Car service - so expensive!

[Yellowmellow2]

I’ve just booked my first service (Audi, oil change and service - two years old) and have been quoted £400 by my local dealer. Does that sound right? Also, do I have to do it at the Audi dealer or can I go to my local, trustworthy garage? Can they update my service record?

Of course you can go anywhere to have a service and yes they will update your service history but I think a lot depends on what you plan to do with the car - if you plan to run it into the ground go independent. I think Audi service history will benefit if and when you sell but will it be financially worth it? I don’t know the answer to that. I prefer to buy cars with manufacturer service history but I never keep it up myself!

We have an Audi, but purchased the 2 year service deal, which worked out very reasonable. After that we had a service done at our local garage, under £300 including MOT. They stamp the service book.

Unless it would make any warranty claims invalid I'd go independent. The dealerships are always more expensive and if you have a garage you trust then use them. I'm not sure they can stop you claiming on a warranty if you've used an independent these days but worth checking.

How would I know if it will invalidate the warranty?

Ring Audi and ask.

We used to get our kia serviced at an independent garage for about £160 but when we had an issue with it they said they wouldn’t honour the warranty because we hadn’t had it serviced at a proper kia garage. So well worth checking.

Also obviously depends how old your car is / if it’s even under warranty! My first car was a battered old Fiat and I just used to get it done locally.

It’s only two years old with a very low mileage (4778). I wonder whether I should go with the (very expensive) dealer for this service, whilst it’s still under warranty, and then use the local garage thereafter?

If it's still under warranty, then I would go with the Audi garage. Using other ones usually invalidates the warranty.

My car has a major service one year, then a minor one the next (much cheaper!). What is the servicing schedule for yours?

If it's under warranty, i'd use the Audi garage. We bought a service package when we bought our Volvo so it's great knowing it's included in our monthly payments for the car.

You can use any garage for a service. Your warranty will not be invalidated provider they use genuine Audi parts.
I would ring around for quotes and then ring Audi back, they may price match an independent garage to get your business

*provided

You can use any garage for a service. Your warranty will not be invalidated provider they use genuine Audi parts.

This is true, but for peace of mind I would use the Audi garage. I have seen too many tales of people discovering when they have a warranty claim that their 'trusted independent' garage didn't use genuine parts, despite telling them they did. Warranty invalid. I come back bride no evidence months later that the part in question was placed by the Indy.

No come back because no evidence

No idea what the bride was all about

Audi is a premium brand, so servicing is known to be expensive. Why did you get one if you didn't like the service costs?

Do you own the car or is it on lease/PCP. If you own it, you can service it wherever you like, but if you plan to sell it, some buyers may prefer a main dealer service.

If it's on a lease or PCP, you need to check your agreement to see if there are any requirements about where it is serviced. Having said that, I had a lease car until last year and was allowed get it serviced at a local independent, which was good because it was walking distance from my house, which made drop off and collection very easy.

Main dealer servicing is always dear, many offer monthly service plans which can help cover the cost.

I would stick with Audi if you still have a balance on the warranty, as if a independent uses a generic part you could be setting yourself up for issues should you need to claim under warranty.

Unfortunately, a lot of smaller garages are unable to help now as they don’t have the computer software for specific brands to diagnose faults etc. As we learnt when DH car developed a fault.

@Yellowmellow2

How would I know if it will invalidate the warranty?

as long as the car is serviced using genuine parts and by a competent person the warranty cannot be affected. Its the law. There are plenty of independent VW AUDI garages around, find one and make a friend of them

Wow £400 is a a lot especially on a new car. I've never had an Audi so I don't know much about it but does the service history get logged onto a computer in your car? I had a BMW and until I sold it just recently, I had the service done with BMW as they log it on the computer and no random garages could access it apart from BMW but even then, I used to pay around £300 and the first 3 years were covered by BMW which meant I paid for the remaining 2 years until I sold it.

If it's a full service including oil change, it's not a surprising price for a main dealer of a premium brand.

If the car uses synthetic oil, that could be £50 of oil at retail prices (obviously a garage will get it cheaper, but just an illustration of part of the cost if you did it yourself).

I guess your mileage has been affected by COVID OP? It's a kicker to get a bill that high for a car that you hardly use.

It’s an Audi. They know how to charge. The second service is a full one and always more expensive., but is usually when the car has done more miles than yours.

Mines in today for a full service. At local garage which is always fantastic and fully trustworthy.

It's 2 years now because of pandemic last year.

I'm paying £135

But mines 8.5 years old and not under warranty so I can do this.

So long as the garage you use are using genuine parts you are fine under warranty

As others have said, as long as the garage uses genuine parts then you can have it serviced there, or an Audi approved garage. My dh had his serviced at our local garage last year. He rang Audi first and checked that it would be ok.