Hi all

 

I am the owner of a 70 plate Sportline estate, 150 diesel. I've done about 8,500 miles so approaching the first service at 10,000 I believe?

My dilemma is whether to go to my local ish independent Skoda specialist from the outset, or use dealer for servicing. This is the first vehicle I've owned from new.

My intention at this stage is to keep the car for 4-5 years and expect my mileage to get up to around 18k/year, although the first year is probably going to be more like 12k due to plenty of WFH.

I lean towards indy from the outset but I would appreciate any helpful comments in respect of cost savings indy vs dealer, impact on future re-sale value, plus any other considerations?

I'm working on the assumption warranty and electronic service record will be unaffected either way?

 

Many thanks

28 minutes ago, gregthepirate said:

My dilemma is whether to go to my local ish independent Skoda specialist from the outset, or use dealer for servicing.

Indy over main stealer every time.

I'd go main dealer over independent until your warranty expires, then independent

18 hours ago, Patent said:

I'd go main dealer over independent until your warranty expires, then independent

Thanks - simply for ease if there is a problem to be dealt with under warranty?

Yeah pretty much. Legally they should honour the warranty regardless of where it is serviced, but there are plenty of get-outs and for peace of mind I'd just shell out the extra few quid for the first three years

You may have a better chance of making a claim for any unexpected problems after the warranty has expired if you use a Škoda agent.  I made one such claim for my MkI 2.5 V6 diesel when it was 3½ years old and I was in Italy when the glowplug warning light started flashing.  I visited a Škoda agent in Trieste and although they were very helpful, they couldn't fix it as it was a model they didn't sell in Italy.  They explained it was a sensor for the fuel level and I'd be fine if I filled up regularly and didn't rely on the gauge as being accurate.  I took it to the agent who supplied and serviced the car in the UK and Škoda agreed to pay for the parts and half the labour.

 

When I took my car for a service last year to the Škoda agent, they gave me a sticker and explained I had breakdown cover for the UK and Europe for one year and would receive this every year I had the car serviced with them until it's 10 years old, so this is a saving as I don't need to pay a third party for this cover.

It also makes a big difference after 3 years, when out of warranty

If something goes wrong and out of warranty then will struggle for a goodwill contribution if not serviced by Skoda.   Also they now sometimes add things eg years breakdown cover if you get it serviced by Skoda after 3 years (and there is a new life care package which tends to be better value), but ultimately comes down to the dealer.

 

Sadly most of the small dealers with very experienced staff are no longer around, but some still do Skoda servicing, if you have one you trust then it is a cost vs convenience vs quality debate.

 

 

@gregthepirate  Did you ask the dealership that supplied the car to change the car from Flexible / Variable service to Fixed Servicing or was the car Pre Reg / Ex Demonstrator?

1 hour ago, e-Roottoot said:

@gregthepirate  Did you ask the dealership that supplied the car to change the car from Flexible / Variable service to Fixed Servicing or was the car Pre Reg / Ex Demonstrator?

I didn't ask them to change it and I'm slightly uneducated on this. If it's set to variable does that mean I just wait for it to tell me it needs servicing?

It means that the Dealership were maybe at it. As often they are.

 

As long as the car is not a Plug in Hybrid which needs to be on Fixed Oil Changes it left the factory with 24 months / 18,000-20,000 miles before the first Service / Oil & Filter change.

 

PS

Your car left the Factory with VW 508 00 / 509 00 so that is 0w 20 FS IV.  Long Life oil.   The recommended oil for your age of TDI.

At the Service that is Skoda's recommended oil,

not the previous VW504 00 / 507 00 which is 5w 30 FS III

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/434686-mk3-service-interval

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/472919-service-intervals

 

Edited 25 August, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

I would continue using a main dealer for all the above reasons and we have benefited directly with both our MKI and the MKII because of this. However, since the 5 year warranty expired in March, not having an offer of an extension, plus the recent abysmal experience I’ve had with the U.K. dealer network here and in Northern Ireland and then the complete opposite with a local VW specialist, I’ll never use them again. 
 

PS - I too would definitely get it switched to variable servicing at the first service. 

Edited 26 August, 20214 yr by numskull