I have attached details of a service plan being offered by my local Skoda dealer. My Skoda is a 2016 Fabia with low mileage of 5600, on account of a long period of illness and the fact I'm not driving it a great deal. Does anybody have an opinion on whether the service plan is worth it or not?

ŠKODA Online Servicing & Maintenance Plans _ ŠKODA UK.pdf

Welcome.

 

I would not think it is for you.

Can you not get a local independent garage that services your car to your needs / usage.

 

You should be changing the Oil / Filter annually.

But as to the Pollen filter, as it needs changed, as with the Air Filter, the Brake Fluid. the Spark Plugs.

And stuff actually looked at, brakes serviced etc.

 

The Main Dealer Servicing is not flexible enough.   The prices they take for stuff not included is crazy. 

?

What has it had up til now, has the brake fluid, spark plugs or air filter been replaced or the pollen filter.

 

Hi, welcome,

 

Do you mean low mileage of 56,000 miles or 5,600 miles?

 

ETA:

 

What is the previous service history and maintenance of your car?

 

Have you had the car from brand new?

 

Hi thanks for your replies. The mileage is 5,600. The car was a demonstrator at a dealer for a while before I bought it. I have been using a mobile mechanic the past few years, because, when I was ill, it was the only option when I needed an MOT. I feel that this mechanic is probably overcharging me for what he's actually doing, but, he has done the basics in terms of changing the oil/filter and the air filter. The brake fluid was changed when ATS replaced the brakes the year before last. There is no mention in the mechanic's invoice of the pollen filter and the spark plugs. I take the point that dealers sometimes charge crazy money and the service is not flexible enough. Can anybody suggest the best means of finding a reliable local mechanic? And how much should one be paying for a service for a car like this? I have attached what the local dealer is charging for various services.

Book A Service Online _ ŠKODA UK.pdf

I don't know Torquay so have no idea of costs down there and going rates.  You have the Škoda service and maintenance charges as a starting point plus whatever your mobile mechanic charged.  If he had to take and return your car from an MoT you must expect to pay for his time to do this. 

 

At 5,600 miles as you have already found the costs are very disproportionate and items need replacing and attention because of the lack of use of the car.  I guess but could be totally wrong that ATS replaced the brakes two years ago because they were very rusty from lack of use.  Which would make me wonder about the state of the tyres through lack of use despite the tread depth left on them and the state of health of the car battery - but it might be that the car is kept garaged with a battery maintainer on it.

 

What you spend your money on is your business but you may want to look at how much longer you will keep this car to work out what you what to do about servicing and maintenance and the costs of these given your extremely low mileage.  I have experience of this for myself (I no longer own a car) and with my neighbours, two have got rid of their cars through, well, more like no use at all but still costs of ownership.  The past is the past and nothing you can do about it but the present and the future you can.  You might consider cutting your losses, you have a depreciating asset with ongoing costs.  But your circumstances might be entirely different.

 

Many years ago I worked out buying a new car for less than 3,000 miles use per year was very expensive and I could have taxis everywhere, and/or hire cars as required, for similar costs or les and none of the storage and use hassles, costs might be a bit different now but it would be an interesting exercise to work things out.

 

Thanks for that Nigel. You are right about the brakes. The tyres have been replaced as well, because of deterioration while the car was not being driven. And the battery. I get what you're saying about evaluating whether one really needs a car. In my case, one of my main interests is hiking and I'm involved in a long-term project to walk the South West Coast Path. Without a car, I would not be able to do this because public transport is not extensive enough. And so, while the mileage was very low in the past, now I would say it's reasonable.

Fair enough.  You have covered the important components and items like brakes (tyres are included in brakes, steering and suspension) and one of the reliability items the car battery but I would also advise you to by an appropriate battery charger maintainer and read the car's Owner's Manual and battery charger maintainer instructions and fully charge the battery slowly with low amps (2, 3, 4-amps) which can take many hours before you go away and then as required.  The battery is a store and even a new battery can be depleted.  Keeping the battery well charged will help to keep it working better for much longer.  A battery in a low state of charge can cause all sorts of unexpected issues and unseen error codes even before any warning lights or messages and the engine will still start and lights seem bright enough.  Using the car for longer distances should give the car's alternator a chance to do it's job without wearing itself out too soon.

