Most outrageous service cost?
Discussion
janesmith1950 said:
VW main dealer did the first service on our 4x4 Passat diesel last month. £140. They even sent me videos of them inspecting the tyres etc whilst I was waiting.
Sounds like Audi are pulling the OP's pants down.
ThisSounds like Audi are pulling the OP's pants down.
The 1st service on my Golf R was quoted at £190 but actually cost £165.
Videos were emailed & a Polo GTi as a courtesy car.......no complaints
Joeguard1990 said:
Thus my brilliant idea of Service Schools.
You rock up with your car, and service the car yourself, but a mechanic talks you through it, helps as provided and provides the parts and tools.
You pay a premium, but going forward you have the knowledge to do it yourself next time and you increase your knowledge in all things cars
Night school course at the local college, many do them, I did one years ago and found I knew a lot more than I thought as a lot were total beginners, was good for ramp time, tools and advice from the lecturer taking the course.You rock up with your car, and service the car yourself, but a mechanic talks you through it, helps as provided and provides the parts and tools.
You pay a premium, but going forward you have the knowledge to do it yourself next time and you increase your knowledge in all things cars
Its pretty easy to be honest.
J4CKO said:
Joeguard1990 said:
Thus my brilliant idea of Service Schools.
You rock up with your car, and service the car yourself, but a mechanic talks you through it, helps as provided and provides the parts and tools.
You pay a premium, but going forward you have the knowledge to do it yourself next time and you increase your knowledge in all things cars
Night school course at the local college, many do them, I did one years ago and found I knew a lot more than I thought as a lot were total beginners, was good for ramp time, tools and advice from the lecturer taking the course.You rock up with your car, and service the car yourself, but a mechanic talks you through it, helps as provided and provides the parts and tools.
You pay a premium, but going forward you have the knowledge to do it yourself next time and you increase your knowledge in all things cars
Its pretty easy to be honest.
I bought a 12 month old Fiat Doblo van, the non franchise dealer had serviced it before sale, I'd had it about a month and the service light came on, dealer was 200 miles away so I took it to the local fiat garage where they charged me £50 to switch a light off.
best bit was they had to pretend it took 30 minutes so I had to wait in reception even though it actually took them about 30 seconds
when the 2nd service was due I asked how much and it was over £400 so I took it to In&out who did it for £99, a few months later it needed some warranty work so I took it to fiat and they never even asked about the service history, just did it
best bit was they had to pretend it took 30 minutes so I had to wait in reception even though it actually took them about 30 seconds
when the 2nd service was due I asked how much and it was over £400 so I took it to In&out who did it for £99, a few months later it needed some warranty work so I took it to fiat and they never even asked about the service history, just did it
I took my 5 series to a BMW specialist and told them to service it and give it a look over as id only bought it in January, and the previous owner had, had it serviced every April regardless.
Dropped it Fri and fetched it Mon afternoon as we d been away.
Cost was ZERO as they didn't seem to hear a word I said and the computer said it didn't need a service so they didn't bother.
Winner
Dropped it Fri and fetched it Mon afternoon as we d been away.
Cost was ZERO as they didn't seem to hear a word I said and the computer said it didn't need a service so they didn't bother.
Winner
spookly said:
funkyrobot said:
Do people ask about service costs when buying new or newish cars from main dealers? Or is it something else that is priced artificially high to make you purchase a 'service pack' at a slightly 'better' price?
One of the old boys local to me that runs a Merc pays more for his service pack than it would cost to pay for the services individually at the local Merc dealer. I know some service packs are good value, others seem to be worse than just paying for the services.The good thing about the Merc package though is that it does include everything called for. We also have a VW and their package is only basic servicing. Things like DSG and Haldex fluid changes are extra.
Russ_H said:
janesmith1950 said:
VW main dealer did the first service on our 4x4 Passat diesel last month. £140. They even sent me videos of them inspecting the tyres etc whilst I was waiting.
