Dealer servicing; is it worth it?

[DashDriver]

nick s said:

Just been quoted on a "major" service for my 2021 SQ7 Vorsprung. Includes brake fluid and and oil change. Car has done just 6000 miles. £1050 at an Audi main dealer!! I'm gobsmacked! Car does't need a major service as the mileage is so low, but my hand is almost forced in order to keep the service history intact....

6000 miles on a diesel in 2 years is crazy low, does it get driven far? Seems like the wrong engine for someone who drive 3k a year as that won't do it any good.

What are they offering in the service, is it fixed or variable (please say fixed).

Inspection 10k service is just oil and filter and a basic inspection, suspension brakes tyres etc.

2 years is recommended brake fluid, having had an audi this is a 20k standard service with a more detailed inspection, doors, window sunroof (if fitted) cooling system, all lights drivetrain etc.


You can just have what you feel necessary, if it just oil service, some things age/time rather than mileage.

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

Gio G said:

I have lost allot of faith in main dealer servicing. I always took my car to one main dealer for yearly annual servicing and had done for at least 5 years of it's life. Once out of extended warranty, I decided to use an independent local to me. My jaw dropped when the mechanic at the Indy showed my the air filter. The filter was actually date stamped making it the original factory unit!!

He mentioned that this was very common, so many cars never having oil, filters or liquids changed at main dealers. No one ever checks their work, so they get away with it..

G

that doesn't mean that it was the original factory unit. It could simply mean that in days past the dealer bought up a lot of stock from the manufacturer and it was left on the shelf for years, because it kept being put to the back.

This happens all the time.

[nick s]

DashDriver said:

nick s said:

Just been quoted on a "major" service for my 2021 SQ7 Vorsprung. Includes brake fluid and and oil change. Car has done just 6000 miles. £1050 at an Audi main dealer!! I'm gobsmacked! Car does't need a major service as the mileage is so low, but my hand is almost forced in order to keep the service history intact....

6000 miles on a diesel in 2 years is crazy low, does it get driven far? Seems like the wrong engine for someone who drive 3k a year as that won't do it any good.

What are they offering in the service, is it fixed or variable (please say fixed).

Inspection 10k service is just oil and filter and a basic inspection, suspension brakes tyres etc.

2 years is recommended brake fluid, having had an audi this is a 20k standard service with a more detailed inspection, doors, window sunroof (if fitted) cooling system, all lights drivetrain etc.


You can just have what you feel necessary, if it just oil service, some things age/time rather than mileage.

It's a petrol (New SQ7 is a 500bhp 4.0 V8 twin turbo petrol). But yes, mileage is low because the wife and i both WFH so i only used as our family car to pop to the shops or ferry the kids around at weekends!

Yes, they are saying i should get the brake fluid done and the major inspection service. Thanks for the advice though. I think i'll just go with the the oil and filter change with the basic inspection!

[The spinner of plates]

Marc p said:

Tiglon said:

Not sure why going to an indy is automatically more reliable than a dealer? Plenty of those who'll rip you off as well.

When I was in Colchester I went to Ford and BMW dealers because I struggled to find an indy that was better.

I agree, there are some terrible indy’s out there, it’s all about finding a decent garage that you can trust, the benefit of smaller independents is that once you find a good one, the quality of work will stay good, whereas main dealers have a higher turnover of staff and can be very inconsistent, on one visit you could have a knowledgeable and experienced tech working on your car, but on the next visit, have a lazy apprentice that doesn’t care and cuts corners.

Yup, pretty much answers the question.

The service received is only as good as the person actually doing it.

[kuiper]

I've only ever felt ripped off going to a dealer for servicing. Often they do half a job and/or break things. Or scratch the heck out of your car doing the wash you asked them 4 times not to do.

Sadly if you have a newish car on finance from a dealer it's often in the contractual that you get it serviced at the main dealer - they want it back with a main dealer history to sell on again later and the approved used schemes often require no stamps other than dealer ones. Experience in the past selling cars as well would suggest most 'normal' people value a full dealer history far more than anything else, because they are daft.

As others have said though, depends on the car. An older white goods, I just want to make sure it's got the right stamps at the right places - who did the work is kind of irrelevant to a point. Newer BMW or Merc or something - probably prefer main dealer stamps as it's easier then to get extended warranty etc for when it inevitably goes wrong. Alfa - want a book of stamps from well known reputable indies, the fewer main dealer stamps the better imho.

[Vixpy1]

None of my cars are main dealer serviced, it makes no sense when they are so old.

My wifes Discovery 5 however is main dealer serviced, and the £180 an hour and £500 services have been more than made up for the £43k of warranty work its had in the 2 years we have had it.

[DashDriver]

nick s said:

It's a petrol (New SQ7 is a 500bhp 4.0 V8 twin turbo petrol). But yes, mileage is low because the wife and i both WFH so i only used as our family car to pop to the shops or ferry the kids around at weekends!

