Confused with servicing car - Skoda Fabia

george4064

I bought a Skoda Fabia in September 2020, prior to that I had an old (05 reg) Vauxhall Corsa which I got serviced and MOTed annually. I drive about 6-7k miles per year.

Im really confused with what servicing I should be getting for my Skoda Fabia?

I’m conscious that it has all these flashy electronics/dashboard which keeps track of when my car should be serviced, turns out my car is on a variable service plan which means the service light will come on every 2 years or every 20k miles (whichever is first).

I’ve had the car for just over a year now, so I’m confused whether I should get it serviced at all? Get it serviced at a local independent garage? Or get it serviced at an actual SKODA garage?

I intend to keep this car for many years to come, so won’t be re-selling it anytime soon.

thanks in advance.

Ebe_Scrooge

Service it according to the schedule shown in the owner's handbook.  Whether that's you manually keeping track of "2 years or 20K miles, whichever comes first", or whether you rely on the dashboard indicator.  Keeping track manually does mean you know when the service is approaching, so you can book it in in plenty of time.

Personally I'd use an independent garage that you trust.  Likely to be cheaper than a main dealer, and as long as they're VAT registered and use genuine parts, it won't void the warranty.  If the warranty is not an issue, then it doesn't matter even if they don't use genuine parts, as long as they're good-quality - and if you trust the mechanic, they should be.

There's an argument for using a main dealer with newer cars - if something fails that's not covered by warranty, there's a chance you'll get a good-will contribution to the cost of fixing it.  But for an older car it's probably not worth it.

JJ_Egan

Mot and service including oil change i do every year via F1 Autocentre driving about 7k per year .

Username03725

You can have it serviced whenever you want, but as long as you do it within the advised service intervals you'll be okay wrt warranty and good will etc. Low mileage usually means short trips, which leads to more wear than long trips at a steady pace on main roads and motorways, so you'd be better off getting a service done sooner than the end of the advised period. I'd be doing that annually, depending on my usage.

You don't say how old it is. Regardless it can be serviced at a main dealer or an independent; as long as the independent uses the correct fluids and parts the warranty will remain intact. Good will that you may come to need later on probably won't. Cost is the usual deciding factor, main dealers will almost always be dearer than an independent.

george4064

Username03725 said:

You can have it serviced whenever you want, but as long as you do it within the advised service intervals you'll be okay wrt warranty and good will etc. Low mileage usually means short trips, which leads to more wear than long trips at a steady pace on main roads and motorways, so you'd be better off getting a service done sooner than the end of the advised period. I'd be doing that annually, depending on my usage.

You don't say how old it is. Regardless it can be serviced at a main dealer or an independent; as long as the independent uses the correct fluids and parts the warranty will remain intact. Good will that you may come to need later on probably won't. Cost is the usual deciding factor, main dealers will almost always be dearer than an independent.

I bought the car brand new in September 2020, so this would be its first service.

Another stupid question, will the garage give me a service book so I can keep track of all the servicing the car has head? Or will they expect me to have one already?

Username03725

The service book should be in the glovebox with all the other books that came with it - usually the user manual, the infotainment system guide etc. But a new car like this will also have its services recorded on Skoda's dealer system (if you use them) so that any Skoda dealer can quickly see its history.

For a new car (and not so new either) it's beneficial to use the main dealer network as they will have notifications of work that needs doing which will show up on their system when the service is being done. Not all notifications are safety related - any that are will generate a letter to you as the registered keeper - but lower level things are notified to the dealers to be implemented either when the car is due in for a service, or they may contact you directly if they feel it necessary. It's an argument for servicing at the dealer rather than an independent.

george4064

Username03725 said:

The service book should be in the glovebox with all the other books that came with it - usually the user manual, the infotainment system guide etc. But a new car like this will also have its services recorded on Skoda's dealer system (if you use them) so that any Skoda dealer can quickly see its history.

I phoned my local Skoda garage and they seem completely incompetent, so I don’t really want to use them.

So if I use a local independent garage, will they need me to provide an old school paper logbook for them to fill in details as proof of the service?

Username03725

george4064 said:

I phoned my local Skoda garage and they seem completely incompetent, so I don’t really want to use them.

So if I use a local independent garage, will they need me to provide an old school paper logbook for them to fill in details as proof of the service?

Making life hard for yourself due to their incompetence seems a bit short sighted tbh. You've just bought a new car off them, you should be demanding [politely] that they do their job. I don't know if a Skoda should have a service record book included but that's the sort of thing they should be able to answer. I'd be in the showroom asking them to resolve it.

An independent won't care if you've got a book or not. If you have they'll stamp it. If not you can keep the receipt / invoice that shows the work done as evidence when you do come to sell it. You should be doing that anyway, keep all invoices etc in an A4 binder for when you sell it. It'll make it a bit easer and costs next to nothing to do.

george4064

If it makes any difference, I bought the car from a Marshall Skoda garage near Croydon but I’ve since moved and the nearest Skoda garage to me is a Lookers Skoda. So its quite a trek back to the Croydon showroom where I bought the car!

Username03725

Fair enough. I'd still be on the phone to the original dealer to ask the question though.

Good luck with it. 

JJ_Egan

(So if I use a local independent garage, will they need me to provide an old school paper logbook for them to fill in details as proof of the service? )

No nothing to do with them ,

Service card may be in the back of handbook .

Warranty and non authorized service will depend upon what warranty is valid with the car .Some of the  2 or 3 year warranty from the manufacturer require a main dealer service .

That is any Skoda main dealer .