Sounds like Audi are pulling the OP's pants down.
ThisSounds like Audi are pulling the OP's pants down.
The 1st service on my Golf R was quoted at £190 but actually cost £165.
Videos were emailed & a Polo GTi as a courtesy car.......no complaints
All of these tales make me a tad more pleased to own a 12yo M3 which is now firmly in the hands of the indy world for any big jobs, although I have to say that when it was in the BMW main dealer care it was always very well looked after and there were never any 'surprise add ons' - Inspections 1 and 2 were pretty reasonable.
It being loooong out of warranty and being a lifelong spanner-er I now do as much work on it myself as I can. Last job was a seized front caliper - the outer dust seal had blown out on mine, local indie would only replace the whole caliper at a cost ~ £500. Once 25 quid caliper rebuild kit later (new piston and all seals - 'from a specialist' in Wheeler Dealers speak) and a morning on the driveway and I had it fully rebuilt, and changed the brake fluid and front pads as an added bonus. Job done for < 75 quid and my own time.
Would I buy a car off someone else saying "I rebuilt the brakes, they are fine" - most probably not. Would I trust me doing the job meticulously, following service manual and several online how-to's, and having done the same job on six motorbike calipers last summer? Yes, I would.
Therein lies the rub; if you're handy at home spannering and don't care about stamps in the book any more, you can save a lot of money.
If you don't have the time/skills/inclination, or need the book stamped for resale or your lease/PCP deal then dealers largely have you over a barrel, but they need to make money to stay in business. I often wonder how people who want absolute killer deals on new cars, top book on their trade-ins etc wonder where dealers are making their money? It's not on the new car sales margin, that's for sure!
But yeah, that Audi first service price, steep IMHO!
It being loooong out of warranty and being a lifelong spanner-er I now do as much work on it myself as I can. Last job was a seized front caliper - the outer dust seal had blown out on mine, local indie would only replace the whole caliper at a cost ~ £500. Once 25 quid caliper rebuild kit later (new piston and all seals - 'from a specialist' in Wheeler Dealers speak) and a morning on the driveway and I had it fully rebuilt, and changed the brake fluid and front pads as an added bonus. Job done for < 75 quid and my own time.
Would I buy a car off someone else saying "I rebuilt the brakes, they are fine" - most probably not. Would I trust me doing the job meticulously, following service manual and several online how-to's, and having done the same job on six motorbike calipers last summer? Yes, I would.
Therein lies the rub; if you're handy at home spannering and don't care about stamps in the book any more, you can save a lot of money.
If you don't have the time/skills/inclination, or need the book stamped for resale or your lease/PCP deal then dealers largely have you over a barrel, but they need to make money to stay in business. I often wonder how people who want absolute killer deals on new cars, top book on their trade-ins etc wonder where dealers are making their money? It's not on the new car sales margin, that's for sure!
But yeah, that Audi first service price, steep IMHO!
Edited by PurpleTurtle on Tuesday 25th April 18:14
I do both things. My old nails get serviced by myself on the drive or at my local diy garage where you hire ramps at £10per hour. I've fitted shocks, brakes, gearbox mounts and done servicing on my mr2, corrolla etc. I also changed the gearbox oil and fitted an RS short shift to my 993 on the ramps but servicing was done for that at an indy because no one buys a home serviced 993 at anything like book price even if they work for Maclaren.
My R8 will go to audi or RE performance as an indy for the same reason that it will kill the value if not fsh.
My R8 will go to audi or RE performance as an indy for the same reason that it will kill the value if not fsh.
Edited by 200Plus Club on Tuesday 25th April 20:07
rix said:
First service due on the derv TT (Yes I know - how very PH!) so booked it in with the local dealer. Inspection 1 service so only parts changed are oil and filter. Obviously they will spend hours meticulously checking every moving part bit still blown away at the price....
....£454.40.
