Hi all,

 

Went to see another Octy vRS yesterday, loved it, but thought the service history was a bit odd.

 

There were 3 service stamps after the initial inspection (mileages approximated cos I can't remember!):

 

At 18,000, the oil and filter were changed, car inspected. etc.

At 37,000 the car was just inspected.

At 57,000 the oil and filter were changed, car inspected.

 

Does that seem right? Seems to have gone about 39k miles between oil changes. Is that normal?

 

Are you sure there was only an inspection at 37k and no oil change? The max interval is around 18k between oil changes on variable servicing, which just about ties in with the above mileages.

What it is is not good if correct and the servicing is not to Manufactures Guidelines if there was a claim on the Manufacturers warranty.

 

Who does it show as doing the services.

 

(Car Inspections can be 'Car Body Inspections; for the Corrosion Warranty as used to be at Major Services 

& not at Minor / Inspection services.  Should have been Annual though, 

and those not have a Main Dealer Inspection at Services are asking for a problem if there is a need to make a claim.)

 

As to variable / flexible servicing, the Oil & Filter changes should be as here, or sooner.

http://volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/regimes 

Edited 8 January, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

1 hour ago, AwaoffSki said:

What it is is not good if correct and the servicing is not to Manufactures Guidelines if there was a claim on the Manufacturers warranty.

 

Who does it show as doing the services.

 

(Car Inspections can be 'Car Body Inspections; for the Corrosion Warranty as used to be at Major Services 

& not at Minor / Inspection services.  Should have been Annual though, 

and those not have a Main Dealer Inspection at Services are asking for a problem if there is a need to make a claim.)

 

As to variable / flexible servicing, the Oil & Filter changes should be as here, or sooner.

http://volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/regimes 

'

Is that advice correct?

 

As far as the manufacturers warranty is concerned, any retailer could have carried out the services - what the OP needs to check is were they done to the manufacturer's schedule/specifications? Were they done using the correct parts? That can be hard to prove if servicing carried outside the VW group - you'd need paperwork to prove it.

 

There is no need for annual servicing/inspections to be carried out to keep the warranty intact - VW group themselves promote LongLife servicing. Assuming a full service was carried out at 37,000 then that car is bang on servicing schedule. It may be beneficial for the OP to search for a car that's had annual servicing carried out on it, but from a warranty point of view it meets Skoda's warranty criteria.

 

However if the car was serviced outside Skoda network, gestures of goodwill most certainly won;t be offered.  Back in 2010 I fell victim to the ABS module failure that plagued VW products. It was the only car I'd kept outside manufacturers warranty. Despite me having had my car serviced at VW (longlife which meant just 1 major service), a few months out of warranty and the module failed. But because the car had been serviced at VW according to the schedule, VW carried out the repair (£1500?) at no cost to me as a goodwill gesture. That's where a manufacturer's service works for you.

 

With all tht in mind, what the OP doesn't say is how old the car is or if it's being purchased within the Skoda dealership network, at an indi garage or privately. You'll get a 12mth warranty within the Skoda family, certainly no more than that from an indi garage, and sweet Fanny Adams if buying privately.  

Edited 9 January, 20188 yr by Guest
spelling

There are the need to have the Body Inspection carried out for the Corrosion / Panel Hole Warranty.

& some DEalerships quote £89 for that.

But during a Main Dealership Service that should be done and on the Skoda System.

 

When there were Service Books the page was there for the Body Check and it was done on the Palm Top.

Now no Service Books but should be on the system.

 

The OP has a Service Book.

 

Maybe a Service Book purchased for keeping records as Fleet Owners / Leasers might have for their Records.

& why i asked who did it, so who's stamps.

Who was it first registered to, and were the Oil & Filter changes done at those Service Times, You certainly hope so.

 

None Main Dealer Servicing can be a god send in as more things are done than the Look See, 

Free Wash & Vacuum, Health Check ticked, tyre depths read, Oil & Filter changed, report written, 

Service Indicator changed, you hope correctly.

Call made, your brakes are worn, 80% and scored, and you need a A/C service.

Edited 9 January, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

Thanks guys for your replies - a couple of answers:

 

The car was first registered in Jan 2015, so has just come to the end of its Skoda warranty. I'm not too worried about that (or else I wouldn't buy a 3 yr old car). I'm buying the car from a dealer so I expect a small amount of warranty from them.

 

The 'history' that I've seen is a print out, I think from a Skoda dealership. I don't have the paperwork in front of me as I haven't bought the car fully yet, but I seem to remember the services were done at an approved VAG garage. They listed what had been done, i.e. "oil + filter change" in two of them, but not the 37k one. It's possible that the oil was changed at this point and they simply neglected to put it on the service 'stamp'.

 

I'm going to see if I can visit my local dealer ahead of me taking delivery of the car - see if I can get another printout to check. I have the VIN. It may be nothing but I just wondered if anyone else had a similar experience on their service history.

If there is any doubt at all that the oil and filter has been changed at 37,000 miles, just walk away and find another car. 39k on one oil change will definitely come back and bite you very hard in a couple of years time.

Why risk it? If someone's been sloppy with the paperwork, that's their problem, don't make it yours. It will only make your life difficult when you want to sell the car later and buyers query the same anomaly.

It could well be a mistake but if your research and enquiries provide no proof, you have to proceed on the basis the oil and filter were not done.  The last avenue you would have would be to contact previous owner for a copy of the invoice to check. Edit: Or the dealer may be willing to do the ground work for you as they will obviously have their details.

 

Edit: @xman just got to it in front of me as I was typing, I need to be faster!

Edited 9 January, 20188 yr by TheClient

You get that Small amount of Warranty as a consumer right in the UK buying from a car Dealership, 

and more rights.

 

But go see if Skoda UK  (VW Group) will sell you a Skoda Warranty on the cars details.

And ask them if they will sell you one, is it valid on the Service Records you know, and get that in writing. 

 

Used cars are always a Lottery so cover your back, do your research and budget for doing a Full Major Service if needs must, 

maybe not required though, so that is nice, but budget anyway,  Service carried out and Warranty purchased.

Extended Warranty from ŠKODA Insurance – putting ŠKODA into your insurance..mhtml

Edited 9 January, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

Ok, all cleared up!

 

I phoned the seller (independent trader) who emailed me the service printout. It's basically a very brief jobsheet just showing (I think) what service plan the car was booked under. It looks like the 2nd service (at 37,300 miles) was booked under "inspection service, collection", rather than "inspection service with oil change".  I queried this by ringing the garage who did the work (not a Skoda garage, but Three Arches Services, Cardiff) and they were very helpful and emailed me their full work history report, which shows what was done on the car, and what parts they used! Great service from them, and great record keeping on a service they did almost two years ago!

 

So yes, happy with the car's record now - it's had oil+filter and a pollen filter every 30,000 km / 18,600 miles (roughly), and at 56k miles it's had air filter, fuel filter new discs and pads at the front.