Approved used service history

[ahenners]

Hi all,

 

Viewed an approved used Kodiaq today which was lovely, however digging into the service history it appears that the haldex was not serviced at 3yr/30k as per the manufacturer recommended schedule. Car is now 4yr/40k.

 

Suspect this sort of thing happens all the time, as another approved used example I enquired about today only appears to have had basic oil changes done and no record of haldex again, spark plugs, or brake fluid on that one.

 

Am I being too picky here to expect a Skoda approved used car, priced accordingly, to be fully serviced in accordance with the schedule?

 

Concerned about being left in the lurch on a warranty claim in the future either via approved used or "all in" once that expires, due to the absence of the service on schedule. Not as if haldex failures/issues are particularly uncommon.

 

What are your thoughts Briskoda? Would you pass on it on that basis? 

 

Thanks

Edited 4 April, 2022 by ahenners

[Warrior193]

I agree with you, highly disappointing, but not particularly surprising, that dealers often appear to be unable (or unwilling?) to follow service schedules correctly. Dare I suggest that it's a case of 'wait until it's out of warranty' ?

Edited 4 April, 2022 by Warrior193
Typo

[Yogi-Bear]

15 hours ago, ahenners said:

Would you pass on it on that basis? 

 

I'd certainly be taking it into account when negotiating with the dealer... get them to knock the cost of the missing service(s) off the price, or do them before you collect it...

[SurreyJohn]

You don’t want to be spending money on a car with overdue service work, I would tell the dealer that it has to be done as part of your negotiation.   Also insist on a full print out of the service history (including after this work is done) to ensure it is correctly logged.

 

If car is now at 40k miles ensure any DSG fluid change was also done.

 

To be perfectly honest there is a theory that says if you don’t ask, you won’t get, so why not try do the work and extra £200 off for every service item missed, you have nothing to lose, even if you compromise on £50 off and all the work done still got a saving.

 

Unfortunately some dealers idea of a full service history isn’t that all parts were serviced at correct mileage as per manufacturers guidelines.

 

[Teir]

I don't think it's unreasonable of you to ask that the Haldex service is carried out before buying the car. When I bought my car I subsequently found out that the Haldex service had not been done. When I complained to the dealer, they offered to carry it out for free themselves, or pay half the cost of another dealership doing it (it would've been a 600 mile round trip for me to go back to them). I was pretty annoyed at the time, as, like you, my expectation was that an 'approved used' vehicle sold by Skoda would have had any 'missing' services done before being sold on. Clearly this is not the case, and I didn't know enough at the time to ask.

 

As above though, if this car has reached 40k miles I would be a lot more worried about making sure the DSG service was done (if it has a DSG, of course).

[ahenners]

Thanks all for the replies. Sorry I should have mentioned in the original post, the dealer did agree to do the haldex service once I brought it to their attention.

 

My concern however was around the fact that even if they did it as a condition of purchase, it still would have been done 10k/1yr too late Vs the schedule.

 

The approved used warranty T's and C's suggest that there is a 4 week or 500 mile tolerance on the recommended manufacturer's schedule. Beyond this it implies future claims may be rejected.

 

On that basis passed on this particular example and the search continues...

[Teir]

That is definitely a fair decision, but I don't think this one issue would have been enough to deter me personally, if the car ticked all the other boxes. Worst case scenario, if the Haldex pump did fail and the warranty wasn't honoured (which would seem very unfair), a new pump can be had for a shade over £200, and can be fitted yourself.

 

On the other hand, if you're confident of finding another car that fits the bill, there's no need to take even that relatively small risk. Good luck with the continuing search 👍

Edited 5 April, 2022 by Teir

[Warrior193]

How about asking the dealer to acknowlege in writing that Haldex servicing had not been carried out to manufacturers specification, even though the vehicle was being sold under the Approved Used system, but all servicing now corrected and up to date.

In the unlikely case of future issues with the Haldex, this may at least give a little leverage for goodwill contribution from Skoda. 

