So I was a little surprised my Fabia has two different service dates, an oil change service due in about 24 days and an "inspection service" after about another 100 days. Guessing these days would normally be the same date, but as the dealer got it ready for sale they inspected without an oil change or something?

 

It's still under approved warranty with the dealer, so wondering what you guys would do? Get them to do both together now? Long term I don't really want to get it serviced twice a year... I only do about 5k miles a year!

This is the sort of thing that can be annoying, maybe the car has been set of flexible servicing prior to you buying it if you bought it secondhand, or similarly they carried out an early presale service if you bought it secondhand.

 

Now if you bought it new and it has always been on fixed servicing, then that is annoying, so far with my wife's 2015 Polo, bought new and serviced at the correct time for the first 3 years of its life, the insp part tied in with the year 2 service.

 

I bought an Audi S4 slightly used and the clowns at the Audi garage seemed to expect me to turn up twice in 2 months while it was under warranty due to that sort of thing, I just told them one visit only and both tasks get dealt with at the same time - unless they pay me for my inconvenience. Okay, maybe forces the next insp service to happen earlier than it needed to be, but it re-aligns things and outside warranty I service the car myself.

Remember an insp service includes an oil change, so yes, get them to do the insp service in 24 days and that will be things re-aligned.

I also do no more than 5k miles per annum and happen to have access to a very good mobile mechanic who has taken good care of our cars for several years. I trust him more than the bods at the dealers and of course he charges less than half what they want. So I am now just past my fourth year of ownership and although the computer keeps beeping at me to get an oil change my man says no that is ridiculous, leave at least another three months. Note: The owner's manual says that you should have new wiper blades every year but in reality I have only just had to change them. Basically a so called "inspection" service takes no more than 15 minutes and means they look for any leaks (v. unlikely with modern cars), see how much brake linings you have left, check the lights and check the tyres, most of which one can do oneself if you know about tyres and brake linings. They will probably charge you between £40 and £50 for doing this which is a dam insult in my opinion when my man would ask for no more than £15 and be probably be more thorough. Oh yes just to give you an idea, last year my man did an oil change, a brake fluid change and an inspection all for the princely sum of £70 vs probably £200+ in the dealers. To answer your question I personally would not bother with an "inspection service" unless the car is approaching 30k or you regularly insult in some manner.

@Eccles remember the OP is still under warranty, so I'd think that is why he is "playing the game" - you do realise that you are missing out on a free mini valet and scratchy wash by not using the main dealer, and probably doing without your car for 8 > 10 hours into the bargain?

2 hours ago, rum4mo said:

@Eccles remember the OP is still under warranty, so I'd think that is why he is "playing the game" - you do realise that you are missing out on a free mini valet and scratchy wash by not using the main dealer, and probably doing without your car for 8 > 10 hours into the bargain?

And not forgetting the video some offer!

Thanks for the replies. Yes mainly for warranty and it's just about to tick over 30k, I have to say though my local dealer have been pretty good to me over the years. They under quoted local garages on both cam belt swaps and engine mounts on my old vrs by quite a large margin. That was over 10 years back, and a lot of the same mechanics are there still. I sometimes used to use a vag specialist for services etc. but they're long gone. My Fiesta was looked after by a local garage that generally did OK for a good price. Few issues with rattling exhaust after fitting and overfilling my break fluid so with a car I care more about feeling a little unsure where to go long term. 

On 03/07/2019 at 16:53, Eccles said:

I also do no more than 5k miles per annum and happen to have access to a very good mobile mechanic who has taken good care of our cars for several years. I trust him more than the bods at the dealers and of course he charges less than half what they want. So I am now just past my fourth year of ownership and although the computer keeps beeping at me to get an oil change my man says no that is ridiculous, leave at least another three months. Note: The owner's manual says that you should have new wiper blades every year but in reality I have only just had to change them. Basically a so called "inspection" service takes no more than 15 minutes and means they look for any leaks (v. unlikely with modern cars), see how much brake linings you have left, check the lights and check the tyres, most of which one can do oneself if you know about tyres and brake linings. They will probably charge you between £40 and £50 for doing this which is a dam insult in my opinion when my man would ask for no more than £15 and be probably be more thorough. Oh yes just to give you an idea, last year my man did an oil change, a brake fluid change and an inspection all for the princely sum of £70 vs probably £200+ in the dealers. To answer your question I personally would not bother with an "inspection service" unless the car is approaching 30k or you regularly insult in some manner.

 

The inspection service takes a lot longer than 15mins. They have an oil and filter change, fluid checks to make, also inspect the underside of the vehicle, brakes, exhaust, catalyst and suspension, tyres, electrics including lights and wipers, a scan for faults and general inspection of the engine and gearbox unit. I know, I've done them and it's all videoed and sent to the owners if asked for. Just saying there is a general misconception of what an inspection service is. When we sign the vehicle off after the work, the tech has to be sure it's all ok. That's what you pay for. The average mobile mechanic can be good, or as some have found on here, is the first to disappear if there is a problem. Some often don't even have the right equipment to scan the car and do software updates let alone give you back up if it all goes horribly wrong.  Just saying.