VW Financial Services - lease

Equaliser12345

Hi.  I have a 2 year lease with VWFS.  The first service is just about due (1 year or 10,000 miles) albeit my mileage has been very low.

The contract requires me to have servicing performed at a VW dealer.  Due to their backlogs and limited availability, I am unlikely to be able to get this done for several months.  My question - if I get the minor service performed at a reputable garage using OEM procedures and materials, are VW likely to make a charge at the end of the lease?  If so, any ideas what sort of level this charge may be?

neilmcl

You'll be breaking the T&Cs of your lease and yes they may very well charge you for this. Have you actually contacted your VW service centre regarding a service? It's not that you had plenty of time to arrange this before now.

AdrianC

Equaliser12345 said:

The contract requires me to have servicing performed at a VW dealer.  Due to their backlogs and limited availability, I am unlikely to be able to get this done for several months.

I am extremely sceptical about that.

No VW dealer within reasonable distance of you can fit you in for a first service for "several months"...?

As far as getting the car serviced elsewhere goes, there's two questions.
1. Will it invalidate the warranty? No, because of EU block exemption rules, but it may make any future warranty claims harder, and will almost certainly remove the chance of any outside-warranty goodwill.

2. Can the financier insist on it? Yes. Their car, their rules. You agreed to that when you took the lease on.

Equaliser12345

neilmcl said:

You'll be breaking the T&Cs of your lease and yes they may very well charge you for this. Have you actually contacted your VW service centre regarding a service? It's not that you had plenty of time to arrange this before now.

Yes I have contacted them.  They are limiting the cars they are servicing and giving priority to warranty issues and servicing that had been booked prior to lockdown.

Currently talking September or October. Service is due in June.

I appreciate that it is a breach of the terms but my issue is that the car won't be serviced in time anyway but it will be quicker to get an independent to do it.   What would their loss be?

k3lvc

Equaliser12345 said:

neilmcl said:

You'll be breaking the T&Cs of your lease and yes they may very well charge you for this. Have you actually contacted your VW service centre regarding a service? It's not that you had plenty of time to arrange this before now.

Yes I have contacted them.  They are limiting the cars they are servicing and giving priority to warranty issues and servicing that had been booked prior to lockdown.

Currently talking September or October. Service is due in June.

I appreciate that it is a breach of the terms but my issue is that the car won't be serviced in time anyway but it will be quicker to get an independent to do it.   What would their loss be?

So which dealer is this and have you contacted VWFS to see what their solution is ?

Equaliser12345

AdrianC said:

Equaliser12345 said:

The contract requires me to have servicing performed at a VW dealer.  Due to their backlogs and limited availability, I am unlikely to be able to get this done for several months.

I am extremely sceptical about that.

No VW dealer within reasonable distance of you can fit you in for a first service for "several months"...?

As far as getting the car serviced elsewhere goes, there's two questions.
1. Will it invalidate the warranty? No, because of EU block exemption rules, but it may make any future warranty claims harder, and will almost certainly remove the chance of any outside-warranty goodwill.

2. Can the financier insist on it? Yes. Their car, their rules. You agreed to that when you took the lease on.

Skeptical?  Why?  Can only go on what they say.  

Only 2 dealers that are within 40 miles of me.  Both say the same although they have only opened today.

I know exactly what I agreed.  My point is, I'm going to breach the condition anyway as it either won't be serviced in time or won't be serviced by a VW dealer.

Equaliser12345

k3lvc said:

Equaliser12345 said:

neilmcl said:

You'll be breaking the T&Cs of your lease and yes they may very well charge you for this. Have you actually contacted your VW service centre regarding a service? It's not that you had plenty of time to arrange this before now.

Yes I have contacted them.  They are limiting the cars they are servicing and giving priority to warranty issues and servicing that had been booked prior to lockdown.

Currently talking September or October. Service is due in June.

