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Just paid £210 including vat for an annual service on my Octavia (yes, I know, very STW etc). Not a main dealer but a local independent. This seems a bit steep to me given it's basically just oil and filters. No discs, pads, belts or anything fancy. It can't have taken more than an hour. Am I being rinsed or is this about par? Thoughts?
rinsed, its a job I could do on my own, in the dark, after 5 mins on youtube
/standardstwanswer
Well start by adding the parts up and go from,there, how much is the oil these days?
I accept by choosing not to do myself I'm paying overmuch anyway, but I more want to know what others who pay, pay
If it's just oil and filter it's ****ing way over!
This seems a bit steep to me given it’s basically just oil and filters.
They should have given the car a good going over for that figure. The main dealer service has a long checklist of stuff to check.
We used to use a local in and out place that cost £100. When I told them it was due a 'major' service they just shrugged and said all they do was change the oil and filters.
At my local VW place (which is the only garage I've not ended up hating dealing with) it's £169 for a minor service for all cars except Touareg, and £315 major.
That’s more than I’ve paid a franchise dealer for a ‘major’ service (they’re £149 and £189 from memory).
The local indie is actually dearer but does more as standard (air con regas and brake fluid change).
Two things I’d expect from any garage when booking a service.
1) A price before they start
2) A list of what they do for it.
You don't say which Octavia. Is it a TDI with the expensive oil.
That price seems OK. Had my missus Qashqai done last year by the local. He did all filters, oil, air, pollen etc and it was about £200. All itemised. I usually do the cars myself, and can cut the cost by at least half, but a knackered back meant car to local indi.
Not a car, but a motorbike. Just had it serviced for £277. Oil,filter,air filter, spark plugs, new rear pads and calipers cleaned.
Peugeot just quoted me £385 for a 2nd year service on a Boxer van that's only done 10k miles, seems a bit salty to me!
Bikes can be a lot of labour, I can remember taking a day to replace the plugs on my CBR, admittedly it was my first go.
Go price up filters and oil at rrp. Not euro car parts discount prices.
You will be paying rrp at the garage I can assure you.
"That’s more than I’ve paid a franchise dealer for a ‘major’ service"
How many tiers in that service plan because anyone doing a proper major service for 180quid isn't doing a proper job.
We get our Fabia main dealer serviced and that sounds like a lot to me
My Octavia used to cost me about £50 in parts to service myself.
I just had a "major" service done on my BMW for not much more, from a not very cheap BMW independent. Included oil & a flush, filter, fuel filter, cabin filter, air filter and a couple of other minor bits.
Indy charged me £173 which included VAT, MoT at another garage, oil, oil filter, pollen filter, and a litre of brake fluid. Depends where in the UK you are, but...
Oil alone for my Focus is a touch over £50.
Indeed, oil can be spendy. I’m sure somebody will correct me but to get the long service intervals means expensive oil. If it’s got a big sump and a big oil cooler that’s lots of expensive oil. 6 litres plus for mine, is the bill itemised? Brake fluid changed?
Seems about right.
they probably will have topped up other fluids and charged you. They will have plugged into their computer for fault analysis. Then there will be s waste disposal charge.
Add in labour and VAT you get to the amount.
whats your alternative? Spend half a day buying the parts, fitting then and taking the oil to the waste centre. Unless you enjoy working on cars pay the cash
Full service or oil service?
A full service at our local indy is about that, which includes wheels off inspection of major brake and suspension items.
Interim about £50-£75 less.
The VW long life oil on the diesels is pricey.
The place I find the Indy tends to wind up cheaper is when more needs doing.
My mate is a scooby specialist, he told me the oil alone for my (2.0 non turbo) was £53.
so, it doesn’t sound that bad to me tbh.
Fuel and pollen filter then fair enough, if not a tad steep.
Octavias are all under 5 litres. 1 x 5 litre bottle of Quantum 507 Spec oil is usually around £20.
Oil can be unnecessarily expensive, a main dealer put Mobil 1 in our Corolla many years ago and charged almost twice as much for the privilege as their own Toyota-branded oil. I now use an indy...
Some items are a false economy, such as cheap oil filters, and some are unnecessary in normal use such as regular brake fluid changes. Garages can test the brake fluid to see if it needs to be changed
Indies IME do a more thorough job than a timed-to-the-minute dealer menu service, wheels off and swapped around if necessary, brake calipers/pads/sliders cleaned up, etc. Indy labour rates are often less, but the more detailed scrutiny racks up the hours
We have 4 cars in the family. All out of warranty. My mate is a mechanic so he does them all and stamps the book. I buy parts and he charges me depending on what it needs. Service on my c class cost around £50 labour. Always buy Mobil oil at around £45 for 5ltrs (for all cars) the servicing is cheap and I am lucky to have a mate to do it but am I wasting money on the oil.
We pay about £140 minor and £200 major for the Ibiza, Galaxy was £160-£200.
If I tot up the cost of oil and parts, it's at least half that.
I've a great independent in Stirling ( JAG auto) who do a thorough going over of the car when it's in. I get a full tick sheet and indication of what is wearing or may be an issue. They're happy to fit my supplied bits, so I've a set of brakes waiting already.
Paying £80 labour every year or so to give my car a proper inspection and some TLC seems ok
The costly bit is when your add extra work to a service, often just wear parts, but still a bill of £3-500 can smart....
My leased Octavia diesel gets serviced at the main dealer. It's never cost me as much as that for a major service.
Sounds right for a proper service and not just a oil and filter job.
"Garages can test the brake fluid to see if it needs to be changed"
No they can't.
The water sits in the lowest point .
The tester tests the oil at the reservoir (highest point)
You oil will have to be in very bad shape to fail a tester. --at which point you can usually tell its buggered because its black....
Takes about 25 minutes to flush it through every 3 years using the vac bleeder so hardly worth testing it
Has the added bonus of ensuring the bleed nipples stay free'd up.
Completly impossible question to answer without knowing what was done, and what quality of parts were used. Might be cheap, might be expensive...
HTH 😊
Our 1 Series cost about £270 at the main dealer but only needed doing every 2 years so not so bad annually. Kuga cost £225ish for the one annual service we got at the main dealer.
New Disco came with a service plan for the duration of the time we have it which makes me happy.
"The water sits in the lowest point"
If your car uses mineral oil, but most cars use a hygroscopic brake fluid. Pagid make one such gadget, and I'm sure that they wouldn't throw their reputation around lightly.
I get what you say about the bleed nipples, but that's an easy annual check
VAG is usually sub £200 for the oil and inspection service. Check your invoice.
170 quid for an oil change and filter at my indy for my Boxter. About 120 for my 3l saab 95.so unless you got a full service or other stuff done you got done.
I'm on the VAG service plan - £380 pays for 2 services (1 major, 1 minor).
Just checked my receipts for my 2009 1.9 TDI Octavia, it’s set to variable service.
Last service was a full one and cost me £325 inc a couple of cheap parts they noticed were close to failure.
That at was a indie too, plus the garage owner is a fellow cyclist, although not at the moment, he ran out of talent and is on crutches with a broken leg!
I pay £165 Full Service here in the Toon (North East). This is for a Toyota Corolla 2005 model.
For me that price is still slightly high but not steep.
I have not checked my in car air filter yet, as the I think they "missed" that out the last time and I had to clean it myself.
To be honest I can do all the service myself but where I lived I don't have my own space so cannot service myself.
Yup, glycol is heavier than water so synthetic fluid will have water in the reservoir.