Audi Service - Dealer or not

fartingspartan

fartingspartan

fartingspartan

Associate
Joined
15 Dec 2011
Posts
232
Hi,

My A7 is due its first service - 20,000 miles.

Called Audi Dealer -

Audi Dealer - Oil change and pollen filter £389

Independent local garage - Full service Incl Pollen filter £230 - he said we use OEM audi parts and the right oil as its "special"/able to reset service indicators etc and we stamp your book so no worries about warranty...

I always have new cars and have always used dealers...but have never had to call on warranty for anything serious - fuel cap not opening, water getting in tail gate - never anything mechanical.

Reading online it states if you use independent as long as they use Audi OEM parts etc all is good...but equally you read stories about situations with engine problems down the line and Audi Dealers say if serviced by them then no worries (sometimes even outside of warranty) but if they get a wiff of independant servicing then... its because of oil used and your warranty is null & void etc - but realistically how can I tell what oil has been used etc?

Why do I want to look at independent... well its almost £200 cheaper, its closer to home, they are saying a full service where as audi is just oil and pollen filter oh and I also get my tires from them and they are straight forward guys/good to deal with.

But little voice in my head is saying do you really want to risk possible issues in future on a £60K car for £200...but its not just about the saving its the fact that its a full service and I can drop it on way to work and pickup on way home.

has anyone got any experience of warranty use after using independent servicing with Audi?

Or any general advice?

Thanks
 
One thing would be to clarify what the indy means by "full service", to assess how much better value for money that really is :)
 
I think mainly for re-sale especially on a car like that it needs to have an audi stamp for for first 3 or 4 at least.

Also wouldnt risk anything on the warranty side of things, it is an easier way for them to wangle out of things. In the future may also effect some Audi good will claims outside of the warranty period.
 
No idea if this is applicable to Audi but with my Honda I always rings around a few dealers and get prices and then play 1 off against another and to date my local has always either matched or bettered.
 
paradigm said:
Pretty certain if you can afford to buy an A7, you can afford to get it serviced properly ;)
Click to expand...

I never once said I didn't want to get it serviced "properly" what I was asking was - is it wise, will it be complex later etc etc

Obviously saving the money would be good - who wouldn't want to, but it looks on paper like I am getting a more thorough service, for less and easier when it come to getting there etc - hence the dilemma/question!

Thanks for comment about price checking - tried this and they were both within £30 of each other with the cheaper dealer being further out than I would like.

Going to ask Audi and mention the price difference and see if that gets me anywhere.

I got a list of what the full service from indy is and it is long - Brake fluid, all filters etc.

Thanks
 
I've almost always been able to get the dealer very close to prices for a genuine equivalent service with OEM parts etc. Usually not with any great difficulty.

I'd want to see that car with an Audi history tbh
 
Indy's can do manufacturer services which is what you want for a car under warranty. They'll then follow the same checks as a dealer would do.
 
fartingspartan said:
Audi Dealer - Oil change and pollen filter £389
Click to expand...

That's robbing you blind if you pay that. They're obviously aware of the potential effect on resale price if you get an indy stamp and are simply profiteering off peoples insecurity.

Go indy your local garage sounds more trusting anyway.
 
There are some here who swear blind that a full dealer service history is the only thing that will allow them to buy a used car because it somehow 110% guarantees that their car is 120% better than everyone else's. Quite frankly, they're retarded, clearly not short of cash, but very short of brain cells, and actually have no idea that Troy and Jerome, two year 10 students on work experience, will be the guys changing their oil whilst taking selfies in the drivers seat to "big up the crew, init"....

They might get high gloss tiles and pleather seats to sit in in the service area / showroom while served sub boiling point tea and Borders biscuits, but all this adds up to very little when all that's being done, or undone, is one 14mm bolt to let some oil out.

How can we evidence this? Well, my local Audi dealer wanted to charge my friend £675 for his 2nd A5 service at 36k miles. He recalls being told that the servicing got cheaper as the car aged, so you can imagine he was pretty miffed. This, for an oil, filter, fuel filter, and, wait for it, gearbox oil change. An auto box, needing it's fluid changed at 36k miles? One more reason to avoid Audi, but I digress.

I pointed him towards a local Audi Indy, managed and run by two ex Audi Master Techs. Their price? £400. a quick ring back to the dealer saw them drop their price to £450 inc. Miraculous!! Perhaps this is how the dealers new £14m showroom is being funded. By the numerous suckers who truly, genuinely believe that FDSH is the only thing worth having.......
 
Whilst I accept your points and you are of course quite right r.e the number of dealership individuals with genuine skill and experience I simply would not expect a 45k+ car to have been taken anywhere but the dealer during its warranty period.

It's also worth pointing out that there are emany "specialists" who in reality seem to know next to nothing about the cars they seemingly specialise in whilst charging 2/3's of a dealer labour rate

I'm lucky in that I've got two genuinely excellent Honda Indys near me that do any work I can't/don't want to do to mine (they are not cheap btw), but I've also had a "BMW specialist" tell me there's no way to replace the seals in a vanos unit and that my 330ci did not have a Ccv - which I changed the next week
 
Last edited:
Is it too late to buy a service plan?
Call three dealers and see which is cheapest.
I wouldn't risk it with an independent as even if they do do it by the book, you would have a hard job proving it if they said otherwise when refusing a warranty claim or goodwill. Audi dealers also check for recalls and TSB remedial work such as software updates, so it may be worth asking on the phone when you call them and make a note of the answer. If the independent doesn't have the proper VAS and a subscription forget them as connecting the car to this and to the servers in germany is part of the service regime. Independents can buy this and subscribe, but few do.
 
I'd always go main dealer for at least the first 4-5, it is better for resale typically and will help you out if anything does go wrong outside of warranty.
 
Main dealer the only way to go on a car this young, however shop around with more Audi dealers and/or consider doing the microfilter yourself.
 
Thanks All - I will see if I can drive a hard bargain on the phone and see how far i get..

On service plan - I asked when buying the car and the cost of it wasn't that far off the actual costs of the services only was it was DD from your account every month and sat in there banks - also (and I was lost on this) but due to my high'ish mileage normally my servicing between minor and major ends up where I could be paying for 3 major services but end up the car only needs 2 minor and one major etc

I think I am going to keep pushing hard on the cost of it as if its only oil change and one filter then that price is just silly.

Oh and on the gearbox oil change I got stung on that last time too - last car I had was A7 too and they wanted £600 for that service which included the gearbox.

Hey ho,I will see how I get on
 
It is absolutely irrelevant how good or bad a dealer is and how good or bad an indy is. Sadly the market perception is that full dealer history is important on expensive cars, and thats that.

Therefore if your car is worth a lot of money, dealer service it. If it isn't, service it with who you think will do the best job.
 
I only service my Audi at the main dealer. Like you said when I spend a lot of money on a new car then I prefer to spend the little bit extra servicing it with them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom