Oh, I missed the other clincher from the Sheffield dealer.... If you ask for your tyres to be swapped front to back they will soon be starting to charge and extra

Don't ask! I have posted enough about the attempt to fix SWMBO's fabia already!!

I know they used to be ssen as a good dealer, but the spiraling prices seem to suggest an air of panic in the service department!

I paid

We originally were quoteed

Oh, I missed the other clincher from the Sheffield dealer.... If you ask for your tyres to be swapped front to back they will soon be starting to charge and extra

Steve the 110 tdi octy on variable should be surfaced when it asks or at 2 years, which ever comes first.

On fixed servicing it is every year or 10000 miles, however if doing this you would expect to run on normal oil. It sounds like you are running some sort of mixed service set up.

I've just rung my local Skoda garage to book my car in for it's 1st service (variable) and have been quoted £255, which was a bit of a shock to say the least!

I take it this is a little steep looking at the prices others have been quoted.

My 4x4's service was

Stealers would be the right word. The Octy 2 went in for a basic service today. We originally were quoteed £120. Still a bit I thought especially as Christmas is coming. Got an FSI Octy as courtesy car...which got clamped!

Anyhow, when picking our car up we were told it was £185. Exsqueeze me said I very bewildered!!

I was told the car only needed servicing every 20,000miles or 2 years ( I knew this) and replied so justify this cost. I was told the oil is very expensive, almost twice as much as any other car!!

Is this stuff gold plated or are Skoda making a money making scam out of bi-annual servicing.

I've lodged a personal complaint to the director of our dealer who has said he will investigate as it sounds very steep....no ****

What is this oil business and has anyone else experienced this?

Incidentally, the only jobs done were an oil and filter change + pollen filter

I paid

I paid £220 for my 20k service, they wanted £285, so I haggled and got it down to £220. The oil is about £12 litre + vat. Dealerships charge between £85 to £95 hrs labour. So you got a good deal. Best to have it done in dealership if you got warrenty, it makes sense.

Not sure about that - depends who you have trust in. As you have to pay for a service it is not like getting a repair free under warranty. So long as the garage is recognised and uses the correct parts, your warranty is not affected. Makes you wonder if main dealers just think they have you over a barrel (for service costs.) They haven't.

Not sure about that - depends who you have trust in. As you have to pay for a service it is not like getting a repair free under warranty. So long as the garage is recognised and uses the correct parts, your warranty is not affected. Makes you wonder if main dealers just think they have you over a barrel (for service costs.) They haven't.

How much is arguing the toss worth? And how much more value will you get if you have "Full Skoda Service History" when it comes to trade-in / private sale?

For many on variable, there'll only be one service within warranty period anyway...

TBH what I worry about is less the price, more the shoddy work that goes on at hyper rushed dealerships. I know a couple of main dealer mechanics (different marques, neither VAG, one prestige, one French) and get horror stories. One of these chaps has caused *major* damage to 2 customer cars through having to rush jobs...

Well, that underlines what I mean. I watched Clarion do my service, and as a "used-to-be" hands on DIY from motorbike days [and, no, I didn't muck anything up!] I had a fair idea that the guy was working carefully, unrushed, in good surroundings. After all, they had been a main dealer up to a while back, and still are for Daihatsu.

Also, THEY sold me the car so I will probably PX it there for the next one. Hopefully they would be very happy with the service history!!

Having said all that, if there were no-one like them around that I felt happy with, I would not go to a cheapo place to save

Hi, my Tdi140 service light has just appeared, (varible service), but seeing that its out of warranty, and that now my local dealer has gone since its last service, thinking of doing this myself.

The local dealer used to charge about

Most likely cheaper to so that.

Where in the south west are you as there are a few from that area on her who might be able to recommend you a cheap and good indy.

Most likely cheaper to so that.

Where in the south west are you as there are a few from that area on her who might be able to recommend you a cheap and good indy.

Thanks,

Im in Devon, the $tealer was Marsh Skoda in Exeter that quoted me that price.

Any Ideas which software to go for??

Cheers JGT

I know you need the CAN cable for the Octy II and Hex for Octy I, personally I'd get the HEX and CAN cable if you are buying a genuine VAG COM cable.

You can also get Ebay cables too but i know nothing about them.

You might want to give Devonutopia on here a poke and see who he uses for servicing. He might even have a VAG COM but I can't remember

Why have the prices gone up so much

My 1st Fabia (X Reg SDi) cost £49 for a 10k service at 6 months old.

