Service Cost Whinge

[michael gould]

Its Friday so I thought I would have a whinge …….I had my Golf R32 serviced last week for £240 and my wife’s VW Toureg serviced yesterday for £325…….both prices included VAT and both cars had “long life “ services which means next serviceis in two years’ time. On my wife’s car they fitted a new brake release handle and a new bulb at no extra cost (apart from the parts which were £17.89) and both cars came back cleaned inside and out. Why is it that when my service is due at the end of August it’s going to cost me well over £1000. Is it because my Aston is not as well built as my VW’s and requires more attention, or is it because manufacturers such as Aston Martin believe we should just pay more for the privilege of owning one ?

Or should I just pay up and stop whinging and smile at the nice service manager as he extracts as much money as possiable from my credit card ?

[Jockman]

Michael - I believe this will be your 7th year service ??? OUCH !!!

If you are no longer a slave to your warranty, get a quote from Bridge Mill. Neil and Big T think they are quite good and I shall certainly be looking at them next March.

Last time I used Wilmslow they supplied me with an Aston Martin Mug. Pretty apt that

[michael gould]

i like the mug......that is funny !

[mikey k]

I didn't even get the mug!

[George H]

Not like you to whinge Mr G!

[t1blk]

Got to admit it, there is a bit of a sting when paying for that service Mr G , but it is a neccesary one, however I was looked after quite well at Stratstones, and as they seem to know of you quite well I'm sure your usual persuasive manner will seek a reasonable outcome.

[bogie]

if the labour cost is the same, then surely the price should just be:

extra time for extra checks (maybe - book time is about 5.5 hours on Vantage)
2x as much oil, possibly more expensive oil
2x as many plugs
2x airfilters

which is kind of like the bill you get at an independant ...for last 4 years ive not been to a dealer and my service cost has been about £500 each time, depending on service..all done with AM parts and AM service schedule

I did venture into a dealers in last 12 months, out of convenience of location near the office. Went in for 1 hour job, and they came back 1 hour later, no job done and £2.5k estimate of "recommended work" that I needed to have done before they could continue (no details, dont want to name and shame on here)

I took the 1 hour job got it done 2 hours later, at an indy further away. The discs, pads, tyres all have 2-10K miles left in them and will do them over coming months as necessary.

Im afraid they failed my attitude test: if they had done the 1 hours work I asked for, I would have used them again for the other stuff, over time as It needed doing ...but if this is how they behave when I go in for £100 job, god knows what bills I would get for a regular service from the p*ss takers that are obviously desperate for work

thats the only time ive been in a dealers in last 4 years, and it reminded me why

[michael gould]

Gorgeous G have you looked out the window today.......I’m entitled to whinge........I'm sure I will come to a "reasonable" agreement with Stratstone or another but, that really wasn’t my point.........why is it that my wife’s big VW Toureg costs only £270 + VAT to service using fully synthetic oil....and that’s for two years ! And a DB9 even for a minor service is 3X that cost

There again I didn't get a free Mug nwith the VW services

[SLacKer]

A spark plug change requires the removal of the inlet manifolds and fuel line disconnection etc. The actual plug change is easy but the cost is in the taking it all apart and putting it back together and 12 plugs and gasket set of course.

As for servicing every year it seems a little overboard. Mine is in on Monday at BR and has done 2200 miles since the last one and the oil is still golden in colour (whatever the colour of new oil is anyway). I would do it myself but I don't think the resale market would believe it and I would loose a lot more come resale than I save in servicing.

[Jockman]

If Air Filters need doing Bogie, then think Pollen Filter too. These are the expensive ones.

Still, a competent Indy should have massively lower overheads to circumvent these costs

[Neilc123]