(plus £31.35 if the pollen filter is changed).
Anyone beat this for such humdrumness?
Several LED bulbs in the high level / 3rd brake light in my mk7 GTD have gone, a few weeks out of warranty.....£454.40.
(plus £31.35 if the pollen filter is changed).
Anyone beat this for such humdrumness?
Cost ? £450... that's £50 for the part and the rest labour for the body shop. Yes, £450 for a brake light.
Do I get a prize ?
Conscript said:
I've just paid £613 for the 60K mile service on my GT86, primarily because it involves a spark plug change - which on a Boxer engine is a royal pain in the rear (I believe the engine has to be lifted and partially disassembled in order to do it). But that price also included oil/filter, air filter, cabin filter, brake fluid change, differential oil change and a full wheel alignment, all from a trusted independent.
It was a book time of 3.4 hours, and I had been expecting this service to be expensive, but it's looking decidedly cheap compared to £450 for an oil change
Cor blimey, £613 for that.. from an independent, how much is from Toyota? wow, that just put me off buying a GT86It was a book time of 3.4 hours, and I had been expecting this service to be expensive, but it's looking decidedly cheap compared to £450 for an oil change
Why are they designing the engine in such a way that it is so difficult to change something as simple as a spark plug.
When I bought my Clio V6 I knew it was quite close to its "major" service interval (which is a general service, inspection, and cambelt - have to drop the engine to do this). So I bought it a little cheaper than others on the market. When I got it home, and the miles were up for when it wanted it's service, I took it to the nearest Renault dealership to me, which is in Kettering. Spoke to the young lady on the reception desk and asked her how much for the service on a Clio V6...
What is the registration sir?
XYZ
Renaultsport Clio V6 255?
Yup, that's the one.
That will be £2700 sir.
... Two thousand seven hundred?
Yes sir.
Instantly man mathed my way in to the lovely Clio 200 in the corner of the shop, but the salesmen were more interested in trying and failing to chat up the receptionist, so that did not happen.
In the end I went to a V6 specialist and spent 1k less, and I got a new clutch for that price, along with many other free tweaks, which Renault weren't going to do at all.
Mad.
What is the registration sir?
XYZ
Renaultsport Clio V6 255?
Yup, that's the one.
That will be £2700 sir.
... Two thousand seven hundred?
Yes sir.
- shiny suited salesmen smirking from behind their desks*
Instantly man mathed my way in to the lovely Clio 200 in the corner of the shop, but the salesmen were more interested in trying and failing to chat up the receptionist, so that did not happen.
In the end I went to a V6 specialist and spent 1k less, and I got a new clutch for that price, along with many other free tweaks, which Renault weren't going to do at all.
Mad.
Edited by Checkmate on Wednesday 26th April 03:35
GrizzlyBear said:
Conscript said:
I've just paid £613 for the 60K mile service on my GT86, primarily because it involves a spark plug change - which on a Boxer engine is a royal pain in the rear (I believe the engine has to be lifted and partially disassembled in order to do it). But that price also included oil/filter, air filter, cabin filter, brake fluid change, differential oil change and a full wheel alignment, all from a trusted independent.
It was a book time of 3.4 hours, and I had been expecting this service to be expensive, but it's looking decidedly cheap compared to £450 for an oil change
Cor blimey, £613 for that.. from an independent, how much is from Toyota? wow, that just put me off buying a GT86It was a book time of 3.4 hours, and I had been expecting this service to be expensive, but it's looking decidedly cheap compared to £450 for an oil change
Why are they designing the engine in such a way that it is so difficult to change something as simple as a spark plug.
rix said:
First service due on the derv TT (Yes I know - how very PH!) so booked it in with the local dealer. Inspection 1 service so only parts changed are oil and filter. Obviously they will spend hours meticulously checking every moving part bit still blown away at the price....
....£454.40.
That's £4.41 more than the 3-year service plan for my new bike.....£454.40.
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