@Yogev

Good that you get a service book, they stopped then in the UK about 2012/13. 

 

Every Main Dealer visit to a Workshop or Service even if just a Oil / Filter service should have a Free Health Check / Inspection, look see and report.

Free Brake Check, that is visual. 

 

 

Edited 22 November, 20241 yr by Ootohere

On 09/11/2024 at 17:49, DerekU said:

This 2017 link SUGGESTS  that Skoda cars marketed in Israel have a 3 years warranty

 

https://www.change.org/p/matthias-müller-get-the-vw-group-to-give-israeli-seat-customers-the-same-warranty-period-as-skoda-and-vw

Skodas in Israel have a two year warranty and if you add extra money you get a 3 year . 
 

no  manufacturer offers 3 years anyway not even Subaru which used to offer 5 years .

 

i got a family discount there for I have a 3 years, the average costumer will get a 2 years .

3 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@Yogev

Good that you get a service book, they stopped then in the UK about 2012/13. 

 

Every Main Dealer visit to a Workshop or Service even if just a Oil / Filter service should have a Free Health Check / Inspection, look see and report.

Free Brake Check, that is visual. 

 

 

That is quite a nice chart!

 

I absolutely agree with you 15k km or 1 year is a long time imo , and an overall check is just the right way.

The following work is what Skoda's UK website advises should be carried out as part of an Oil and Inspection service.

 

 

Edited 22 November, 20241 yr by DerekU

On 10/11/2024 at 11:18, DerekU said:

As Yogev's Fabia is a 2024 model, whether he is living in Israel or whatever the duration of his car's warranty, his car will currently be well within its warranty period.

 

The wording of the terms and conditions of a new car's  warranty are not standardised and, although mandatory servicing may not need to be performed by an agency of the car's manufacturer, if servicing is performed outside the manufacturer's dealership network, care should be taken to ensure that all parts used and the actions taken conform to the mandatory servicing requirements, and that details of those parts and the actions are carefully documented.

 

This link is to an article by the UK magazine "What Car"

 

https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/best-new-car-warranties/n26485

 

and includes the following guidance

 

Could I accidentally invalidate my new car warranty?

 

As with all insurance policies, there are lots of exclusions and clauses that need to be adhered to so that you don’t invalidate your cover. The main one is that you keep the car maintained regularly to the manufacturer ’s standard and have servicing done within the time or mileage recommended. Although you aren’t usually required to have your car serviced by a franchised dealer, you do have to take it to a garage that will carry out the correct service to the standards recommended in the owner ’s manual. They must use genuine parts, or those of equivalent quality, and it ’s best to get the garage to make a note on the service invoice of all part numbers for items used. You must also stick to fuel, oil and other lubricants that are recommended in the manual.

 

Yogev has said that his 2024 Fabia is his first car and (as I interpret his first posting) he seems to be considering  using a non-Skoda-approved workshop to carry out his Fabia's first service.

 

A Fabia Mk 4 is a technically sophisticated vehicle and servicing to meet Skoda's requirements will include the work referred to by Ootohere last Friday

 

They are actually called Oil & Inspection Services. 

 Or if  called 'just an Oil Service' i hope they are doing an inspection and plugging in the car, checking for faults or any Software Updates required.

Checking a new car as 12 months past someone should be, & do a paint inspection for that warranty. 

 

Although a non-Skoda-approved workshop should be able to carry out some of the necessary servicing tasks and use OE parts and oil that meets Skoda's specification, the chances approach zero that it will be able to check for or install any outstanding software updates.

 

There may a persuasive reason for Yogev choosing not to have his Fabia serviced by the Skoda dealership from which he bought the car (eg. that dealership is 200km away from where he lives) or that more local Skoda dealerships are unable to service the car in the near future. But, if it's primarily the question of the cost of the servicing work that's discouraging Yogev, he should consider whether saving a few shekels now is the worth the risk of Skoda being unhelpful if a problem with his car arises in future.

 

And, if it's felt that Skoda will always be helpful and benevolent where warranties are concerned, this 2022 article may cause a re-think.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/apr/20/skodas-refusal-to-honour-warranty-staggers-legal-experts

 

Money is not part of my considerations, I do not care if it is expansive or not I like my  car and saving on it will not be something I will do.

 

official workshops are private workshops bought by the local importer “champion motors” basically a partnership , they are expansive yes but they are unprofessional often your car will return damaged wether visually or mechanically and this is based on VAG cars my parents owned or based on the local vw,seat,Skoda,Audi and Cupra groups.

 

 

Israel is a small country there are not many private workshops, for the VAG group there are 3 main ones  which have dedicated thier shops for VAG only and are very professional some of them are older than Israel itself and some of them just adore the brand .

 

 

all in all I want the best for my car and my considerations are based on what I think is best for her for the long run .

 

(private shops have all the equipment the official ones do and more )

 

Car servicing in Israel (for Skoda vehicles at least) is clearly significantly different  to the UK's, where the expectation is that servicing work carried out by UK Skoda dealerships can be trusted and will be more comprehensive (though generally more expensive) than servicing performed by non-Skoda workshops.

