[Closed] Skoda - getting yours serviced

Ours were serviced by main dealer till the warranty ran out, local independent garage does the rest, apart from a job last year they refused to do as it involved removing and replacing a specific pin I think it was. The guy at the garage said it had gone wrong for him in the past so he even took his own VW to the main dealer to get it done

If it’s within warranty I’d use the dealer (unless there was hardly any warranty remaining). I’ve always taken mine (out of warranty) to the local independent VW/Audi garage. I had a VW previously so I’ve used them for ages, but I trust them way more than my local dealer to tell me as it is and only do what’s needed. Plus having a relationship with a local dealer is enormously helpful if you have an unexpected problem as they’re more likely to be helpful at short notice. I had a broken spring last summer that they sorted out within 24 h for reasonable cost.

I’m on my second ( company) Skoda now. I tend to phone the local dealer to either home or office and book it in.
They’re all the same these days, but at least you get a name to refer stuff to and can often get a courtesy car or a collection sorted more easily in my experience.

It will not void manufacture warranty if you have it serviced at a VAT registered indy. So long as you can provide proof that the correct grades of oil etc were used in case of a future warrantable claim. On the other hand, if a dealer sees that it has full manufacturers history, they may offer a goodwill reduction on a future repair out of warranty.

Ah yeah good points. So official dealer whilst under warranty and then take a view as to local independent specialist thereafter may be best way to go.
Thanks

Just for reference, im a mobile mechanic for a nationwide fleetcare provider. All the vehicles we service are within dealer warranty. We have never had issues from dealers saying you guys arent Ford qualified for example. We use correct oil grades and usually Mahle or Mann filters

I had mine for fifteen years, it was nineteen years old when I gave it away, and it’s now in Poland, AFAIK, and it never had a service in all the time I had it! The car equivalent of a cockroach, pretty near indestructible! 🤪

No need for an independent specialist when out of warranty. It’s a service. Hardly something that is Skoda specific. I used to use a local machinist because I trusted him. Local specialists are just local mechanics who want to charge a bit more.

It depends on how good your dealer is. My experience with the local Skoda dealer (and Skoda UK) was diabolical. So bad I had to get rid of the car with a fault at 3.5 years old. I still laugh when I hear the words 'Skoda' and 'Warranty' as if the two can coexist.

Problem with dealers is that there is alot of variation up and down the country so no guarantee you're going to get any better quality work done. Yes you get the nice glossy shop frontage and free cup of coffee at reception etc, but as soon as they drive your car round the back into the garage you're not guaranteed of getting any better quality workmanship than your local quick fit. They want good throughput to pay for the lease on their nice dealership with premium lease rates, so nice easy services, a few hundred quid an hour for each station rather than a problem car where they're having to spend hours diagnosing an intermittent fault. My experience is that if you have a 'specialist car' then a specialists are a good idea, but for modern euro boxes there is nothing specialist about them and any decent mechanic can do any job on them that the dealer can do. I'd rather support a local mechanic whom I trust to give me an honest opinion.

TBH whilst in warranty I'd take it to a Skoda dealer. The price for a minor service isn't silly costly at £185. If anything goes worong with the car less wriggle room for them. Out of warranty take it to an indie. That's what I've done with my Octavia. Just ticked over 110,000 miles now.

Mine had a couple of years warranty left when I got it, took it to the 'local' main dealer first time I got it serviced but it was a hassle as 15 miles away and no courtesy car so have just used my local garage after that (2 miles away and free just-about-road-legal courtesy car lottery, just hope you don't get the Peugeot 106 if it's raining...)

TBH my local Skoda dealer is pretty cheap, certainly comparable with my Indie Garage. The Indie garage costs a bit more, but they do more stuff, like testing A/C instead of scheduled servicing, same with the brake fluid, Skoda say every so many years, Garage tests it for water content and sub .5% (I think) they say not to bother changing it. The dealer does go very heavy on the upsell though... it's remarkable, the first time it went in, 3 months after I bought it from them it was 'perfect' the next one, it needed all sorts of urgent work...

Other stuff they're way cheaper, DSG servicing is fixed price with Skoda £230, I think it was £400 from the local gearbox place, the oil alone costs him more than the price Skoda charge for the job apparently.

DSG servicing is fixed price with Skoda £230, I think it was £400 from the local gearbox place, the oil alone costs him more than the price Skoda charge for the job apparently.

Only if they are willing to do the work. I couldn't find a dealer who would take on the job. Skoda, VW, Audi, specialist gearbox garage, all said no. If its an easy fix I'm sure they would, but as soon as there's an intermittent fault with no fault code to pin point the faulty part, they don't want to know.