Confused with servicing car - Skoda Fabia

Ibrahim5

You are actually better off doing the same as you did with the Corsa. Annual oil change. That's if you want to keep the car for a long time.

Robbo66

george4064 said:

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?

service books are becoming a thing of the past, dealer garages are now putting the service history online. This of course makes it difficult for the independents to update when they do the service as they wont have access to the manufacturer online portal, not really an issue with older cars

Ibrahim5

What a great idea. Having a service history that no-one can see. Best idea is to keep it away from main dealers. A good independent can give you a proper history and receipt so you can keep track and if you sell it show it to a purchaser. No point having a secret service history.

ontheroad1970

Ibrahim5 said:

What a great idea. Having a service history that no-one can see. Best idea is to keep it away from main dealers. A good independent can give you a proper history and receipt so you can keep track and if you sell it show it to a purchaser. No point having a secret service history.

Would you buy a car with a internet browsing history print-out showing youtube videos? 

Flight3287462

Ibrahim5 said:

What a great idea. Having a service history that no-one can see. Best idea is to keep it away from main dealers. A good independent can give you a proper history and receipt so you can keep track and if you sell it show it to a purchaser. No point having a secret service history.

Until you are looking for goodwill.

Ibrahim5

I know a lot of people who haven't received the 'goodwill' that they had hoped for. You often get the "I needed a new clutch and the main dealer wanted £3K. After I complained and requested goodwill they agreed to pay for the parts which brought it down to £2K". An independent would have fixed it for much less. Not worth paying all the extra hoping for 'goodwill'.

ontheroad1970

A clutch is a terrible example to give since whether wear is premature or not is often very subjective.  I had an E class repeatedly looked after by Mercedes outside of warranty because I had kept servicing with them - there were other perks too.  One of them came in very handy when I locked my keys in the boot.  An engineer was sent from Manchester to get into my car. AA/RAC wouldn't have been able to help.