1st Service - 15k on the Octavia and Octavia RS!

[zach]

Honestly guys, your never going to speak with the skilled tech unless you dealing with a small VW/Skoda/SEAT specialists mechanic.

Service Managers at dealerships are no longer retired mechanics.. they are simply admin staff.

DO NOT EXPECT A DEALER SERVICE MANAGER TO ANSWER A TECHNICAL QUESTION...

They are there for customer service for the general customer, and no one will have minor or major technical skills in vehicles..
I'm lucky with my VW/Skoda dealership as they have highly skilled mechanics and look after a large number of vehicles in Canberra.

Have you heard in the press about bad service with VW/Skoda in the last 4-5 years??? No, as there are many specialised dealerships and localised mechanics to support the growing numbers of these vehicles.

Try the dealership if you have more than one bad experience then go elsewhere to a local VW/Skoda specialist, its your choice. But from experience having more than one service account in your service book isn't a good look at resale unless you move around a lot.

You do at the very least expect anyone in the serv dept to know the Skoda models. Hell they're working on them!

[K1W1]

Service Managers at dealerships are no longer retired mechanics.. they are simply admin staff.

DO NOT EXPECT A DEALER SERVICE MANAGER TO ANSWER A TECHNICAL QUESTION...

The only dealership in Melbourne where I have come across service advisors that were not qualified mechanics is Melbourne BMW.

[zach]

To round this out I got my car serviced today at Volkwerke $280 with wheel rotation. May also look at the GIAC tuning sometime in future.

[sh|tbmxrider]

The only dealership in Melbourne where I have come across service advisors that were not qualified mechanics is Melbourne BMW.

+1

I gotta say, all the service advisors I have ever had anything to do with at any dealership in the past 8 years have been Tech's off the floor who made good.


And the occasional one who injured himself and couldn't spin spanners anymore.th

But still, they were all Techs on the floor originally.

[Scanners]

15k Service - Brisbane

Had my 15k service today at Mike Weber's Prestige and Performance at Coorparoo (Prestige + Performance :: Audi Service BMW Service Volkswagen Service & Repairs Brisbane)

I was quoted $270 prior to attending and that is what I was charged. Parts included filter, oil, sump plug and wynns additive pack.

Very happy with the price compared to the dealers and good customer service.

[GTR27]

I'll prob reach the 15K/12month right on 12 months. Dont really want to go back to only brisbane dealer ($400+ for a service!). Got a bluefin off jmac, thinking about going to him. I'm in the centenary suburbs and would like somewhere as convenient as possible.....any suggestions?

[hmoon101]

I'm in Melbourne and reaching 12m/15k 1st service soon, too. As the original dealer I bought my car has gone out of business for Skoda brand (Bayford in Preston), I may have to take my car to other dealer but wonder if I also can take my car to other VW specialists such as Volkwerke, etc,.

Could anyone here kindly advise where I need to take my car for the 1st service? I live in eastern suburb, about 15km east from Melbourne CBD and don't mind taking my car to anywhere as long as a loan car is provided and warranty is not void.

[woofy]

Try Richmond Skoda...or Volkspower in Burwood East if you want an independent. The first service is pretty cheap at Richmond if you do that amount of kms.

[BluChris]

If you want to go with dealer servicing Richmond Skoda is probably your closest. They are in Burnley near the station and tram outside the door. They also have loan cars but you need to book well in advance. I find they are fine for servicing, less good at finding and fixing issues like rattles. They seem to be a little variable with their costing, so look for the thread on servicing costs here. You should also ask for a quote up front.

Providing the servicing is done per the manufacturer's handbook there should be no warranty implications for using a non-Skoda mechanic if you prefer.

[hmoon101]

I had my first service on my 118TSI wagon and paid around $380.00 to Richmond Skoda.

Overall, the service was ok but I end up having few greasy finger prints left on light colour interior trim. I will try some Meguair's stuff on them later.

One thing I couldn't quite understand was, the engine oil they put in was Castrol Magnatec Pro 10W-30 semi-synthetic which I wouldn't put at all cost only if I had a choice. And they charged about $150 for that oil.
As I've been topping up my car with Penrite full synthetic 5W-30 and still have 3.5 liter left in the bottle, I am a bit concerned if I can still top up with this oil or not.

BTW, when I asked about the extended warranty with Allianz as mentioned on Skoda's website, I was told that there is no such thing as extended warranty for Skoda, but only for Audi. I assume that he was referring to proper factory warranty, but I don't know.

In general, I am not too impressed with the service and seriously questioning myself why I didn't take my car to other VW specialists.