Fixed service plan confusion

[Spiedhermonkey]

Morning all.

I've been talking to our local Audi dealership recently about taking a fixed service plan for the next two services.

I've been given so many different prices, that I'm starting to doubt it's worth it.

My car had its last oil change in October last year at 22,000 miles and is now on 32,000, so I'm thinking of getting the next one done now and moving it off long life servicing and onto fixed every 10,000 or annual. I'm shocked that Audi don't recommend changing all the filters more regularly than every 40,000. This next one will be its last service before the car turns 3 years old.

Is the fixed arrive plan worth it? Are there any benefits other than spreading the cost?

Thanks in advance,
Paul.

 

[Neil Woodburn]

Fixed Servicing - I am into year 3 of my wife's A1 Fixed Servicing and it has been nothing but a pain in the neck with Audi.
Cost wise it has been good value as she does less than 4k a year so instead of the factory set 2 Year / 19k Service went for Fixed but ....

Bought the car new and on the invoice was the cost of Fixed Servicing for 5 years / 50k I negotiatied at time of ordering - clear as could be 'Fixed Servicing' on the order and a further letter with Welcome to Fixed Servicing each year from Audi with Policy Number / Reg no. / owners Name etc.

Year 1 at 4400 miles Audi picked car up as thought why not as what could go wrong - then phoned to say she needed to pay £175 for the Service as not paid - New Car Invoice Sent & after 3 hrs of phone calls they said they would deliver the car as nothing to pay - came back at 7pm as it wasn't started until 4pm after being picked up at 7:30 am !

Year 2 at 7700 miles - I took car into Audi Dealer after the previous years hassle and was told I needed to pay £180 as not on a Maintenance Policy - here we go again so found the Policy Number and Dealer said didn't exsist - eh but see letter from Audi Finance ( not that car was on finance but they manage the Fixed / or 2 years Policies ) with all details - an hour later they agreed to start the service and see what happens.
Policy number had an extra number 0 in it - eventually car get serviced with another oil change. Can't you cross reference owners Name + Reg Number I asked - eh no as you are not the owner it is in another name - strange as I slept with the owner in the same house we both live last night with the same last name - but hey ho.

Year 3 at 10,300 miles last Friday - all going well until the day before the service to check I was going to turn up - I get a call to say I needed to pay extra for the brake Fluid change as it is due on time period - No young lady so back onto Audi Directly telling me the car was on a Fixed Service Plan so no cost - back on blower to Dealer - ok you are correct. So if my wife had taken the call & taken the car in for the service or an older owner - would they have been fleeced ?

Arrived at Dealers 8:15am to wait for car to be serviced as would take 2.0 hrs so could do some work paperwork while waiting.
Coffee in hand and 15 mins later lady comes back with the Work Sheet saying car doesn't need serviced as it is a on a 2year / 19k Policy - so why the hell do you think I am sitting here with the car sitting outside if not for a service and you phoned me yesterday checking I was coming in . Off she went again with details of the previous 2 services which said Fixed Servicing and back onto Audi to check things as they had refused to Authorise the work !

Back again saying it is alright now and the car would be serviced as Fixed Plan - so much for the Audi Experience !

I requested a meeting with the Service Manager who I was nearly on first name terms after 2 years of hassle - he'd left that morning for a new job.
Say another young lady further up the food chain who couldn't understand what had got wrong in their effort for customer satisfaction and told me next year everything would be fine - see this e-mail - you said that in 2016 after the first mistake - roll on 2020 when the Fixed Service finishes.

So is the Fixed Service Plan Worth it - Yes if it all goes well - No if you get hassle.

My A6 bought last year wasn't taken on a maintenance policy as in 3 years it will need one Service at 2 years then nothing until year 4 - warrantee runs out at year 3 and it will be going to a local Audi Specialist Garage.
I phoned another Dealer prior to purchasing the car and the cost of a standard scheduled service against a 2year / 19k Variable Policy was actually less for a book the car car in Service - all swings and roundabouts depending on mileage a year / driving miles type.

Doubled checked with Audi who said all Audi / VW / Seat etc are set at factory to 2 year / 19k service in computers and Dealers change data at time of Services if on fixed Policies.

A6 is used for long haul motorway 8k a year ( Audi confirmed it was ok not to service it at year one on mileage as motorway Driving ) while A1 for town so both do low miles compared to average so above was my choice.

 

[Spiedhermonkey]

That sounds extremely frustrating, that they can’t get their records right, especially after it goes wrong not once, but twice in the past.

When we originally enquirer about the service plan, we were given £390 for one minor and one major service, confirmed in writing that it applied to my specific car and could do the services whenever I wanted, as I wanted to move to 10K/annual. Then when I called to pay for it, they said the offer had expired. So I called another Audi franchise to see if they offered it still. They said that that price was only for cars over 3 years old. So at this point, different dealerships we’re giving me different stories. They also gave me vastly different cost breakdowns if the services.

Was then given a new price for a two-service fixed plan, which was £200 higher than the original. Spoke to wifey to confirm it was worth going for. Called back to take it out and was told by another member of staff that the figures I was given weren’t possible and I was not able to do it over 16 months, but I’d only be able to split over 6 payments.

After getting all these different stories & different prices, it put me off going for it, as the whole thing seemed shady at worst or shambolic at best.

Sounds like the lack of transparency and organisation isn’t unusual, so I think I’ll just book it in and pay upfront when I want it serviced. That way I can also spec a major service every year - I don’t like the thought of leaving filters in for 20,000 miles or more.

Cheers for sharing,

Paul.


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[mcwharam]

Did my first two services at German independent specialists - saved £320 over the best prices that Audi offered at the time. Just traded the A6 in for an A3 and had no quarrel at all over it not being serviced at Audi when it came to the trade in price.

The service plan was offered at purchase, I preferred the freedom of getting the best price for the type of service I needed at the time that it was needed. I am also lucky that I have an excellent independent virtually on my doorstep.

Martin

 

[Spiedhermonkey]

I may well move away from Audi after the next service or two for the very same reason. Need to find a good Audi specialist in this area. For the next one however, while it’s still in warranty, it’ll be safest to stick with Audi. Never know when you might need some goodwill contribution should anything go wrong.

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[Neil Woodburn]

Audi Dealer phoned this morning asking how their Service Experience was on her car - my wife told her I was out so couldn't comment.

She continued to ask if I thought it was a 5 star experience - she commented if it was a school report he would have put 'talks too much - could do better'.

oh - if I e-mail the Customer form to him do you think he'd give 5's - NO.

Strangely no form has arrived

 

[Spiedhermonkey]

I admire their optimism though!


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