Formentor 1st Service prices

[kemp596]

Hi our Formentor V1 popped up a message saying the first service is now due at 11,500 miles and 2 yrs old.

I have spoken to a couple of local dealers and they have come back with £350 and £365, this seems really excessive for what I imagine is basically an oil and filter change. Just wondering what other people have paid for a service or any recommendations for dealers around Leeds, it has to be a main dealer unfortunately as its leased from VWFS.

Thanks

 

[Spivvy]

think they are charging a level 2 service which involves more what did they say they are doing

 

[/dev/null]

Hi our Formentor V1 popped up a message saying the first service is now due at 11,500 miles and 2 yrs old.

I have spoken to a couple of local dealers and they have come back with £350 and £365, this seems really excessive for what I imagine is basically an oil and filter change. Just wondering what other people have paid for a service or any recommendations for dealers around Leeds, it has to be a main dealer unfortunately as its leased from VWFS.

Thanks

Does it have to be a main dealer? My previous car was a Mercedes and so long as the garage was VAT registered, used OEM parts, were able to update the online service book, and wasn't basically your mate doing it under his consulting company, they were ok with you going elsewhere. I saved hundreds going elsewhere.

I'm sure it's a rumour that this is required.

 

[SRGTD]

@kemp596; with it being your car’s first service at two years, it sounds as if you’re on variable servicing rather than annual (time and distance) servicing as cars can go up to two years between services on variable servicing. Assuming yes, then it could be that the services under the variable service regime involve more than just an oil and filter change as depending on mileage driven, cars may only be seen by the dealer once every two years.

I’d agree that £350+ does sound a lot for a minor (oil and filter) change, but is probably the going rate at main dealer prices for a major (oil, filter and inspection) service, which I dare say is what will be carried out.

 

[SRGTD]

Does it have to be a main dealer? My previous car was a Mercedes and so long as the garage was VAT registered, used OEM parts, were able to update the online service book, and wasn't basically your mate doing it under his consulting company, they were ok with you going elsewhere. I saved hundreds going elsewhere.

I'm sure it's a rumour that this is required.

The lease agreement should specify what the requirements are for servicing - i.e. whether it has to be a) main dealer or b) a VAT registered independent using Cupra approved parts and fluids to VAG spec.

 

[ozzrahog]

The lease agreement should specify what the requirements are for servicing - i.e. whether it has to be a) main dealer or b) a VAT registered independent using Cupra approved parts and fluids to VAG spec.

The vwfs lease does specify Cupra/seat dealership service

 

[Seastormer]

My Leon's 1st service was £195, at the CUPRA dealer.

 

[SRGTD]

My Leon's 1st service was £195, at the CUPRA dealer.

Was that for annual (time and distance) servicing or the variable / flexible servicing regime?

 

[Seastormer]

Was that for annual (time and distance) servicing or the variable / flexible servicing regime?

Time and distance annual service.

 

[Darren Evans]

£195 here but is only really an oil change on 8k miles.

 

[SRGTD]

My Leon's 1st service was £195, at the CUPRA dealer.

£195 here but is only really an oil change on 8k miles.

@Seastormer and @Darren Evans; based on what you were charged, £195 seems to be the going rate for a minor (essentially oil+filter change) service under annual time and distance servicing. However, I suspect @kemp596’s car is on the flexible / variable service regime as it’s coming up to two years old and is now due to have its first service.

As said in my earlier post (#4) above, I suspect the dealership price for a service under the flexible / variable service regime will be more in line with the price charged by Cupra dealerships for a major service under the annual / time and distance service regime. Under flexible / variable servicing, a car may only be seen - and serviced - by a dealership once every two years, so it seems reasonable to assume that in addition to an oil and filter change, the dealer will carry out the same / similar inspection / checks that they do under a major service under the annual / time and distance service regime. A quick internet search and the prices quoted for a major service by the two dealers below are in line with the price that the OP (@kemp596) was quoted;

https://www.cuprafife.co.uk/service-parts/fixed-price-servicing/ (major service; £369)

https://www.lookers.co.uk/seat/cupra/servicing-and-parts/fixed-price-servicing (major service; £349)

 

[Volt]

Was that for annual (time and distance) servicing or the variable / flexible servicing regime?

How do you know what service regime you are on and do you have a choice? Mine is fairly new and I was planning on just going by the onboard service notification. I didn’t realise there are two different ways of doing it…

 

[SRGTD]

How do you know what service regime you are on and do you have a choice? Mine is fairly new and I was planning on just going by the onboard service notification. I didn’t realise there are two different ways of doing it…

I own a VW and with VW, the default service regime from the factory is flexible / variable. I don’t know, but I’d assume this is also the case for Cupra? The ‘official’ VW guidance on whether flexible or time and distance service regime is more appropriate for a specific owner and their vehicle usage is summarised at the link below. I’m assuming this - or something similar - would also apply to Cupra, bearing in mind engines, transmissions and other mechanical components are shared across the different VAG brands;

Service schedules | Volkswagen UK

Choose a Volkswagen service schedule that's perfect for you. Choose from our fixed, flexible, electric or hybrid service plans for your Volkswagen now.

www.volkswagen.co.uk

You should be able to tell which service regime your car’s on from the number of days until the next oil change and inspection, which should be accessible in the vehicle settings menus via the infotainment screen Additionally, you may have a data sticker for your car - with VW, they’re usually located on the boot floor or in the front of the owner’s manual (or in both locations). The data sticker includes a number of PR (product) codes, one of which should be for the service regime, although strangely, it’s not always listed. The complete range of PR codes for the different service regimes are as per the table below (they are the same for VW and Seat, so presumably also apply to Cupra) - for UK vehicles, codes will be either QI4 or QI7 for annual time and distance servicing or QI6 for flexible / variable servicing.

