Alpine Centre Servicing Costs

Alpine Centre Servicing Costs

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Discussion

worldwidewebs

2,356 posts

250 months

Monday 13th March 2023
quotequote all
xondat said:
Oil, oil filter, cabin filter:
  • Manchester - £420
  • Liverpool - £483
Anyone know of a specialist around Manchester? laugh
I've used Phoenix Motorsport in Accrington for my Lotuses for the last 15 years and Ollie (owner) has also worked on an A110 recently. He's a Lotus specialist, not an Alpine/Renault one but if all you're looking for is oil change, brakes or suspension stuff he's great.

https://www.phoenixmotorsports.co.uk

worldwidewebs

2,356 posts

250 months

Monday 13th March 2023
quotequote all
xondat said:
Oil, oil filter, cabin filter:
  • Manchester - £420
  • Liverpool - £483
Anyone know of a specialist around Manchester? laugh
Just quoted £430 from Manchester. And I can't use my own oil

bram070

70 posts

23 months

Wednesday 12th July 2023
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FWIW, my Alpine just had its first annual service at Alpine Centre Soestdijk in NL. Total cost was:

- €485 (£414) for regular maintenance (I guess this includes oil, oil filter and air filter)
- €71 (£61) for the cabin filter

It is roughly twice the amount I pay for maintenance to my MX-5, but I am not surprised. The mechanic told me that additional training in France and having to update their workshop to Alpine standards led to higher rates than they were used to as a Renault dealership.

The licence plate holder that was broken because someone backed into it in a Spanish parking garage was replaced for free though :-).

neil-g8km6

168 posts

23 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
quotequote all
I will be taking mine to K-Tec racing in Willenhall, Wolverhampton, an independent Renault specialist.

leehingley

18 posts

87 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
quotequote all
neil-g8km6 said:
I will be taking mine to K-Tec racing in Willenhall, Wolverhampton, an independent Renault specialist.
Me too, been using Floyd for a few years now on my Renaultsport cars

bcr5784

7,114 posts

145 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
quotequote all
Anyone used Jaybee motors in Banbury? They are much my nearest Alpine dealer, but an unknown quantity to me.

worldwidewebs

2,356 posts

250 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
quotequote all
bcr5784 said:
Anyone used Jaybee motors in Banbury? They are much my nearest Alpine dealer, but an unknown quantity to me.
New dealership. I'd be taking my car where they know the Alpine the best, wherever that may be

johnnyreggae

2,940 posts

160 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
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I spoke with Tim (who moved from Solihull) about this a few weeks ago and as I recall his service team were up to speed before the sales side opened officially with him also able to share his previous experience - so probably worth a call/visit if local

Sporky

6,264 posts

64 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
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A month or two ago I took mine to the place around the corner (highest rated garage in the country on Yell). Saved 3 hours of driving, and about £300. All genuine parts, all in line with the official schedule.

It's out of warranty and I couldn't get Winchester to return a call or answer an email to buy the extended warranty, so I'm damned if they're getting the servicing from this point on. Especially when it's that much more.

bcr5784

7,114 posts

145 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
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I would be tempted to use a non-Alpine dealer had I not want some paint rectification on the wheel arch ( one side done under warranty already)

Hoofty

654 posts

190 months

Thursday 13th July 2023
quotequote all
bcr5784 said:
Anyone used Jaybee motors in Banbury? They are much my nearest Alpine dealer, but an unknown quantity to me.
Yes - all trained and ready to go as noted by JR. Believe Greg is the most experienced tech.

I was perfectly pleased with the work carried out (it went in first thing and didn't reappear until well after lunch), although I found the price - for a second year/24k service - surprisingly high. A quick tot up of the relevant parts of the invoice suggests a service cost of £380, with consumables £135 on top of that. To rub a little more salt in, as an unusually high miler Alpinist mine was due an (also surprisingly expensive) air filter at the same time, which came in at just under £120.

I'd of course liked to have coughed up less than this but I can't really be bitter - I could've confirmed the expected costs before booking but didn't. Shrug.

<insert Jordan Belfort 'fun coupons' gif here>

Jimbobc

206 posts

107 months

Tuesday 25th July 2023
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What are people being quoted for the fifth service with the coolant change? Looks like the coolant change is £298 alone!

AlpineGuy

25 posts

29 months

Tuesday 25th July 2023
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Yep, that’s correct.
services are now £580 inclusive
Coolant change is approx £300

bcr5784

7,114 posts

145 months

Tuesday 25th July 2023
quotequote all
Jimbobc said:
What are people being quoted for the fifth service with the coolant change? Looks like the coolant change is £298 alone!
That really is extracting the urine!

bcr5784

7,114 posts

145 months

Thursday 27th July 2023
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bcr5784 said:
Jimbobc said:
What are people being quoted for the fifth service with the coolant change? Looks like the coolant change is £298 alone!
That really is extracting the urine!
I've just been quoted £390 for the coolant change. The girl on the desk said it was probably the high cost of the materials. Presumably they fill it up with liquid gold!

Miserablegit

4,021 posts

109 months

Thursday 27th July 2023
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Spark plugs also need changing around 36k miles and they are made of unobtanium with a smattering of unicorn poo. They were on back order but I’ve now had them fitted. Cost was about £130 or so for the parts…

LE62NDE

267 posts

20 months

Thursday 27th July 2023
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bcr5784 said:
I've just been quoted £390 for the coolant change. The girl on the desk said it was probably the high cost of the materials. Presumably they fill it up with liquid gold!
I paid about £7 a litre for genuine Renault Type D coolant at my local dealership a couple of weeks ago. The handbook (which is opaque on most service items) doesn't provide a figure for the total coolant capacity. There will of course be a labour cost for draining, refilling and bleeding the system.

bcr5784

7,114 posts

145 months

Thursday 27th July 2023
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Does anyone know whether a coolant change is ACTUALLY mandated (anyone got a copy of the service schedule)? Seems to me the only issue at my mileage (20k) would be if I had frequently topped up the coolant with plain water and the antifreeze concentration had gone down. I've only topped up once and with the proper Renault stuff, so that won't be the case.

You can test the concentration with an inexpensive refractometer.

It seems to me rather than do a cheap test Renault (and doubtless others) would rather charge you the earth to change the antifreeze. Similarly, they'd rather change the brake fluid rather than test the water content.

Rant over.

Liam22

128 posts

106 months

Thursday 27th July 2023
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I flush through with 0.5l of fresh brake fluid every year. The improvement in pedal feel is totally worth it.

Coolant should be changed to ensure the corrosion inhibitors are still effective.

timbo999

1,293 posts

255 months

Thursday 27th July 2023
quotequote all
bcr5784 said:
Does anyone know whether a coolant change is ACTUALLY mandated (anyone got a copy of the service schedule)? Seems to me the only issue at my mileage (20k) would be if I had frequently topped up the coolant with plain water and the antifreeze concentration had gone down. I've only topped up once and with the proper Renault stuff, so that won't be the case.

You can test the concentration with an inexpensive refractometer.

It seems to me rather than do a cheap test Renault (and doubtless others) would rather charge you the earth to change the antifreeze. Similarly, they'd rather change the brake fluid rather than test the water content.

Rant over.