Car service

mickman

How many people get their car serviced at the dealers?

I have always gotten it done by my local guy but I have a newish car and was wondering if I'm better off going to dealers?

Is it much more expensive?

CiniO

How newish is the car, what mileage, and how long are you planning to keep it?

SCOOP 64

I use main dealer, opel 08 zafira, now offer discounts depending how old car is ,
got 20% off parts and service this year, next year 25% discount,some independents can be just as dear,
have a 98 astra i service myself.

mickman

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

I use main dealer, opel 08 zafira, now offer discounts depending how old car is ,
got 20% off parts and service this year, next year 25% discount,some independents can be just as dear,
have a 98 astra i service myself.

How much would a typical service with the dealer be ?

mickman

CiniO wrote: »

How newish is the car, what mileage, and how long are you planning to keep it?

09, 22000 miles. Planning to keep for 5/6 years and will be doing about 20k a year

Nonoperational

I find Main dealers great for fixed price menu servicing. Things like oil changes, timing belts etc. For anything that requires diagnosis and/or decent labour hours then they become very expensive very quickly.

At the end of the day they'll do it no better than a good independent. Just make sure the right oil and oem parts are used.

mickman

Nonoperational wrote: »

I find Main dealers great for fixed price menu servicing. Things like oil changes, timing belts etc. For anything that requires diagnosis and/or decent labour hours then they become very expensive very quickly.

At the end of the day they'll do it no better than a good independent. Just make sure the right oil and oem parts are used.

Good point , maybe dealers so for services and local guy for the squeaks and noise that's hard to find

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I change cars every 2 years, always have the dealer service them and never paid over 110 for my diesel insignia. OH has a 4 year old astra petrol and she pays 90 to 120 Max.

SCOOP 64

mickman wrote: »

How much would a typical service with the dealer be ?

Paid €118 (interim) in march with 20% discount.

Full service (next service) €235 -25% discount €176.

I get the service booked stamp, might help to sell with opel service history.

CiniO

mickman wrote: »

09, 22000 miles. Planning to keep for 5/6 years and will be doing about 20k a year

So by the time you will be selling the car, it will be 9 or 10 years old with about 120k to 140k miles on the clock.
Full main dealer service history comparing to local indy won't make much of a difference in resale price then.


I wouldn't bother with servicing at main dealer, but just find someone who is going to do it properly and at reasonable price.
Best way to do it yourself, but I undestand now everyone is DIY capable or interested in doing it.

CiniO

Terrence Salty Image wrote: »

I change cars every 2 years, always have the dealer service them and never paid over 110 for my diesel insignia. OH has a 4 year old astra petrol and she pays 90 to 120 Max.

But that's probably only oil + filter change.

I serviced my car recently myself, so the whole cost was parts only, but it still came over 200. (0w30 oil, oil filter, air filter, pollen filter, fuel filter and gearbox oil).
I'd imagine at main dealer price for that would exceed 400.

mickman

CiniO wrote: »

So by the time you will be selling the car, it will be 9 or 10 years old with about 120k to 140k miles on the clock.
Full main dealer service history comparing to local indy won't make much of a difference in resale price then.


I wouldn't bother with servicing at main dealer, but just find someone who is going to do it properly and at reasonable price.
Best way to do it yourself, but I undestand now everyone is DIY capable or interested in doing it.

I have no idea how to service a car

Has anyone used servicing stop?

biko

What make/year is it OP?

I only ever used a dealer for a service once, almost cried when I handed over the dosh. Service my cars myself ever since.

mickman

biko wrote: »

What make/year is it OP?

I only ever used a dealer for a service once, almost cried when I handed over the dosh. Service my cars myself ever since.

2009 skoda octavia 1.6 tdi elegance

dh0011

Girlfriend got oil filter, oil, air filter, plugs, coolant topped up and a brake fluid change for 140 at a local independent mechanic.

