Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hello All, 

 

Appreciate that there may be varying opinions on this one...

 

I'm about to finish off negotiations with local Skoda dealer for a 16 month old, used MKIII Superb, SE L Executive, Estate, 2.0, 150, DSG on a PCP deal for 48 months. The car has just done 18,500 miles and will be serviced, in accordance with the service schedule, by the dealer prior to handover.

 

With ~20 months of warranty left I'm uncertain whether to enter into a service plan with the dealer or just take the services as they come? I do between 15k and 20k per year, vast majority of which is motorway miles.

 

What would be your suggestions on approach to servicing; variable or fixed, service plan or pay as you go, franchised Skoda dealer or Halfords/ATS/local? My current approach is to take out a service plan with the dealer for the remainder of the warranty, then take servicing as required from Halfords/ATS/local shop for the remainder of the PCP contract. 

 

Cheers!

 

Nermaloids

  

 

 

Edited by Nermaloids
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If there’s a service plan deal available it’s definitely worth taking for the rest of the warranty, especially in a vehicle that has it’s fair share of electronic systems. Beyond that, I’d do some real homework on the best independents in your area that deal with VW group cars. I don’t rate Halfords or ATS because of their tendency to ‘create’ work where it isn’t really necessary so that they can bring the money in. Long term, finding a garage that knows how to look after the electronic systems is the main priority.

Edited by MorrisOx
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never buy a dealers service plan. If they go bust you loose all your money, happened to a bloke at work, paid Volvo £1300 up front for 3 services and never got one, we laughed, he was gutted.

 

Manufacturers service plans can be excellent (has 3 now) but some do not include all the necessary checks so buyer beware (as always).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 14/01/2018 at 16:49, skidpan said:

Never buy a dealers service plan. If they go bust you loose all your money, happened to a bloke at work, paid Volvo £1300 up front for 3 services and never got one, we laughed, he was gutted.

 

Manufacturers service plans can be excellent (has 3 now) but some do not include all the necessary checks so buyer beware (as always).

Sorry Skipan but I don’t understand your remark about the Manufacturers service plan are you saying that there is a difference in the servicings carried out on a pre-paid plan and one where I part with the Queens readies?  And when you say necessary checks does that intimate that “necessary” checks are being omitted?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, rafmike said:

Sorry Skipan but I don’t understand your remark about the Manufacturers service plan are you saying that there is a difference in the servicings carried out on a pre-paid plan and one where I part with the Queens readies?  And when you say necessary checks does that intimate that “necessary” checks are being omitted?

 

Some manufacturers service plans only cover the bare minimum needed to comply with their own requirements. Pollen filters are one example that are omitted, hardly earth shattering but its a cost that makes the price advantage the plan appears to have much smaller.

 

Or take Seat as an example. I saved about £80 over 3 years buying the service plan but if I had paid for individual services I would have got AA cover extended for years 2 and 3 which is worth more than £80.

 

Just read the small print, as always its in the detail. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the feedback @MorrisOx and @skidpan!

 

The franchised dealer I'm buying the car off is hawking a plan with 6% off RRP which seems reasonable, however there is some oddity in that the payments are collected from a third company called PlanMyService LLP which seems unusual, with no mention of holding funds in escrow if the dealer goes pop.

 

I'll look for another Skoda dealer offer in the area, Birmingham / Warwickshire, to see what they can do, I might just hold on to my money and pick offers as and when.

 

Cheers!

 

Nermaloids

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, skidpan said:

 

Some manufacturers service plans only cover the bare minimum needed to comply with their own requirements. Pollen filters are one example that are omitted, hardly earth shattering but its a cost that makes the price advantage the plan appears to have much smaller.

 

Or take Seat as an example. I saved about £80 over 3 years buying the service plan but if I had paid for individual services I would have got AA cover extended for years 2 and 3 which is worth more than £80.

 

Just read the small print, as always its in the detail. 

Got’cha Skidpan thanks for the info I think my Skoda plan should be OK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Nermaloids said:

Thanks for the feedback @MorrisOx and @skidpan!

 

The franchised dealer I'm buying the car off is hawking a plan with 6% off RRP which seems reasonable, however there is some oddity in that the payments are collected from a third company called PlanMyService LLP which seems unusual, with no mention of holding funds in escrow if the dealer goes pop.

 

I'll look for another Skoda dealer offer in the area, Birmingham / Warwickshire, to see what they can do, I might just hold on to my money and pick offers as and when.

 

Cheers!

 

Nermaloids

 

I wouldn’t worry too much about third party payments - all that probably means is that the dealer group has bought an off-the-shelf software product which manages service plans & campaigns for them. If it’s part of one of the big dealer groups (Pendragon, for example - it owns Stratstone & Evans Halshaw) it may be using the group’s in-house service plan solution, which may be managed through a subsidiary set up to identify the revenue stream.

 

Similarly, it’s not common for dealers serving solid franchises like Skoda to go bust. VW would generally step in before it got to that point as it keeps a very close eye on franchisee financial performance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Nermaloids said:

Thanks for the feedback @MorrisOx and @skidpan!

 

The franchised dealer I'm buying the car off is hawking a plan with 6% off RRP which seems reasonable, however there is some oddity in that the payments are collected from a third company called PlanMyService LLP which seems unusual, with no mention of holding funds in escrow if the dealer goes pop.

 

I'll look for another Skoda dealer offer in the area, Birmingham / Warwickshire, to see what they can do, I might just hold on to my money and pick offers as and when.

 

Cheers!

 

Nermaloids

 

We were offered a service plan similar to that on a Kia, we left it, far too risky. The company was registered off shore which set alarm bells ringing for starters. If we had taken it we would have paid £1104 for 4 services, instead we paid annually and got 4 services and 2 MOT's for over £200 less. Total rip off.

 

When we bought the Skoda we took out the 2 year plan (first 2 services) for £270 which was about an £80 saving. The cost was added to the price of the car so we are paying for it as part of the 0% finance over 3 years. Its still on offer http://www.skoda.co.uk/finance-and-offers/service-and-maintenance now £275. I suspect many dealers keep it to themselves since they make more out of their own plans. Just remember with a garages own plan you loose it all if they go bust but you are also tied into them even if they are rubbish. With a Skoda plan you can take the car to any Skoda dealer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've taken out the first 2 services Skoda plan added to the deal. Its £279 no discount available.

 

My local dealer servicing dept has upset me a numbers times over the last 5 years and on occasion proven incompetent and/or deceitful. I am seriously considering driving 40 miles to another dealer for servicing, which I trust I can do with this plan.

 

I wonder if the first two services plan is fixed interval or could I chose variable? Scrub that - I see its one oil service + one oil and inspection. In other words 2 oil and filter changes and look over.

 

I laugh when I see the plan for older cars described as one major and one minor service. Deliberate obfuscation to hide the fact its still 2 oil and filter changes for £387 plus if your lucky and on the ball you might get a pollen filter, air filter, and/or spark plugs but only if its "scheduled". 

 

 

Edited by xman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, xman said:

I wonder if the first two services plan is fixed interval or could I chose variable?

 

Its fixed. If it was variable you might only get one in the 2 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Community Partner

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to BRISKODA. Please note the following important links Terms of Use. We have a comprehensive Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.