My last non VRS Fabia (a 12v) cost £120 at the same interval

My Octy Pdi - (OK Long Life oil) cost £200 for it's 1st 18k/6 month old service

Worse my VRS for it's 12 month 20k service cost £300 with a loan car the stealer charged me for.

Is it to pay for the flashy showroom and the VW dealers VW are giving the Skoda franchises to...

(They charge

So I'm not alone in this thread then..lol!!

I'm sorry but I still feel

Just go to a local independent garage. As long as they use VAG parts and correct oil. Its covered. FULL STOP

Well, at least for many (like me) there'll only be one man dealer service to endure within the warranty period. Guessing this is why the prices are getting so mental...

The main factor in why service prices have gone up is simply down to 3 factors. 1, profit margin in selling cars isn't what it used to be 2, cars are far more reliable these days and 3, the 'buying experience'. Years ago the showroom drove the majority profit for a stealer, but british consumers complained (rightly) about the difference in prices between the rest of europe and here so dealer margins were cut as part of the measures to bring our prices more into line. Reliable cars = less workshop hours so unless more services are booked or prices are changed accordingly then the sums do not add up for profitability. Also remember that cars are now far more technical than ever before and your average mechanic is starting to need a degree in IT to understand whats wrong with your car and thus can command higher wages (its not unknown for mechanics to be earning in excess of

ECU update, Plug in computer, hit a button that says check and update firmware, just like any other item of computer firmware.

The people who need the degree are the people who write the firmware and the tools to update it not the mechanic in the workshop. There is a lot to be said for experience over a degree in many jobs.

The main factor in why service prices have gone up is simply down to 3 factors. 1, profit margin in selling cars isn't what it used to be 2, cars are far more reliable these days and 3, the 'buying experience'. Years ago the showroom drove the majority profit for a stealer, but british consumers complained (rightly) about the difference in prices between the rest of europe and here so dealer margins were cut as part of the measures to bring our prices more into line. Reliable cars = less workshop hours so unless more services are booked or prices are changed accordingly then the sums do not add up for profitability. Also remember that cars are now far more technical than ever before and your average mechanic is starting to need a degree in IT to understand whats wrong with your car and thus can command higher wages (its not unknown for mechanics to be earning in excess of £35k pa these days) and things start to sound a bit more fair. I dont begrudge paying higher servicing costs because i know that thats the modern day way for the franchise dealer. The 1 man band down the road simply doesnt have the factory knowledge or support or training, just his experience and training which is fine for straight forward servicing but what if the ECU needs an update like your computer often needs or a fault needs looking into and his black box isnt 100% compatible with your car because its a generic one that covers most of the things on most of the cars? Posh showrooms and workshops cost big money, as do big posh shopping centers but most people like the experience visiting them brings, sure some are happy to use the round the corner garage or the half empty town markets but things have changed, the majority of consumers demanded it but unfortunately everyones having to pay for it!

Hear! Hear! (or is it here! here!) At last somebody who makes some sense. And don't forget, all you Skoda owners...you are getting a top quality car for a knocked down price. The dealer has to make a living somehow. "You" all wanted cars to be priced in line with the rest of Europe...now you are experiencing the consequences!

I needed some long life oil in an emergency recently. I stopped at a Land Rover Dealership and the guy happily sold me a litre of Castrol longlife which meets the correct VAG spec for over £17 ! I can't say I was happy about the situation but at least I left in the knowledge I wouldn't knacker the engine by putting the wrong oil in. The guy also tried to soften the blow by telling me that a Range Rover uses some 9.5 litres!

So, to sum up, shop around if your poor/tight and if you can't be bothered, pay up and look big.

The main factor in why service prices have gone up is simply down to 3 factors. 1, profit margin in selling cars isn't what it used to be 2, cars are far more reliable these days and 3, the 'buying experience'. Years ago the showroom drove the majority profit for a stealer, but british consumers complained (rightly) about the difference in prices between the rest of europe and here so dealer margins were cut as part of the measures to bring our prices more into line. Reliable cars = less workshop hours so unless more services are booked or prices are changed accordingly then the sums do not add up for profitability. Also remember that cars are now far more technical than ever before and your average mechanic is starting to need a degree in IT to understand whats wrong with your car and thus can command higher wages (its not unknown for mechanics to be earning in excess of