I think this is the real issue about Aston Martins. Yes they are a lovely car to have, drive, look at, drool over etc etc. However cars are meant to be built to last and technology is such that parts should be easier and also cheaper to source/fit/repair, even on a more niche product that shares some resources with other suppliers and also cars are being built nowadays with a mind to making servicing easier. Whilst certain items may cost a little bit more I for one can't help feeling that the main dealers either a) try their luck on the basis that someone who buys an aston will have money and not the time to trawl over the invoice b) push things which actually are not necessarily required c) want to squeeze out every penny they can from a vehicle. Don't get me wrong, I do hear of stories that they treat you well etc but again at the prices they charge I'd expect a butler thrown in for the day as well! This is the main issue I have, they really need to make the servicing more competitive and realistic to the modern era. I remember watching a video about Aston Martin in the very distant past offering free services - now whilst that did not help them as they eventually went bust, it cannot be hard to have some sort of half way house i.e. either lower the prices or throw in a set numbered service for free? I read a previous post from a person who states that the reason the labour is so high is because they have to remove various other bits to get to things, well again, why does the customer have to suffer the cost of making a car where the parts to get to for servicing are so hard. This reminds me when I went into the showroom and I was shown an Aston lifted up as the dealer wanted to show off to me about how it was made and everything was riveted together, I then enquired so if I wanted to add to the oil I couldn't just lift the bonnet and pour it in to which he said oh no, you would have to remove all these bolts etc to be able to do that, best brining it back to us. I walked out. I hope people don't take what I said with the attitude well if you can't afford one you shouldn't be asking, After all, I am sure there are a lot in society that maybe could afford one, after all with the number of cars some people have it would be easier to just get rid of them all and have an aston and afford it plus the prices are getting towards 30-45K for some of them which most spend on their Audis or BMWs, if not more. For those who have them it always brings a smile on my face to hear your good stories about them and to watch them go by on the road because I think a world without aston would be a very sad world indeed, and I have even been tempted to nearly put my name down - twice, however each time the cost of servicing and the things they deem as "extras requiring further cost (which I deem are necessary - a matter I have already pointed out in a different thread e.g. iPod) has meant I have paused and stepped back.

[Jockman]

Neil - is the above all 42 of your posts in one go

[Neilc123]

Sure - sometimes it is nice to summarise

[brakedwell]

My DB9 only does 4k miles per year and is driven regularly for never less that 5 miles per outing. Castrol Edge is a long life oil, (2 years), so I have stretched the service intervals to 18 months. The dealer reckons it is the nicest example for it's age they have seen, the car seems to thrive on this schedule and in effect I get three services for the price of two!

[sukh_m]

Neilc123 said:

Sure - sometimes it is nice to summarise

I think you have some valid points above

I had a 911 and whilst it is a mass produced car, servicing costs were reasonable to an extent. I somehow think on such a relatively modern car why are the servicing intervals every year, seems like they want to just get you in because they probably know you wont want to miss the service scheduling.

.......having said that, I will still buy one life's too short!

[Neilc123]

brakedwell that is indeed a nifty way of doing it. I can just imagine your dealer waving you away smiling whilst having his fingers crossed behind his back hoping things go wrong soon so they can get the big estimate sheet out I do agree though that often cars driven regularly do tend to do better than those that sit in garages for a far time. Sadly the weather and the car parks in the UK don't always allow this.

It still makes me smile when people just get into their Astons for a drive to nowhere in particular though. Got to love that! Maybe Aston owners should have the same reputation as pilots used to have and have a mistress (or chap if they are female - i'm not sexist) in every county to give them added purpose for their drives

[michael gould]

brakedwell said:

My DB9 only does 4k miles per year and is driven regularly for never less that 5 miles per outing. Castrol Edge is a long life oil, (2 years), so I have stretched the service intervals to 18 months. The dealer reckons it is the nicest example for it's age they have seen, the car seems to thrive on this schedule and in effect I get three services for the price of two!

yep good point....perhaps I will wait untill December when nobody has their car serviced

[CatalystV12V]

I'm only using dealers for warranty work now... I've just had the second year service done by BR.
Had a nice drive down, spent some time in Stratford... BR pointed out a lot of warranty bits n bobs that have now been addressed.. Service cost was at least £300 less than dealer.. and it was done on a Saturday which means I don't need to take time off work.. Win Win..

Same with tyres, 2 new rears from dealer £1300. EventTyres/Buckley tyres, around £850 - £900 for the pair. When I asked why, I was told I was paying for the experience of their fitters...

the money I've saved above will pay for next year’s insurance, well almost

[KarlFranz]

Was talking to my local Ferrari dealer who informed me that in order to take away some of the sting off a new car purchase and assuage some buyer fears, they are now including the first 7 years of maintenance and service—at least in the USA. Would be nice is Aston followed suit.

[mikey k]

CatalystV12V said:

Same with tyres, 2 new rears from dealer £1300. EventTyres/Buckley tyres, around £850 - £900 for the pair. When I asked why, I was told I was paying for the experience of their fitters...

That's almost as funny as one of Jockmans lines