So, the dealership servicing desk gave me a quote written on paper of X% discount. Then when I rang back to rearrange the times, they said the maximum discount they can do is half of the X% they quoted me. When I told them that you know, they'd written down in ink it was X% discount, they said they would of course honour it if I bring in the health check.

 

They said both times that X% and X/2% is the maximum discount they can do.

 

Which makes me wonder, just what is the dealership premium that is paid in pure margins as opposed to an indy using dealer parts?

 

Presumably they gave me a quoted X% discount because the last time they gave me a normal quote I balked at the price and went elsewhere but now they're regretting it in case I ask for the same discount in the future. But surely they're still making a profit and definitely not a loss. 

 

The vehicle is being used a business / trade capacity at at least 4x annual mileage of average consumer use. 

Edited 2 December, 20196 yr by newskodadriver

Can't comment on the ongoing margin situation but what you were offered may have been a promotional 'loss leader' to get you back into the fold with the loss to the service department being underwritten by a sales or marketing budget from either the dealership or perhaps Skoda.

 

The acid test is whether they are prepared to continue the discount on future business or whether this is just a 'one off'.

 

4 hours ago, newskodadriver said:

 

Which makes me wonder, just what is the dealership premium that is paid in pure margins as opposed to an indy using dealer parts?

 

Your question makes no sense to me, could you rephrase it please?

 

I could not understand the "bring in the health check" part either.

 

Edited 2 December, 20196 yr by J.R.

1 minute ago, J.R. said:

 

Your question makes no sense to me, could you rephrase it please?

 

 

assuming dealer and indy use the same parts and taking into account that a dealer may have higher operating costs, do dealerships on average charge a premium over and above what an indy would do to take a higher margin than indy.

1 hour ago, StickyMicky said:

Can't comment on the ongoing margin situation but what you were offered may have been a promotional 'loss leader' to get you back into the fold with the loss to the service department being underwritten by a sales or marketing budget from either the dealership or perhaps Skoda.

 

The acid test is whether they are prepared to continue the discount on future business or whether this is just a 'one off'.

 

yes, that is the acid test. i will press the advisor when it's in for repair.

 

because the discount offered on the current batch of jobs makes going to the dealer competitive, as it is 20% more for OEM parts (as opposed to the best brands off Eurocarparts (ie, ATE instead of Eischer) and 2 year dealer warranty.

 

There have been instances where the dealer quote was 80%+ more, ie nearly double. I didn't take those.

Edited 2 December, 20196 yr by newskodadriver

14 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

Your question makes no sense to me, could you rephrase it please?

 

I could not understand the "bring in the health check" part either.

 

they wrote the discounted quote after I had a service with them. at end of each service, you receive a health check with all the things they've done and their recommendations.

22 minutes ago, newskodadriver said:

assuming dealer and indy use the same parts and taking into account that a dealer may have higher operating costs, do dealerships on average charge a premium over and above what an indy would do to take a higher margin than indy.

IME, an indy is ~40-50% cheaper than a dealer.  I'd say that most definitely would form the basis for my personal hypothesis that dealers take the pi55 when it comes to what they charge for servicing and parts.  It adds further insult when you realise you're getting a much better service at a reputable indy specialist too.  e.g the actual work being carried out by time served mechanics rather than people who've been trained to read fault codes and replace parts.   

In my experience the Skoda main dealers are cheaper (or slightly more expensive) for the really common stuff i.e. minor and major servicing.

 

Oil, oil filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, air filter, spark plugs and brake fluid.

 

For everything else, they're way more expensive.