SCOOP 64

dh0011 wrote: »

Girlfriend got oil filter, oil, air filter, plugs, coolant topped up and a brake fluid change for 140 at a local independent mechanic.

Yeah, but am not giving no Mechanic a BJ !

dh0011

It was myself that took the car in and didnt give anyone a bj. I am not living in a city and a lad in the country is more likely to be honest

Nonoperational

CiniO wrote: »

But that's probably only oil + filter change.

I serviced my car recently myself, so the whole cost was parts only, but it still came over 200. (0w30 oil, oil filter, air filter, pollen filter, fuel filter and gearbox oil).
I'd imagine at main dealer price for that would exceed 400.

Recently I got my car serviced, 5W30 oil change (VW507), oil filter, pollen filter, air filter, 4xlong life plugs and 3 new wipers + the usual top ups and check. Cost me €220 and they washed the car and dropped me to work after I dropped it in at 7:30 in the morning. This was in a main dealer.

I think that's decent value to be honest, and when things run smoothly it's a very professional operation.

The Pontiac

Main dealers are a lot more competitive since the recession.

Merch

Nonoperational wrote: »

Recently I got my car serviced, 5W30 oil change (VW507), oil filter, pollen filter, air filter, 4xlong life plugs and 3 new wipers + the usual top ups and check. Cost me €220 and they washed the car and dropped me to work after I dropped it in at 7:30 in the morning. This was in a main dealer.

I think that's decent value to be honest, and when things run smoothly it's a very professional operation.

How much are the long life plugs? how long are they supposed to last and how long do they last< out of curiosity? is there a breakdown, whats the labour?
220 is too much for me to hand over for that, you'd probably get a timing belt done for that.
Im not suggesting you or everyone should service their own cars or denigrating you for not, just that I think 220 is a lot for that myself, but then again, Ive barely paid for work so I openly admit to not having a clue, except for the fright when i saw prices on a board once when picking up some parts.
I buy standard plugs, I used to change them every service, but got stuck once for the plugs so i just took them out for a look, the car was running fine and the plugs looked ok, I could go 2, maybe 3 services without doing the plugs, and only once did I have to take them out because of a fault.

Filters are generally cheap? mine are, I buy oil when i see it on sale in halfords or if i hear of it online Id consider there too.

Having said that, my car is now over ten years old, I serviced it from new and looking back i wouldnt do that if I was in a warranty. At its current age its hardly worth anything so a main stealer service history wont be worth too much, fingers crossed it passes its NCT soon, Id keep it as I know it, only reason to change is I have different requirements.

Id go to a mechanic for work too big or too much hassle and tools required, but my main concern with any is will they use the right oil or just feck in what they want/have, I dont want to be taking oil samples, besides any damage might be years down the road before its affects are noticed.

dh0011

good points Merch
also worth keeping an eye on oil prices in local motor factors

Nonoperational

Merch wrote: »

How much are the long life plugs? how long are they supposed to last and how long do they last< out of curiosity? is there a breakdown, whats the labour?
220 is too much for me to hand over for that, you'd probably get a timing belt done for that.
Im not suggesting you or everyone should service their own cars or denigrating you for not, just that I think 220 is a lot for that myself, but then again, Ive barely paid for work so I openly admit to not having a clue, except for the fright when i saw prices on a board once when picking up some parts.
I buy standard plugs, I used to change them every service, but got stuck once for the plugs so i just took them out for a look, the car was running fine and the plugs looked ok, I could go 2, maybe 3 services without doing the plugs, and only once did I have to take them out because of a fault.

Filters are generally cheap? mine are, I buy oil when i see it on sale in halfords or if i hear of it online Id consider there too.

Having said that, my car is now over ten years old, I serviced it from new and looking back i wouldnt do that if I was in a warranty. At its current age its hardly worth anything so a main stealer service history wont be worth too much, fingers crossed it passes its NCT soon, Id keep it as I know it, only reason to change is I have different requirements.

