My rapid is due an oil change service in a month anyone ever haggled down price of the £149 service?

Well my local Skoda main dealer (Willis Motor Company in Ruislip) charges £139 for a minor service. It's only a tenner cheaper, but it might be something you can point to and argue they should price match. 

I found the LONGER the service plan [with the dealer only] the bigger the discount.

I got fed up with dealer servicing, my last one at Skoda was £179 never tried SEAT for a service, heard they are more expensive. Took it to my local garage for it's third service, they got in the genuine service parts and quoted me £129. When I picked the car up they told me they had made a mistake in pricing, it was £99. I asked if they still used genuine parts, yep and invoiced as so. 

Get a quote from an independent dealer and use it to negotiate the Skoda service price down.  Always worked for me.  I would expect to pay around £99 for the oil change service and still see that as expensive, given what little is involved.

Is it a Fixed Annual Service @ 9,400 miles / 372 days. ie a 'Minor Service'. 

Then that is not an Oil & Filter Service, there are the other Inspections and topping up & body inspection.

So if you want to have them leave out the Free (expensive IMO) Vacuum & Wash then do that.

Also top up your own washer fluid and tell them not to charge for a bottle of VW Washer Fluid.  Then negotiate, but it is not a Oil Service.

 

If the car is on Variable Servicing 18,500 miles / 2 Years or so but you want an Oil & Filter change in-between then that is a 'Oil Service'.

 

The dealer minor service is indeed an oil service. All that is done is oil and filter. Everything else is either a visual check (e.g. Wheels still attached to car) or just a curtesy top-up (that rarely ever get done anyway). Nothing of value or meaning.

 

Pollen filter is a "if deemed necessary" element that rarely gets done as it's usually good to last major to major service.

Tyre & Exhaust Centres will do you a Oil & Filter change in less than 15 minutes.

You can call a Minor Service @ a Main dealers a Oil Service if you like, but you are paying for and should get the Car on the Diagnostics, 

the 'Test Drive', then the Health Check & Visual checks and top ups, and the Body Check and Service Indicator set.

Not just 15 minutes or even 30 minutes and another 30 minutes on a wash and vac.

 

Sadly many pay the National Pricing @ Participating Dealerships and not the 'Service Schedule / Guidelines' Service / Maintenance & Report.

 

PS.

Pollen Filter is a 2 Year Service Item unless required, Location / Environment.

Brake Fluid is at 3 Years then each 2, so will fall at the Minor Service the first time, ie after a Minor the Major Service.

All depends on Owners / Use / Needs and want what you get or ask for or end up paying for.

 

PPS

If you get the Work Sheets, and everything is ticked and then the job signed off and work not done that is theft really, 

fraud / false pretences, dangerous, lack of concern for the general public and the customer,  and charging VAT on services and labour not carried out, but then that is how some dodgy workshops are like, 

do not accept that sort of behaviour, name and shame those that charged you and never did the checks....

Anti Freeze strength checks might not be done other than when trying to sell you a Anti Freeze Change....

Visual checks are just that, but if cars have Brake Drums at the rear needing cleaned out as some Dealerships have started doing again then the rear wheels obviously need to come off.

Edited 23 April, 20179 yr by Awayoffski

If you ever get the chance to see a skoda fixed 10k first service Elsa tick sheet it only has about 5 items on it:

 

-reset service light 

-drain oil

-replace oil and filter

-fit service sticker/mirror hanger 

-check pad thickness (wheels fitted)

 

you pay your money for that "service" then the dealer carries out its own "free" Vehicle Health Check and Citnow video followed by a complimentary wash and vac. 

 

no mention of tyre pressures, lights check or fluid top ups 

Not on some of the various Work Sheets i have from Skoda Dealers & VW Dealers for 9,400 mile Fixed Services.

Battery check, Coolant Check, levels checked.

 

Funny that an Employee & Master Tech like you on a wage should think that Health Checks & Wash & Vacuums are 'Free'. 

The customers pay real money to the Dealerships, not even the patter comes for free.

 

?

Do you do checks and if fluids are low do you just leave them on the first and third services, even on the 2nd and just do the report and then the customer coming to collect the car is told to book it in for Maintenance and topping up coolant and go put air in their tyres theirselves?

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

Edited 23 April, 20179 yr by Awayoffski

2 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

Not on some of the various Work Sheets i have from Skoda Dealers & VW Dealers for 9,400 mile Fixed Services.

Battery check, Coolant Check, levels checked.

 

Funny that an Employee & Master Tech like you on a wage should think that Health Checks & Wash & Vacuums are 'Free'. 

The customers pay real money to the Dealerships, not even the patter comes for free.

 

Did the quotation marks over the word "free" that preceded the "free" work not come across as meaning the exact opposite in a sarcastic manner? 

 

the 5 main brands differ greatly in what they deem to be a "service".

with skoda you'd be having to wait until the second service for a proper inspection. You pay for .5 labour on the skoda first service on most models. That in comparison to Seat where they allow for a full hour and actually give you a check list worth the paper it's printed on with the likes of coolant strength check (not on skoda service sheets) battery checks and washer fluid replenishment.

Just as well some Motor Groups are better than others, 

and Customers paying the Skoda National Pricing at Participating Dealers if they have qualifying vehicles have Skoda UK showing what they should get for the money they pay.

 

Where some get ripped off because that is the Skoda Dealership way then you can see where threads like this come from.

Honest hard working people with no car knowledge or skill in car maintenance think they can trust to Skoda, VW, Audi or SEAT and as it is it is a lottery and some Dealership Groups getting money for old rope. 

Unskilled or uninterested employees just changing oil and having a look see, or maybe not even that and some Qualified Supervisor / Manager allowing that.

 

Present Company not like that obviously.

One of the main issues is skoda are deeming an oil and filter change as a service and charging a lot of money for the pleasure whilst allowing for a minimal amount of time for the job to be done. They are then expecting the dealer to absorb the cost of carrying out a health check and taking a video that is not chargeable to the customer directly. 

I've seen items disappear from service sheets only for them to instead be placed on "free" Health check sheets. 

All that it creates is an unproductive workshop where techs become uninterested because the task they have been set is unachievable within the timescale. The don't hit time target and don't get paid their bonus - and that is the fault of people up the ladder, sat in offices who have never fixed cars for a living who pay their staff via a bonus scheme where quantity is king and quality walks out the door. 

 

And that is where this trade is going very wrong. 

Edited 23 April, 20179 yr by James@Pentagon_Seat

7 hours ago, chrisgreen said:

The dealer minor service is indeed an oil service. All that is done is oil and filter. Everything else is either a visual check (e.g. Wheels still attached to car) or just a curtesy top-up (that rarely ever get done anyway). Nothing of value or meaning.

 

 

The Major and minor services are both just an oil and filter change if you haven't done the mileage required to warrant any other items.

 

Only difference is the Major costs more for more pointless bulls**t