Yes, they are saying i should get the brake fluid done and the major inspection service. Thanks for the advice though. I think i'll just go with the the oil and filter change with the basic inspection!

Sadly audi s and rs cars are very expensive to run but its a 500bhp petrol!

Just check as it may invalidate your warranty, oil filter and brake fluid and maybe a cabin filter will probably suffice, also move to fixed not variable servicing.

[Limpet]

Dynion Araf Uchaf said:

Gio G said:

I have lost allot of faith in main dealer servicing. I always took my car to one main dealer for yearly annual servicing and had done for at least 5 years of it's life. Once out of extended warranty, I decided to use an independent local to me. My jaw dropped when the mechanic at the Indy showed my the air filter. The filter was actually date stamped making it the original factory unit!!

He mentioned that this was very common, so many cars never having oil, filters or liquids changed at main dealers. No one ever checks their work, so they get away with it..

G

that doesn't mean that it was the original factory unit. It could simply mean that in days past the dealer bought up a lot of stock from the manufacturer and it was left on the shelf for years, because it kept being put to the back.

This happens all the time.

If it's a canister type filter, just put a small scratch or tiny dent on the old one somewhere before you take the car in. Much harder of course with the element types, unless you can find some way of making it obvious if the housing has been disturbed.

The old fashioned dipstick was also a good visual indicator as to whether the oil had been changed, at least on a petrol engine.

[Pica-Pica]

DashDriver said:

6000 miles on a diesel in 2 years is crazy low, does it get driven far? Seems like the wrong engine for someone who drive 3k a year as that won't do it any good.

What are they offering in the service, is it fixed or variable (please say fixed).

Inspection 10k service is just oil and filter and a basic inspection, suspension brakes tyres etc.

2 years is recommended brake fluid, having had an audi this is a 20k standard service with a more detailed inspection, doors, window sunroof (if fitted) cooling system, all lights drivetrain etc.


You can just have what you feel necessary, if it just oil service, some things age/time rather than mileage.

The annual mileage is irrelevant. It’s the frequency of longer trips that is important. My diesel is doing low annual mileage, but they are long runs. I am not selling - not when li see replacement costs.

[Waitforme]

[quote=Vixpy1]None of my cars are main dealer serviced, it makes no sense when they are so old.

My wifes Discovery 5 however is main dealer serviced, and the £180 an hour and £500 services have been more than made up for the £43k of warranty work its had in the 2 years we have had it.[/quote

Jesus, £43k

[DashDriver]

Pica-Pica said:

The annual mileage is irrelevant. It’s the frequency of longer trips that is important. My diesel is doing low annual mileage, but they are long runs. I am not selling - not when li see replacement costs.

Thank you the OP on SQ7 has confirmed the newer model is petrol, I had thought the SQ5/7 were all diesel to be honest.

Part of me in 2-3 year old SQ7 would be keen to have the car serviced to Audi schedule so if there is an issue I would try and claim on warranty. Having had the displeasure of owning an Audi A6 TDI (not an exotic S car) I would not hold out much hope that Audi will stand by their warranty, certainly the dealer I used was not keen on asking Audi UK to pay for warranty claims and it took 4 months to get my money back, as I paid the dealer and then set about claiming it back on a 3 year old 50k car with full Audi stealer history!!

It always surprised although less and less with Audi Owners that they have no idea of servicing costs and a 500bhp 2.7tn space shuttle needs a £1000 of servicing (which in range rover world is a bargain) the owner is alarmed. Either way at least if you get OE Parts and Schedule followed Audi should stand by the car.

Edited by DashDriver on Wednesday 22 March 10:06

[The spinner of plates]

Vixpy1 said:

None of my cars are main dealer serviced, it makes no sense when they are so old.

My wifes Discovery 5 however is main dealer serviced, and the £180 an hour and £500 services have been more than made up for the £43k of warranty work its had in the 2 years we have had it.

£43k. That is quite the number.

I sometimes look at used LR products, but sentences like this remind why I really shouldn’t.

[QJumper]

I use a main dealer (Lexus) for my servicing, partly to keep the service history but mainly because of the extended warranty.

I took out a service plan and got a discount so prices work out at £275 for intermediate service and £460 for full, which doesn't seem bad to me compared to prices I used to pay for a Jag at an independent. The customer service seems ok too, with a free courtesy car or collect and deliver, and a video of the inspection.

Perhaps my experience is an exception, but I'm reasonably happy with the service I get.

[DashDriver]

QJumper said:

I use a main dealer (Lexus) for my servicing, partly to keep the service history but mainly because of the extended warranty.

I took out a service plan and got a discount so prices work out at £275 for intermediate service and £460 for full, which doesn't seem bad to me compared to prices I used to pay for a Jag at an independent. The customer service seems ok too, with a free courtesy car or collect and deliver, and a video of the inspection.