Id go to a mechanic for work too big or too much hassle and tools required, but my main concern with any is will they use the right oil or just feck in what they want/have, I dont want to be taking oil samples, besides any damage might be years down the road before its affects are noticed.

There's probably a breakdown on the invoice but if I was to do it myself it would be approx: 4x Spark plugs are around €40, Oil around €40, Filter €8, Air filter €10, Pollen filter €7, Wipers €25... That's €130 for parts, and €90 for the service, car wash, a lift to work, disposal of the old consumables, a stamp in the book and a check over. The plugs last 100k km I think. Considering I barely have time to sleep at the moment that's great value to me.

jimgoose

Merch wrote: »

How much are the long life plugs? how long are they supposed to last and how long do they last< out of curiosity?...

There seems to be two slightly different variants of Iridium plug emerging lately, particularly from manufacturers like Denso. There's the long-life type, which runs an electrode around .7mm diameter much like "traditional" plugs and provides excellent performance and very long service life - as in 60,000 miles. There's also the type that runs a .4mm diameter, usually marketed as "Ultra High-Performance" or similar. These are supposed to give a strong, highly-focused spark without needing huge voltage, but wear out after about the same time as the likes of platinum plugs, and such.

jimgoose

My own tendency is to leave main dealers to their own devices. They annoy me.

Merch

Nonoperational wrote: »

There's probably a breakdown on the invoice but if I was to do it myself it would be approx: 4x Spark plugs are around €40, Oil around €40, Filter €8, Air filter €10, Pollen filter €7, Wipers €25... That's €130 for parts, and €90 for the service, car wash, a lift to work, disposal of the old consumables, a stamp in the book and a check over. The plugs last 100k km I think. Considering I barely have time to sleep at the moment that's great value to me.

Some of those parts seem a bit dear, I mean a small bit, but I know what you mean when time is tight, its completely fine, I dont have the time to get to mine at the minute, thats what garages are there to do and people need to get paid to do the job.
I do it to save a few quid as I need to and I think its handy to be aware of whats being done, if I had a new car(unlikely) or a car still in warranty, I would probably go to at the least a reputable independant, and having said what I have about services, I have gotten a timing belt done at a main dealer for piece of mind as it would (fingers crossed) last the vehicle to the end of its life. It boils down to me if its worth the hassle and time, whether you are keeping the vehicle for a long timeor if its a certain number of years where stamps in the logbook will be(or might be) worth something.
each to their own.

Carpentry

For my 2007 Volvo S40 Koping quoted me for nearly E500, oil+filters+plugs+health check+computer diagnostics. So to buy these parts in the shop is around E100. How on earth they Came up with 500 ? Not a chance I will be paying them 500 quid for a car service, plus they are awful dickheads to deal with.

A-Trak

The Pontiac wrote: »

Main dealers are a lot more competitive since the recession.

I got a timing belt changed in a main dealers last week for €480 all in. Prices quoted from indies were in the same ballpark.

The same dealer quoted me over €700 about 4 years ago.

Nonoperational

Carpentry wrote: »

For my 2007 Volvo S40 Koping quoted me for nearly E500, oil+filters+plugs+health check+computer diagnostics. So to buy these parts in the shop is around E100. How on earth they Came up with 500 ? Not a chance I will be paying them 500 quid for a car service, plus they are awful dickheads to deal with.

Ah that's absolutely mental. Couldn't be right? Most VW dealers do all that for €199.

Merch

Carpentry wrote: »

For my 2007 Volvo S40 Koping quoted me for nearly E500, oil+filters+plugs+health check+computer diagnostics. So to buy these parts in the shop is around E100. How on earth they Came up with 500 ? Not a chance I will be paying them 500 quid for a car service, plus they are awful dickheads to deal with.

Well, I suppose they are paying for the infrastructure of the business
off the top of my head
rates?
cost of machinery, and its depreciation?
interest on loans?
rent?
ongoing costs like advertising and utilities like electricity etc
salaries

Also theres the element of maintaining your brand, keeps the rif raf away