Audi S3 (8P) Service

[Ginger Prince]

Hi all,

Got the dreaded message yesterday telling me that the beast is due for a service next month!

I’ve had the car since Feb 2012, had a Milltek cat-back fitted and also a CAI kit. I always fill up with V-Power so I look after it well.

I was going to take it to Audi as they’re "supposed" to give the best service (all be it expensive) and obviously looks good in your book once you come to sell, can’t see that happening ever though

I live in Manchester and was thinking about going back up to ADS in Preston who did all the work (remap etc) as they too do services.

I’ve seen online that Audi charge £300 and wondered if anyone knew or can recommend an Audi/VAG specialist that’s just as good (if not better) than Audi that would also possibly be cheaper.

Thanks a lot,
Mike

 

[essIII]

Might be some relevant info in here - same area.

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/166382-after-vag-specialist-local-glossop-maybe-manchester-sheffield.html

 

[warren_S5]

It's something that is tormenting me too.

I've always assumed FSH was worth it's weight, but last year I part-ex'd an S3 that I'd bought new from the dealer with another new S3 from the same dealer.

FASH, so I thought this should be good, top dollar trade in; wrong. I was stupid enough to take the trade in value at point of signing order on new car, then when it didn't arrive for 5 months the value on my old one mysteriously dropped for £14k to £11k despite only putting 3k miles on her (it's garaged car / no smokers / no kids / well specced). Anyway I speak to dealer manager and he said that any optional extras are worth zero at trade in, they are for you to enjoy, and more importantly for your question (i.e. service history), it could have been at least £1k less if I'd not had a FSH at Audi.

Now the car was 4.5 years old, and had done 56k, so had been serviced about 5 times at Audi rates. Therefore I'm not convinced the money you pay as a premium for Audi servicing actually offsets the losses at point of sale. Hence I'm inclined to get my car serviced by a carefully chosen well respected indy. If you go with Votex / Stattler etc., people who truly know and understand cars are likely to be receptive to that.

I think these days from the number of 'no fault, no issue' experiences we suffer as customers of Audi service centres people are now wising up to the fact that dealer service is just one of the options to keep your Audi maintained, and by no means the best. Many Audi indy's have worked VAG all their lives, a good percentage of the techs in Audi service centres were probably working for a non VAG marque not long ago, and have become heavily dependent on error codes rather than qualified diagnosis.

 

[Smiffi]

Interesting stuff. This is the first car I have owned from new so I had planned on keeping FASH but from my dealings with my local Audi garage in the last month I'm not so sure I would be too keen on having my car serviced there.

One question though... If I went to an indi for a couple of services and then the car developed a problem with the engine, would Audi fight against me making a warrenty claim on the basis I do not have FASH?

 

[jaydav2306]

Both good points I guess, we would all trust a good indy rather than a dealer but if it was me and the car was new and in warranty I would get it done at Audi for the sake of the warranty, get a few Audi stamps then anything other than a bog standard service go to a indy. Then when it's out of warranty stick with the indys

 

[Dannykn9]

Guys, if I am not mistaken, ad long as you have a VAT receipt and ALL parts are genuine AUDI, and you also have your book stamped, then Audi are obliged to honour warranty work.

A few years back, then yes it was a case of you had to take the car to a dealer for servicing, wether it be Audi, Ford, Mercedes etc etc.
But am now pretty sure the government or VOSA or whoever, changed this provided you done the said above.

The injector recall on the 170pd is a prime example, many have serviced at indys but still had injectors changed by Audi.

 

[Ginger Prince]

Thanks a lot to everyone who posted, from what Ive read already I don't think I'll bother with Audi. Thats if I can find a trusted and respected indy in my area....

Mike

 

[essIII]

Guys, if I am not mistaken, ad long as you have a VAT receipt and ALL parts are genuine AUDI, and you also have your book stamped, then Audi are obliged to honour warranty work.

This is exactly how AMD explained it to me, and I've been having my S3 serviced by them ever since. If I don't need to go to Audi to maintain my warranty, then I'm certainly not going to pick them over a good quality Indie based on price, expertise or quality of service!

 

[gixerson]

Having worked in and around the motor trade for the last 30 odd years it always amazes me how people automatically assume a dealer is the best option, this even after the dealer they've visited has treated them very poorly.

My advise is to find a local mechanic that knows about your car and that you trust and stick with them.
It's important with modern cars that the mechanic knows their way around computers to read OBD faults and reset the service counter, it's also important they know about things like DSG and Haldex servicing on these cars.

For dealers i have known a few really good mechanics work at dealers, i'd happily let any of them work on any of my cars.
Problem is in my experiences for every good mechanic there are several bad mechanics as well, and when you visit a dealer it's really the luck of the draw on who you get.

The other thing as well is, if you visit a dealer the person working on your car will be an employee, so unless they're very well paid and looked after (extremely rare at dealers) they mostly don't care if the company is still in business next year or not.

When you visit a mechanic that owns his garage then every customer is putting food on his table, so generally he will not take shortcuts as he is really cutting his own throat then.

These are general though and i have come across more than my fair share of crooks, both independent and dealers.

So it's important to find a decent mechanic and stick with them.

 

[Ginger Prince]

Thanks again, Im really wanting to find an independent Audi specialist in Manchester/North West but my concern is I don't know any and seems risky to just pluck one out of the phone directory.

Im branching out to you guys for assisting me with finding one. Does anyone know/use someone who knows Audi's and gives a good service?

Mike