Perhaps my experience is an exception, but I'm reasonably happy with the service I get.

Sadly my VW/AUDI Service plan is very basic, it allows for oil and filter, inspection video and cabin filter every 2 years, anything else is extra and not discounted in anyway in my experience, I will be glad when mine ends this year.


3 services was £640

Extras Break fluid year 2 £67

Haldex diff oil changes £127

Air filter (although mine is 60k but I changed at 20k 23quid) £35

Spark plus is £140, year 4

so 3 services £997.00

Loan cars vary from dealer to dealer some charge £15

[anonymous-user]

The spinner of plates said:

Vixpy1 said:

None of my cars are main dealer serviced, it makes no sense when they are so old.

My wifes Discovery 5 however is main dealer serviced, and the £180 an hour and £500 services have been more than made up for the £43k of warranty work its had in the 2 years we have had it.

£43k. That is quite the number.

I sometimes look at used LR products, but sentences like this remind why I really shouldn’t.

Wow, imagine owning that outside of warranty. My dad used to work for a Land Rover dealer so I know the score, but people still seem amazed that their five year old Range Rover/Jaguar sts it's Ingenium engine all over the road at 60K miles.

[the cueball]

DashDriver said:

Part of me in 2-3 year old SQ7 would be keen to have the car serviced to Audi schedule so if there is an issue I would try and claim on warranty. Having had the displeasure of owning an Audi A6 TDI (not an exotic S car) I would not hold out much hope that Audi will stand by their warranty, certainly the dealer I used was not keen on asking Audi UK to pay for warranty claims and it took 4 months to get my money back, as I paid the dealer and then set about claiming it back on a 3 year old 50k car with full Audi stealer history!!

It always surprised although less and less with Audi Owners that they have no idea of servicing costs and a 500bhp 2.7tn space shuttle needs a £1000 of servicing (which in range rover world is a bargain) the owner is alarmed. Either way at least if you get OE Parts and Schedule followed Audi should stand by the car.

I had some warranty work carried out with no fuss, FOC on my S8 D2 when it was 17 years old and hadn't been near a main dealer for any servicing for at least 15 years.

I service the car myself and "stamp" the book with a garage stamp purchased online.

I also serviced my RS6 myself too.

Pretty standard cars for oil and filter changes - actually easier to service than my C3.

[DashDriver]

the cueball said:

I had some warranty work carried out with no fuss, FOC on my S8 D2 when it was 17 years old and hadn't been near a main dealer for any servicing for at least 15 years.

I service the car myself and "stamp" the book with a garage stamp purchased online.

I also serviced my RS6 myself too.

Pretty standard cars for oil and filter changes - actually easier to service than my C3.

That was lucky was it a recall as that's different I had the emission scandal work free.

The service books have been gone along time how long ago was that? You were lucky, my car had full Audi history and even though its all on the ERWIN system they asked for each service receipt to be copied and emailed, this was in the last 4 years.

[Sheepshanks]

Dynion Araf Uchaf said:

Gio G said:

I have lost allot of faith in main dealer servicing. I always took my car to one main dealer for yearly annual servicing and had done for at least 5 years of it's life. Once out of extended warranty, I decided to use an independent local to me. My jaw dropped when the mechanic at the Indy showed my the air filter. The filter was actually date stamped making it the original factory unit!!

He mentioned that this was very common, so many cars never having oil, filters or liquids changed at main dealers. No one ever checks their work, so they get away with it..

G

that doesn't mean that it was the original factory unit. It could simply mean that in days past the dealer bought up a lot of stock from the manufacturer and it was left on the shelf for years, because it kept being put to the back.

This happens all the time.

Already said - the air filter change interval is 6yrs on a lot of cars - ie VW Tiguan (so likely everything VAG):

[Vixpy1]

Joey Deacon said:

The spinner of plates said:

Vixpy1 said:

None of my cars are main dealer serviced, it makes no sense when they are so old.

My wifes Discovery 5 however is main dealer serviced, and the £180 an hour and £500 services have been more than made up for the £43k of warranty work its had in the 2 years we have had it.

£43k. That is quite the number.

I sometimes look at used LR products, but sentences like this remind why I really shouldn’t.

Wow, imagine owning that outside of warranty. My dad used to work for a Land Rover dealer so I know the score, but people still seem amazed that their five year old Range Rover/Jaguar sts it's Ingenium engine all over the road at 60K miles.

ours has done 62k, and is just having its 3rd engine fitted

[DashDriver]

Sheepshanks said:

Already said - the air filter change interval is 6yrs on a lot of cars - ie VW Tiguan (so likely everything VAG):

I ignored that and do my 2 years or 20k, 60k seems excessive to me, an OE filter is 15-20 quid.

Mann seems to be OE I order my 1st one from the dealer £23.48 second one direct parts £14.89 today.