! :(

[Ootohere]

If Wages & Overheads are increasing and inflation that seems fair.

 

If the VW Group Corruption has cost them money, the dealers money and lost business and the need to recoup lost income and profits it is for the EU and Member Governments and others in the Rest of the World to make sure that the VW Group and share holders and investors suffer and not Customers & Owners.

 

VW Cheated, keep attempting to not face up to their dishonesty so Customers need to show them it is not acceptable, 

Go Independent Servicing.

[bertJ]

Last November I was quoted £149 for the first service at 11k on my 150 tdi SEL. When I collected the car the price had reduced to £143.71. The reason was that very little screenwash fluid was required. Mitchells of Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, is an excellent dealer and seems to be considerably different from many of the dealers mentioned in this topic.

[renton]

Just to update.

 

Got a call back from the dealer and they have managed to set up the service plan for me so all is good !!

 

 

cheers all

 

Steve

[courty]

Last November I was quoted £149 for the first service at 11k on my 150 tdi SEL. When I collected the car the price had reduced to £143.71. The reason was that very little screenwash fluid was required. Mitchells of Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, is an excellent dealer and seems to be considerably different from many of the dealers mentioned in this topic.

Mines going there next week, Alex Lawrie quoted me £189, Mitchell's have saved me like 15%. bit of a ball ache travelling there when AL is on my door step but hey-ho money stays in my pocket ????

[silver1011]

The pollen filter is included in the minor service "if required", which at 12 months / 10K it isn't but at 24 months / 20K it is.

 

This is why the £269 variable / major service is even more of a joke on cars less than 3 years old or with 60,000 miles.

 

There is absolutely no difference in the £149 and £269 services other than the price.

 

Sure they might say more visual inspections are done but they aren't. The dealer takes the chance to find as much wrong with your car as they can, this is how they make money, either through warranty claims to Skoda UK or non-warranty items paid for by you.

 

Pay £149 and no more and sleep safely!

 

At 3 years old or 60,000 miles then by all means pay the £269 but make sure you get an air filter, pollen filter, fuel filter (diesel) and spark plugs (petrol).

 

Even then it is often still a rip off. I once paid £139 for a minor service (it's gone up a tenner since then) and added the extra bits listed above from their menu pricing and it was still less than £269.