Audi vs Specialist Servicing

[jonS3]

my S3 needs a 20k service, and Haldex Oil/Filter change

so I phoned up my local Audi Dealer and here are the prices I was quoted (all inc VAT & labour):

20k Service £245
Haldex Oil/Filter £93
Total: £338

So I then phoned up APS and they quoted the following:

20k Service £155
Haldex Oil/Filter £88
Total: £243

I then phoned up AMD:

20k Service £218
Haldex Oil/Filter £117
Total: £335

I then phoned up another local Audi Dealer:

20k Service £262
Haldex Oil/Filter £146
Total: £408

In my opinion some Audi prices don't seem too bad (I've no idea why there is such a big difference in price between two dealers less than 20miles apart), especially as they give you a nice courtesy car and have more comeback, plus you get the 'Audi Stamp' in the service book to keep it FASH......

 

[icenutter]

tbh i'd be more impressed if a car I was buying had been serviced at somewhere like APS or AMD than a main dealer.

The Audi prices don't seem /too/ bad though.

 

[leecs3]

useful info.

 

[batwad]

My local dealer's just quoted me £170 for doing the Haldex oil & filter. What a rip!

 

[madvw]

tbh i'd be more impressed if a car I was buying had been serviced at somewhere like APS or AMD than a main dealer.

The Audi prices don't seem /too/ bad though.

I have to say that a (decent) main dealer service is worth a lot in my book. If you want to see a car still running around in 10-20 years then a full early dealer history is essential. Its not just the oil drop, filter and plugs that make it worthwhile - its the extra small things that they do - like lubricate door locks, hinges, sunroof guides and other touches. Yes i know that many of us are more than capable of doing this ourselves - but being honest, who does? The engine gets loved, and the bodywork detailed, but the rest gets neglected and abused.

It has to be said though, that if your the person who only keeps a car for 3 or less years, then you will see no benefit from these little touches... It just means that in 10 years time the owner wont be swearing at the car with the headliner off trying to fit new sunroof guides or get into their car....

all said though, a good independant specialist will do these little things too, but they'll not be that much cheaper than a dealer.

 

[jcs356]

If anything, I think the price list just shows how AmD are taking the p*** The whole point of a specialist is that they care for your car but don't rip you off.

 

[icenutter]

all said though, a good independant specialist will do these little things too, but they'll not be that much cheaper than a dealer.

That's kind of what I meant. If a car had been serviced by 'Dave's Economy Garage' then its not maybe not that impressive. But a proper specialist, for me, is just as good or better than a main dealer. Especially as you read so many horror stories about dealers on here - i've never heard anything bad about AMD, MRC, APS, etc, etc.

 

[AndyMac]

"a good independant specialist will do these little things too, but they'll not be that much cheaper than a dealer"
Not much cheaper? £40 per hour instead of £80 per hour. That's a helluva lot cheaper in my book. And I can fill up my own windscreen washer bottle thankyou. Also you won't need to actually threaten a specialist to change the water pump while they're doing the cambelt, whereas a dealer will think you're mad to spend that extra £35 to safeguard your valves for another 60k miles.

 

[madvw]

haha, threaten to change a water pump! I guess the reason why is because if its not on their list, they wont do it. In your example, it's problems like that that let them down. In the case of a service, its a prettty meticulous list that I'm glad they follow. I think i'm just lucky by having a decent dealership with clued up staff, one of which owns an S3 and knows the scene really well.

However, the point being made and proven here is the cost of servicing.. Yes, indies will almost always be cheaper on their labour rate - but servicing is usually a fixed price - and we all know thats charged for irrespective of the time it actually takes.

 

[MattS5]

I think i'm just lucky by having a decent dealership with clued up staff, one of which owns an S3 and knows the scene really well.

I assume you're not talking about Robinsons in Norwich ?
In my experience (and that of quite a few people who bought/get cars serviced there), the service is horrendous.

I'm going to APS to get my car serviced next time. Its my thinking that when I sell the car, and explain to a prospective buyer that I travelled 120 miles to get it serviced, they'll actually realise just how seriously I took its maintanence.

And its not just Audi that Robinsosn are useless with in Norwich, their Mercedes dealership is even worse. My dads C class estate is 3 years old, travelled 16k miles and has had so many problems, none of which they've dealt with at all well.

Those guys are too interested in big fleet/corporate customers to worry about private buyers.

 

[livlee1]

has any-one tried these people??
http://www.prestigecarservicing.com/audiservice.html

 

[icenutter]

It looks like one of those pages you get when you type in the wrong web address for something and end up on a page of links.

 

[shineydave]

i had my S4 serviced at the main dealer, on collection i asked if they'd checked for fault codes "no sir, we don't check for fault codes unless there's a problem". well how will you know if there's a problem if you don't check the fault codes?

it all got a bit confusing after that, suffice to say that after forking out nearly 400 beer tokens and still finding the pollen filter dirty and air filter badly fitted i resolved to service it myself.

at least i know what's been done and i know the codes have been checked and cleared, it's no big deal to grease everything as you go and to be honest i find serious owners know more about these cars than the dealers.