 

If you have your Fabia serviced during its warranty period by a non=Skoda workshop that you trust, so be it. And, if that workshop allows you to provide the parts you have sourced yourself that you know meet Skoda's specification, I don't think anyone would try to persuade you that you should use an 'unprofessional' Skoda workshop that you fear might damage your car, use unsuitable parts or do the work badly.

8 minutes ago, DerekU said:

Car servicing in Israel (for Skoda vehicles at least) is clearly significantly different  to the UK's, where the expectation is that servicing work carried out by UK Skoda dealerships can be trusted and will be more comprehensive (though generally more expensive) than servicing performed by non-Skoda workshops.

 

If you have your Fabia serviced during its warranty period by a non=Skoda workshop that you trust, so be it. And, if that workshop allows you to provide the parts you have sourced yourself that you know meet Skoda's specification, I don't think anyone would try to persuade you that you should use an 'unprofessional' Skoda workshop that you fear might damage your car, use unsuitable parts or do the work badly.

i agree with you, i think that naturally the Official Shops for Skoda should be the best ones but the reality of it they are just not.. ( in israel) .

 

before buying my car i did a research about them, i thought it is not that bad as people claim it to be but the reality of it is that they just are.

 

israel passed a law that any Workshop recognized by  Ministry of Transportation are able to treat cars under warranty and the official importer must still respect the warranty so im not losing anything im just choosing the best Doctor for her.

 

i think from this post onward is just a matter of experience with time i will form a more clear opinion of what i think is best for her and what works for me.

Skoda Main Dealership Servicing and trust needs taking with a pinch of salt.

 

If they do not even look at the Air Filter each Service.

If they do not even tell customers the important stuff, VAQ diffs, Haldex intervals, not changing filters.

Says wheels off, yet not so with many.

 

Up-selling and saying 80% worn pads or discs the norm.  Offering Fuel Cleaners / Additives, saying AC service is at 2 years etc. 

 

@3 years then each 2.

Much not done at enough Main Dealers in the UK.  Charged for though. 

 

Edited 22 November, 20241 yr by Ootohere

As I understand it the same car we get 3-years warranty for in the UK and Yogev gets 2 +1 years warranty in Australia they get 7 years warranty, same manufacturer same car and in Sweden they may only get, if I remember correctly, 3 years warranty they have lots of consumer protection on whatever they buy even second-hand (previously owned by another customer) cars.  VW/VAG take advantage of the situation available in each market, as do other manufacturers in Israel it seems.

 

(ETA: beaten to these points now) A slightly optimistic view has been given on VWŠkoda Dealership in the UK, yes they should have all the manufacturer's tools and training, to some extent at least, but not all Dealerships do good and proper work.  Most of the main Dealerships, in England at least, regardless of what marque or brand of car they sell and service are actually owned by just a few companies though they may be subdivided for tax and marketing reasons and shown as different names so the culture tends to be very similar as it does generally in the motor industry and often that is low or very low regard for the car owners.

 

The "free health check" is mainly an opportunity to sell, sometimes unnecessary or very premature, or totally speculative, items to bring in work, revenue and profit.

 

There are some independent marque or brand specialist garages and mechanics that are very good and better than most (all?) of the official Dealerships and they have the tools, training and knowledge, some were former Dealership employees that got disillusioned by the Dealership attitudes, work practices and wages.  Obviously some or all also wanted to start and run their own business.

 

In my wife's 7.5 years ownership the car was taken to the local VWŠkoda Dealership, through its change of company (or company name at least) for all by two of the annual services (plus routine "maintenance work as VWŠKoda calls it) and we have had to ask them to carry out the scheduled "maintenance" work and even one element of scheduled service work, yet their "free health checks" and ticksheets have been inaccurate and some ludicrous and expensive work suggested that worried my wife.  I think they may even take advantage of the fact my wife is a woman and not interested in the details of car servicing and maintenance and needs the car for her work occasionally.

 

One annual service we took the car to an independent garage that a neighbour said had done good work on her (older) Mercedes but for us they were not much better than the local Dealership and the same cost, they did collect and return the car to our home though as part of the service as a courtesy vehicle was unavailable, my wife will not use the courtesy car from the local Dealership because of its restrictions, not that one was ever available when she used to originally ask.

 

This year I done the engine oil and filter change myself along with a little other work so I was at least able to use better quality oil and know the engine oil change was done thoroughly, we then had a different independent garage do the MoT and brake fluid change as they do it the "old fashion way" I like and had the scan tool for ABS flush and they knew all about the parts quality on the VWŠkodas and assured me they use better.  They were highly recommended by people we know, been going decades, and particularly the fact that they do not open on a Saturday or Sunday was a good sign to me.

 

Sounds like the situation is Israel is different yet in many ways the same as here.

 

Edited 22 November, 20241 yr by nta16
typos