I appreciate that it is a breach of the terms but my issue is that the car won't be serviced in time anyway but it will be quicker to get an independent to do it.   What would their loss be?

So which dealer is this and have you contacted VWFS to see what their solution is ?

Yes.  Have contacted VWFS.  They've been unhelpful saying that it must be serviced by a VW deal or an approved garage.  Asking what an approved garage is, they've sent me a 'find a dealer' link.

k3lvc

Equaliser12345 said:

k3lvc said:

Equaliser12345 said:

neilmcl said:

You'll be breaking the T&Cs of your lease and yes they may very well charge you for this. Have you actually contacted your VW service centre regarding a service? It's not that you had plenty of time to arrange this before now.

Yes I have contacted them.  They are limiting the cars they are servicing and giving priority to warranty issues and servicing that had been booked prior to lockdown.

Currently talking September or October. Service is due in June.

I appreciate that it is a breach of the terms but my issue is that the car won't be serviced in time anyway but it will be quicker to get an independent to do it.   What would their loss be?

So which dealer is this and have you contacted VWFS to see what their solution is ?

Yes.  Have contacted VWFS.  They've been unhelpful saying that it must be serviced by a VW deal or an approved garage.  Asking what an approved garage is, they've sent me a 'find a dealer' link.

So rather than just asking them have you explained your predicament and asked for their assistance in getting one of their vehicles serviced ?

Equaliser12345

k3lvc said:

Equaliser12345 said:

k3lvc said:

Equaliser12345 said:

neilmcl said:

You'll be breaking the T&Cs of your lease and yes they may very well charge you for this. Have you actually contacted your VW service centre regarding a service? It's not that you had plenty of time to arrange this before now.

Yes I have contacted them.  They are limiting the cars they are servicing and giving priority to warranty issues and servicing that had been booked prior to lockdown.

Currently talking September or October. Service is due in June.

I appreciate that it is a breach of the terms but my issue is that the car won't be serviced in time anyway but it will be quicker to get an independent to do it.   What would their loss be?

So which dealer is this and have you contacted VWFS to see what their solution is ?

Yes.  Have contacted VWFS.  They've been unhelpful saying that it must be serviced by a VW deal or an approved garage.  Asking what an approved garage is, they've sent me a 'find a dealer' link.

So rather than just asking them have you explained your predicament and asked for their assistance in getting one of their vehicles serviced ?

Yes.  I had expected them to provide a little clarity.  So far, they haven't provided that.   I've asked again.

AdrianC

Equaliser12345 said:

Only 2 dealers that are within 40 miles of me.

And how about further afield?

Equaliser12345 said:

Yes.  I had expected them to provide a little clarity.  So far, they haven't provided that.   I've asked again.

They have provided clarity. They will regard a non-VW dealer service the same as a missed service. I don't know how much clearer they could be.

It might not be what you want to hear, but that's not the same as clear.

Let's say they charge £250 for a missed service. Let's say the service is £100 at the dealer and £75 at the indie, so the penalty is effectively £150-175. How far are you willing to drive to a dealer to save that?

Equaliser12345

AdrianC said:

Equaliser12345 said:

Only 2 dealers that are within 40 miles of me.

And how about further afield?

Equaliser12345 said:

Yes.  I had expected them to provide a little clarity.  So far, they haven't provided that.   I've asked again.

They have provided clarity. They will regard a non-VW dealer service the same as a missed service. I don't know how much clearer they could be.

It might not be what you want to hear, but that's not the same as clear.

Let's say they charge £250 for a missed service. Let's say the service is £100 at the dealer and £75 at the indie, so the penalty is effectively £150-175. How far are you willing to drive to a dealer to save that?

Next closest dealer is 75 miles away - round trip of 150 miles.

Not sure the point you are making.  It's not clear.  Either a) I miss the scheduled service date or b) I meet the service date but with a non-VW dealer.  Both would be technically a breach of the conditions.

That's the clarity I want - which would they prefer?