 

Personally I can only suggest looking for a local independent VW specialist or general garage with a good reputation, but do not expect to save too much on servicing costs or go with the VWŠkoda Dealer.

 

As for the 2 year servicing plan you put up I think it is the wrong way round, the second year wants doing first, but it depends on exactly what was done previously. IMO 6 years is far too long to leave an air filter in without at least inspections and perhaps cleaning certainly replacement sooner, every couple of years or so for me.  This is a job you could do for yourself  generally with just a screwdriver and pliers (depending on your engine).  Spark plugs you may get away with given your very low mileage but I would pay to have them changed, which involves removing the engine air filter box so you might as well replace the filter then.

 

Again you could change the cabin filter yourself (and chose the type you want) like the engine filter it's not a difficult job but may have a slight awkwardness to it (no jobs on a car are fun to me), I've never changed one on the Fabia but the instructions don't look too bad.

 

Engine oil and filter really need doing once a year (in fact more so if journeys are frequently short) again a very simple job but easier done with a lift and also the underside of the car can be checked and suspension and exhaust.

 

Hopefully with such low mileage your suspension should be longer lasting than on my wife's 2015 Fabia but you might get the various noises with more use, like the various engine noises at various times I've (almost) got used to ignoring them.  The front dampers were replaced on my wife's car, unfortunately with the same sort as it was a distress purchase at end of MoT, the other noises others seem to have and never find to resolve so I put up with them.  The various engine noises I put down to the computers doing their job so I put up with them to, I've always found VW 4-cylinder petrol engines to be noisy (diesel like) so am biased - and I don't particularly like VW products but to be fair the Fabias aren't bad cars.

 

Best of luck with whatever you decide and your walk.

   

Thanks for that and your good wishes.

 

I bought a large AA solar charger (as my car is in a car park) and it has worked well. My car was not driven for a year and it started first time!

 

I have some concerns about the suspension, as, like a lot of people, I have run into bad potholes and the roads that lead to some stretches of the Coast Path are often very poor.

 

Yes, there have been some annoying noises from time to time but nothing continual. I don't know if something was stuck in the ventilation. The engine noise can be loud, but a passenger said that she liked it! I don't particularly notice it but I might have got used to it.

 

All the best, Daniel

Daniel, I was going to suggest a solar panel but was concerned it might get nicked when your car was in a public car park when you're doing your walk.  I'm glad to hear the solar panel works well for you.

 

The suspension issues on my wife's Fabia, and others, was more to do with the lower quality parts VW used from factory build, I have a mate and a neighbour with 20 and 20+ year old Toyotas on factory suspension travelling on many of the same roads as my wife's Fabia but the front dampers ("shocks") on my wife's car failed about 6 years old  and the VWŠkoda replacements were a potential MoT fail at less than 12 months old, "misting" !  That's discounting all the other suspension noises.  Perhaps the 2016 cars are much better.

 

Until a couple of years ago my one and only everyday car for the previous 16 years was a 1973 MG Midget so I'm very used to engine noises (tappets, induction) let alone the gearbox and back axle whine, I like the sound of the machinery as long as I know the cause.  This morning I was driving the Fabia, the car's computer thought the outside temperature was 28c (it wasn't) so high idle and loads of noise, after satisfying myself it's faulty sensor(s) and computer programming I just drove off, accepting the swings and roundabouts of modern car computer programming (I drive my neighbour's 2023 car so I know things got worse, thank gawd it's not a Tesla);.

 

Enjoy as much as you can for as long as you can, cars are just lumps of metal (and much plastic now) if they serve their purpose that's great.

    

Thanks, Nigel. I live in a block of flats, so it was fine leaving the solar panel on the dashboard in the car park by the flats.

 

I grew up in the 70s and remember driving around in an MG that belonged to some people we knew. Nice cars.

 

I take your point about cars being lumps of metal, although one can become attached to them if they provide good service for long periods of time. Your philosophy is very sound, as far as I'm concerned.

Cheers, Daniel