[ahenners]

10 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

How about asking the dealer to acknowlege in writing that Haldex servicing had not been carried out to manufacturers specification, even though the vehicle was being sold under the Approved Used system, but all servicing now corrected and up to date.

In the unlikely case of future issues with the Haldex, this may at least give a little leverage for goodwill contribution from Skoda. 

 

It's certainly an option, but to be honest I'm going to hold out for another example, ideally one slightly newer with the 190ps TSI engine. Not in any major rush, mine is due a service but I'd expected to need to do that anyway.

 

This one just happened to be well specced and not a million miles from home. Which is unusual for me when buying a car 😆

Edited 6 April, 2022 by ahenners

[Warrior193]

Happy hunting, good position to be in when looking for a replacement.

[kodiaqsportline]

My thoughts? You've done well to spot these things and it puts you in a great negotiating position, but regarding the warranty, it's sounding like people are confusing scheduled servicing with maintenance.

 

Serviceable items have to be done within a specified timescale which if it's not adhered to, could invalidate the warranty. Maintenance items though are 'recommended'. Haldex, brake fluid etc are all maintenance items. 

 

There's also another factor - how long will that approved used waranty last?  You're buying a car off Skoda, they're slapping their approved warranty on it, they can hardly turn round and say that warranty is invalid because the car we sold / checked as part of our approved scheme wasn't to Skoda's recommendations. And if that wasn't good enough for me, then factor in my legal rights.

 

If it was me, I wouldn't worry in the slightest. I could buy a car that's been fully serviced, fully maintained and still have problems. Here you're buying a car which has just had maintenance freshly carried out on it.

 

 

[Teir]

@kodiaqsportline That is a really helpful distinction to make between servicing and maintenance, I hadn't thought about it like that before. I suppose my worry would be that the policy wording doesn't really make the same distinction clear, and also specifically mentions a lack of maintenance as a reason for the warranty not to be honoured:

 

Servicing – To ensure that your vehicle is maintained in good condition, it should be serviced in
accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. If it is not, we cannot be held responsible
for any faults it may develop which could be attributed to the lack of service or maintenance. For
this Warranty to remain valid, each service must be completed within 500 miles of the mileage
recommended by the manufacturer or within four weeks of the recommended time period,
whichever occurs first. If you fail to have your vehicle serviced in accordance with the manufacturers
specification, cover will still apply for components which are not connected to vehicle servicing.

 

2 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

There's also another factor - how long will that approved used waranty last?  You're buying a car off Skoda, they're slapping their approved warranty on it, they can hardly turn round and say that warranty is invalid because the car we sold / checked as part of our approved scheme wasn't to Skoda's recommendations. 

 

I wouldn't be so sure about that. You're buying a car from Skoda, but its Volkswagen Financial Services who are supplying the warranty, and who are going to be the ones deciding whether or not it's valid. And after the Approved Used warranty has expired, many people will go on to buy an extended warranty or 'All-In' policy, which will be directly with VWFS.

 

2 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

If it was me, I wouldn't worry in the slightest. I could buy a car that's been fully serviced, fully maintained and still have problems. Here you're buying a car which has just had maintenance freshly carried out on it.

 

Agreed . It's just annoying that buyers have to be so proactive in making sure that the servicing/maintenance that should have been done, has been done. And that the 'Used Approved' tag seems to mean so little in practice.

[ahenners]

9 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

There's also another factor - how long will that approved used waranty last?  You're buying a car off Skoda, they're slapping their approved warranty on it, they can hardly turn round and say that warranty is invalid because the car we sold / checked as part of our approved scheme wasn't to Skoda's recommendations. And if that wasn't good enough for me, then factor in my legal rights.

 

If it was me, I wouldn't worry in the slightest. I could buy a car that's been fully serviced, fully maintained and still have problems. Here you're buying a car which has just had maintenance freshly carried out on it.

