Mk3 103tsi - Almost 1 year on and first service due

[Gerrycan]

Only 11k on the clock and it will be a couple of weeks early but I want to get the annual service done before some upcoming travel commitments.

Anyway when purchased there was a lot of publicity about the capped price servicing and I got a copy of their pricing at that time.
Re-reading it there are lots of caveats about how the offer can be subject to change or just dropped entirely at any time which of course were not mentioned in any article that covered the press release.

When I rang the local dealer for an appointment and spoke to the young lady who handles bookings I asked for confirmation of price on my car.
She went on-line to Skoda and said it would be $386.
I was a bit shocked and asked about the capped price servicing cost of $269 that was on my paperwork, but she claimed not to know anything about capped price servicing.

I contacted the salesman and he said it should be the $269 price.

I did a quick Google and got the following link: Capped Price Service - Å*KODA
This site clarifies that capped price servicing costs are determined and fixed at the beginning of the year for the whole year.
The web page offers input fields to identify the model and service required and then provides a current quote.
In my case it is $284, which for the first service is basically an oil and filter change. The online quote specifically omits pollen filter and brake fluid changes from capped price servicing but they are not due anyway for this one.

Interesting that neither of the dealer contacts knew the actual details of Skoda capped price servicing.

The VW capped price service for the similar powered Golf wagon is $414.00. Web site Golf Wagon Capped Price Servicing | Volkswagen Australia

Appointment is next week so I will let you know how it goes.

[Antiplastix]

I went to my local mechanic, that doesn't have a spotty 16 year old apprentice. I supplied the VW 507 oil and he charged me $140. No brainer I think.

[Dzl_Dubba]

1 year and only 11k! I'm at almost 17k and only 8 months old.

[Gerrycan]

1 year and only 11k! I'm at almost 17k and only 8 months old.

What can I say, we ride bikes, you know the ones with pedals.

In fact I put the bike in the back of the car for the service drop-off and then cycle back in after. Only 12km each way.

[hobbie2k]

Is that with Solitaire?

My wife is on track to hit 30k by the end of her first year. Her part-time job is within walking distance and my daughter's school is across the street... I have no idea how she manages it...

...and I thought US$95 to service my mkV Jetta 2.0T was outrageous.

[Reichter]

Watching to see how this goes. I barely drive mine because i cycle to work. 300km in 1 month. Still on original tank of fuel. Lol

[Gerrycan]

Is that with Solitaire?

My wife is on track to hit 30k by the end of her first year. Her part-time job is within walking distance and my daughter's school is across the street... I have no idea how she manages it...

...and I thought US$95 to service my mkV Jetta 2.0T was outrageous.

Yes Solitaire service at Mile End.
First service so I'll suck it up and pay up but you may have noticed that everything is more expensive in Australia.
Certainly would be going elsewhere if I were charged the Golf rate.
I guess they have got to pay for the mechanic, the clinically clean workshop, the receptionists (plural), all the office infrastructure, admin and computers and the all the bosses, accountants and their company cars etc. oh and the oil and filter.

It is a bit like making contributions to charities, you would be lucky if 10% of your donation actually reaches the intended recipient.

So if your wife has travelled 30k and lets say at an average of 45kph then she has spent 666 hours in the car, which is getting on for a month driving day and night.
Take the keys away

[brad]

Buy a new cabin filter off ebay for <$20 and replace it.

I know the book says every 2 years but it's $20 well spent.

[Gerrycan]

Buy a new cabin filter off ebay for <$20 and replace it.

I know the book says every 2 years but it's $20 well spent.

The quote specifically omits the Pollen filter for vehicles with "Climatronic" Air Conditioning (24mthly) @ $54
Since my car has basic air conditioning I am not even sure it has a filter so I'll go have a look first.

A good point though, when I had to remove the fan motor in my Mk2 to get to the parking ticket that was rattling around down there, I was appalled at the state of the filter supposedly replaced a couple of months before.

[Martin]

The Pollen filter is a funny one, sometimes I only get 6 months out of it before the "old socks" smell starts, other times I can get 9~10 months - but I certainly would not get 2 years out of a pollen filter (daily 1 hour drive each way to work) - I suspect using re-circulation is a factor

Like Brad I buy the pollen filter off eBay (~$15 plus postage) - they come from UK - I buy 5 at time for postage reasons

The two biggest rip offs with factory servicing are the optional injector cleaning for $69 and aircon sanitation for $99 - all the dealers are doing this
The injector cleaning is nothing more than putting $10 of product into your tank
The aircon sanitation can be done at home for $25 using an autoglym product