Just been quoted

I can't comment on the service price but I am not surprised by the dealer's refusal to fit parts which are not approved by SkodaAuto.

Whilst not 312mm brakes, my dealer was happy to fit EBC greenstuff read pads on my vRS yesterday when fitting new brake discs at the same time. Might be worth asking around at a different dealer.

How can they not be approved they put them on the lighter octy VRS?

How can they not be approved they put them on the lighter octy VRS?

because they are not approved for use on the Fabia. The 312 brakes were designed to be used on the Octavia and other models using the Golf IV platform with the 1.8t engine.

The Fabia's brake bias is not set up for the 312 brakes either. Although there have been no reported problems, they are right to refuse if they wish, plus you said you already have them, if they supplied them for you it may have been dsifferent. If you know the mechanics well enough and they are willing to do it as a favour for a few quid, that may be another route

i understand that but its a genuine vag part that bolts straight on but it doesnt worry me if they dont want my money for the brakes, but it does for the service? awsome here i come by the looks of things ill just use the stealer for warranty claims that need doing at the mo

Recently had my two year service plus aircon treatment, at my local dealer - cost (including vat) of

Mate, as I said to you when we met up, try Mitchell in Ellesmere Port. My 20k before I sold up came to £244.

You probably won't get a main dealer to fit the brakes anyway, so don't get too mad over that! I'd try Awesome in Warrington for the brake fitment maybe, or possibly a small independant local garage. By all accounts it's a straightforward process, with guides about on here. But I can understand some people not wanting to do them, as they are quite important to get right

Steve

I don't have a vRS , but my recent service ('big' every 2 yrs one-inc brake fluid change) on my little 1.4 MPi came to £202 inc vat , and thats at a labour rate of approx £45 per hour , at Tweedmouth Skoda , Northumberland , so your vRS price doesn't sound too bad in comparison.

Why not go to an independent garage anyway? As long as they use VAG parts and approved lubricants, the warranty will not be affected. BONUS: 1/2 price!!

Cheers wardy ill be phoneing tomorrow , was only asking bout the brakes didnt expect the reply i got , also need to speak to the lovely sarah at awsome, been a long time scince i have done any brakes better safe than sorry

Absolutely - you need to know they're done right. I've also seen notices up at dealers, including Claybank about them not fitting anything for customers that hasn't been ordered in by them. So it wouldn't just be brakes you'd have a problem with, by the sounds of it. This is likely to have come about because parts are much more easy to get hold of these days - with internet suppliers and the like.

Let us know how you get on

Steve

Mine was a similar price - emailed the service manager and told him my dealer up north only charged £195 and he immediately matched the price.

Never pay full price for anything - that's my motto!

My 20k major service last year was only £170 IIRC.

Here's what I've paid so far

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/20-000-service/32536/

Des

Hi All

Just a quick thank you for the "Lovely" words.

We have no problem in fitting customer supplied parts.

If we felt that they was not suitable for the car , then we would say so.

As for servicing in 1 way I do understand why their labour rate is so high.

As I have seen them just send some rubbish stand and charge a fortune for it.

The dealers have no say in if they want it or not.

But it does get a bit high the labour rate.

We have fully qualified technician by VAG so you get qualified and experienced here.

We understand about modified and standard cars.

So we would be able to advise on upgrades too.

If I can help anyone with their upgrades or service then all you have to do is ask.

I am not bound by any rules from Skoda.

Sarah

Hmm well for the 20k / annual I paid far more than that and that wasn't done particularly well either (had to go back to get them to re-adjust the xenons back to where they were before they went in, i.e. correct level rather than lighting up the road two meters in front of the car).

Based on dealer pricing I wouldn't generally go back to a main dealer now. Also my car has mods on it (at least one dealer knows about these) and as such my warranty is now a moot point. Decision I took at the time, nearing 40k miles now so wear/tear will come into it more than warranty (I hope )

There are plenty of skilled mechanics out there for VAG cars, and although I don't mind paying a little more, when it's over double I will go elsewhere.

There are plenty of skilled mechanics out there for VAG cars,

Yeah, some of them work in dealers

Never said dealers employed mechanics that were bad at their job(s) - it's a matter of economics in that a dealer has to have premises that tend to be at a premium and this cost has to be passed to the customer somehow. Generally that is via a higher hourly rate charged.

It's the same in my job, the hourly rate charged is generally quite a lot higher than the rate I get paid to cover overheads etc.

One of the reasons I went to the dealer for 10k and 20k was the ease of arranging the service (* apart from the nearly a month it took to get a slot where I could have a courtesy car causing me to go over by a few k (!!) * but this can happen) and you do get benefits like a free valet or at least hover & wash - Also I don't want the dealer(s) to go out of business etc.

Doesn't change the fact I could drive up North and get the service done whilst tuning was being carried out (post-tune 30k service) at less than half the cost of the dealer, which covered my diesel + overnight stay (which was only needed as the work took 2 days, otherwise that would have been 60 quid saved overall).

One thing that is worth noting though is that Skoda stuff isn't identical to SEAT or VW or Audi, each having their own variations of parts used etc. A Skoda dealer would know this of course, but a 'generic VAG tuner' may not and that can cause some interesting stuff.

I always try to find a few dealerships and local garages that are 'good' and although I've had a few minor things at the dealers I've used that didn't impress me, such as the price and xenon adjustment (revisit every time) the work carried out was good, staff was friendly and parts were ordered/delivered without too much grief