Here‘s a data sticker for a VW showing the variable service regime PR code QI6 for that vehicle;

I ask the VW dealer to change the service regime to annual time and distance before I take delivery of a new car. I think changing this just changes the countdown of the number of days until the service reminder message starts appearing on the car’s instrument display when switching on the ignition.

I‘m a low mileage driver and own my car which I usually keep it for around five years (VW recommend annual servicing for low annual mileage drivers). I know that engine oil technology has advanced in recent years, but I don’t like the idea of the same oil being in the engine for up to two years. If I leased my car or PCP’d it and planned on handing it back at the end of the lease or PCP term, then I might feel differently and be happy to go with flexible / variable servicing; IMHO any potential issues that might arise as a consequence of less frequent servicing are likely to manifest themselves in later years, so they wouldn’t be my problem.

 

[Cvpra]

Mine is now due it’s first service at 2yr old / 10,000 miles

Does anyone know of anywhere in North West that is reputable main dealer?

Also been quoted various prices from £350 (I think is a full service) to £250 (interim service).

If anyone has good or bad experiences let me know

ta

 

[Wyld Stallyn]

Ask for a printout of the job.

And make sure you understand any charges upfront and ask if they is a fee for a 'courtesy' car.

My Servicing agent Snows in Portsmouth want to charge £25 plus replacing the tuppence ha'penny of fuel I use for the short round trip.

 

[Spivvy]

Ask for a printout of the job.

And make sure you understand any charges upfront and ask if they is a fee for a 'courtesy' car.

My Servicing agent Snows in Portsmouth want to charge £25 plus replacing the tuppence ha'penny of fuel I use for the short round trip.

Same


Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Wyld Stallyn]

Same


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Oh, and when I asked about using a CUPRA Born to save me 15mins going out of my way to fuel up - they said the Borns had been taken away from their fleet.

 

[SRGTD]

Ask for a printout of the job.

And make sure you understand any charges upfront and ask if they is a fee for a 'courtesy' car.

My Servicing agent Snows in Portsmouth want to charge £25 plus replacing the tuppence ha'penny of fuel I use for the short round trip.

@Cvpra - And also check the easy to check service items before you leave the dealership.

I made the mistake of not doing this when my VW was serviced last year. I checked the oil a week or so after the service, along with the tyre pressures. The oil was barely up to the minimum mark on the dipstick (it was just below the max mark before the service). I was aware the tyre pressures were 2-3 psi low before the service and they were still 2-3 psi low after the service .

So if I was short changed on oil (I suppose at least it‘s better than being over-filled) and the tyre pressures weren’t checked, what else was missed or not done correctly? If I do use the same dealership this year for servicing, I’ll be checking fluid levels and tyre pressures in the dealer’s car park when I go to collect my car, and if anything’s amiss, they won’t be seeing me again…..

 

[Cvpra]

So spoke to Perry‘s Bolton

Interim Service is £251.

He did say as I only do circa 5,000 miles a year I would need a yearly service as opposed to someone who did in excess of 10,000 miles per year would only need it every 2 yrs - why does that make no sense? Surely the less miles you do the non frequent need of a service?

I am just awaiting to hear on how much it will cost to do a Service Plan - has anyone any experience of that? Good or bad?

ta

 

[SRGTD]

So spoke to Perry‘s Bolton

Interim Service is £251.

He did say as I only do circa 5,000 miles a year I would need a yearly service as opposed to someone who did in excess of 10,000 miles per year would only need it every 2 yrs - why does that make no sense? Surely the less miles you do the non frequent need of a service?

I am just awaiting to hear on how much it will cost to do a Service Plan - has anyone any experience of that? Good or bad?

ta

I have a VW and VW’s (and presumably other VAG’s brands) long life / flexible service regime was originally introduced back in the early 2000’s to help businesses with a number of vehicles covering high mileages to manage their vehicles‘ servicing and maintenance costs. For the lower mileage driver, VW recommends fixed / annual time and distance servicing.

IMHO the vehicle usage and types of journey driven is an important consideration when considering how often a car should be serviced. Often - but not always - cars doing a low annual mileage tend to do a high proportion of urban driving comprising short journeys, lots of cold starts and / or stopping and starting where the engine often doesn‘t get up to optimum operating temperature. That type of usage will result in;

• the engine oil degrading more quickly
• more stress on the car’s mechanicals

than in a car doing predominantly long(er) uninterrupted motorway / A road journeys, hence why VW recommends annual servicing for vehicles covering low annual miles.

These days, I only drive around 4.5k - 5k miles per year and I get my car serviced annually (I have a VW service plan). Having my car seen by the garage annually means there’s also an opportunity for it to be checked over by a workshop tech once a year, and hopefully any issues spotted if there’s anything that needs attention. IMHO up to two years between servicing / garage visits on the long life / flexible service regime is a long time for potential mechanical issues to go undetected, or for a minor issue to develop into a more costly problem.