 

1 year on approved used, but I am intending to take up the "all in" package once it expires for a further 2 years warranty. As @Teir has highlighted above neither the franchised dealer, nor Skoda UK provide the warranty.

 

As you have rightly mentioned this may be concern for nothing. Might never go wrong or might have no issues with a warranty claim. Ultimately though it's a £30k+ car and there are plenty of others for sale that hopefully don't have these potential headaches and hassle.

 

I'm just surprised there seems to be an abundance of approved used cars that don't seem to be fully serviced and maintained according to schedule.

 

Edited 6 April, 2022 by ahenners

[kodiaqsportline]

16 hours ago, Teir said:

Servicing – To ensure that your vehicle is maintained in good condition, it should be serviced in
accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. If it is not, we cannot be held responsible
for any faults it may develop which could be attributed to the lack of service or maintenance. For
this Warranty to remain valid, each service must be completed within 500 miles of the mileage
recommended by the manufacturer or within four weeks of the recommended time period,
whichever occurs first. If you fail to have your vehicle serviced in accordance with the manufacturers
specification, cover will still apply for components which are not connected to vehicle servicing.

 

VW Group are particularly bad at wording. I can see how the above can appear confusing, but here's how I read it:

 

It says:  "To ensure your vehicle is maintained in good condition, it should be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations." 

 

So,  if the vehicle that you're buying has a proper Skoda service history then it has been maintained to a good condition.

 

If you read on, it only mentions vehicle servicing. That's all they're saying.  Those recommended maintenance items such as Haldex oil and brake fluid etc aren't mentioned.

 

16 hours ago, Teir said:

You're buying a car from Skoda, but its Volkswagen Financial Services who are supplying the warranty, and who are going to be the ones deciding whether or not it's valid.

 

The warranty company are advised by the dealership.

 

Example:  If you buy a 4yr old car from Skoda with an approved warranty and they change the Haldex oil just before you buy it, if that car then develops a gearbox fault say in the next six months, the dealership or warranty company can hardly refuse to fix a problem because you haven't maintained it properly. For argument sake, lets say you changed the oil but they still say the car wasn't properly maintained. The car was therefore faulty when you bought it - it now falls back on the dealer to fix it. Now if you were that dealership would you advise the warranty company to cover costs or do you pay for the repair out of your own pocket?

 

 

9 hours ago, ahenners said:

 

1 year on approved used, but I am intending to take up the "all in" package once it expires for a further 2 years warranty.

 

Are you saying that the car is already 4yr and 40k miles. that 1yr approved warranty will take that up to 5yr old and what ever miles you've added to it, and then you want to cover it for a further 2yr?  

 

I don't care if the engine was serviced every week and the gearbox oil changed every 1000 miles, I'd be reading that extended warranty very carefully. I'd be asking myself what isn't going to come under the description of normal wear and tear? I suspect very little will be covered by that warranty.

 

Right now Toyota are providing a 1yr warranty with every service on their cars up to 10year old. It's a great sales gimmick but I'd like to see the small print. It'd be interesting to see how much is paid out by the warranty provider on say a nine year old car.    Or if your KIA's infotainment display fails at 37mths, try claiming on KIA's famous 7yr warranty!  The best you can hope for would be a gesture of goodwill. As I say, it's all in the smallprint.

 

[silver1011]

Unfortunately whether it's servicing or maintenence, if the Haldex pump fails on a sub 3 year old vehicle that's exceeded 40,000 miles without having a Haldex oil change they're more likely to reject a genuine warranty claim than approve it.

 

But then Skoda's unwillingness to include the cleaning of the filter gauze is more likely to result in failure than ignoring the oil change.

[skomaz]

When we bought our 3yr old kodiaq it had recently been serviced including the hald3x but the dealer was unable to answer my question about whether the haldex gauze filter had been cleaned. 

 

 It didn't bother me tough as the rest of the car was good and given the low mileage and low cost to do it'll get done at the upcoming service by an independent.