Service costs

GunnerGirl

Could anyone advise me on what a reasonable cost for a service is?

I'm on my third lease car from Renault - I keep them two or three years, then trade in for a new one. The previous agreements have required a service after two years, but this has changed to yearly.

I have a year old Clio, with 8,500 on the clock, which Renault want £180 to service (even before they decide all manner of things need fixing, which they inevitably do!)

Obviously, it counts against you when you trade in if they haven't done the servicing, but I just think it's a ridiculous amount of money.

I've lived with it before, as anything car related bores me stupid and I had a well paid job, so decided not to care. However, I've quit my job in favour of sanity and all of a sudden I seem to care very much! :rotfl:

Any advice gratefully received!

Lemonade_Pockets

You shouldn't need anything replacing that won't be covered by the routine service..so £180 is all you should need to pay. Anything that is broken will be covered by the warranty.

You could phone round a few Renault dealers to see if you can get this cost down further.

It is probably possible to get the service done for about £100 but should you ever need claim on Renaults warranty this may prove to be a hindrance.

Also it is worth noting that should you keep the car longer than 3yrs and something major fails shortly after the warranty expires e.g. engine or drivetrain Renault will mostly likely cover or make a significant contribution if you have full Renault SH. IF you haven't they will tell you to get stuffed

These things may not matter to you but they are worth considering.

GunnerGirl

Thank you very much for that, Lemonade. Last time, I had a two year old car that had done less than 8000 miles and it ended up costing £600! They rattled off all manner of things that for some reason were complicated to fix. I just don't know anything about cars, so can't question it. Not suggesting for a second they're dishonest, but I felt somewhat stung!

Appreciate all comments concerning the SH though!

harveybobbles

We pay about a quid per litre of 5/30 oil and the filters range from 2 to 8 quid.
The rest will be the labour! Whats more annoying is they wont even take the wheels off...!

A friend of mine had their new ish car in for a service an a few hours later he got a phone call from the Dealership asking if they could fit new pads as they were worn down too far. He agreed to this. Later on that day they phoned again to ask where the locking wheel nut key was cos they couldnt get the wheels off. So he questioned how they managed to see the pads were low without getting the wheels off...

jack_spratt_2

harveybobbles wrote: »

We pay about a quid per litre of 5/30 oil and the filters range from 2 to 8 quid.
The rest will be the labour! Whats more annoying is they wont even take the wheels off...!

A friend of mine had their new ish car in for a service an a few hours later he got a phone call from the Dealership asking if they could fit new pads as they were worn down too far. He agreed to this. Later on that day they phoned again to ask where the locking wheel nut key was cos they couldnt get the wheels off. So he questioned how they managed to see the pads were low without getting the wheels off...

Well Harvey how did they ?? what did the dealer tell your friend ??you left us with half a story

darich

Lemonade_Pockets wrote: »

You shouldn't need anything replacing that won't be covered by the routine service..so £180 is all you should need to pay. Anything that is broken will be covered by the warranty.

just to clarify since the OP claims to be clueless about cars, broken means literally broken (or failed due to poor manufacturing). Items like brakes, wipers, exhaust, tyres, bulbs, clultch etc and other components can wear out. that wear and tear is not classed as "broken".
Admittedly most components won't have worn out in the timescale you're talking about but a warranty won't automatically replace every component at a service free of charge.

darich

harveybobbles wrote: »

We pay about a quid per litre of 5/30 oil and the filters range from 2 to 8 quid.
The rest will be the labour! Whats more annoying is they wont even take the wheels off...!

A friend of mine had their new ish car in for a service an a few hours later he got a phone call from the Dealership asking if they could fit new pads as they were worn down too far. He agreed to this. Later on that day they phoned again to ask where the locking wheel nut key was cos they couldnt get the wheels off. So he questioned how they managed to see the pads were low without getting the wheels off...

pads can be visible without removing the wheels. a thorough inspection is not possible but pads are visible so the dealer isn't necessarily being sneaky.

GunnerGirl

darich wrote: »

just to clarify since the OP claims to be clueless about cars, broken means literally broken (or failed due to poor manufacturing). Items like brakes, wipers, exhaust, tyres, bulbs, clultch etc and other components can wear out. that wear and tear is not classed as "broken".
Admittedly most components won't have worn out in the timescale you're talking about but a warranty won't automatically replace every component at a service free of charge.

Thanks, Darich. I realise this - it was just a bit painful to pay so much for a car that gently pootled about doing less than 4000 miles a year. I've done a lot more with this one and it's taken more of a battering, which is probably why I'm a bit scared!!

davemorton

A couple of things you can do to keep the cost down (but requires a small amount of work on your part)...
Supply your own oil...May sound daft, but I did this a couple of times with a previous car, the oil cost me £35 and if I had let the dealer supply it, it was going to be well in excess of £60. (Make sure you buy the oil that the manufacturer recommends for your car)
Don't be conned into replacing disks/pads. If the garage say they need doing, get them checked out (at an independent garage if you are not sure what to do) and if they do need doing (unlikely) then again, and independant garage would be cheaper.
WIPER BLADES... Main dealers LOVE to change wiper blades, if they say these need changing, tell them you will do it yourself, you can even go and buy them at halfords where they will fit them for you if you dont feel confident (Same with bulbs I believe) Main dealer for a wiperblade = £15, CAR SHOP, £3-£4, A good £30 saving if you 'need' 3.