My 2.0 tdi Octavia (VRS) needs its cam belt doing soon, and its not far off a service anyway, so might as well get both done whilst I am at it…

Ive had the following quotes;

Main dealer = £838
Well regarded VAG group indie = £815
Well regarded non-spec indie = £559

Now, obviously the cheapest is the most appealing, but where might they be cutting corners for the difference to be as much as it is?

They tell me it’s the full gates belt kit, tensioners & water pump, and Castrol mf spec oils?

what questions am I not asking I should be?

On the other hand, what are the main dealer doing that the indie isn’t? (ie ask the main dealer to justify the higher price, not the indie to jsutify the lower).

Depends what is classed as a service? Just oil and filter or fuel filter/pollen filter/gearbox oil/brake fluid/new coolant etc

I had my head gasket done and they re-used the existing coolant and just topped up with de-ionised.

Third-party parts rather than OEM perhaps?

Dealer spannering has been more expensive than independent garages ever since vehicles didn’t have hooves. There is, I would assume, at least a perceived value in going to a dealer over a generic garage which people are willing to pay a premium for.

I had the belt and service done on my T5 (so same basic engine so same process and manhours to service) at my local trusted mechanic using oem parts and oem spec fluids for around the same price as your independent mechanic quote. No need for a specialist as it’s not a job that requires specialist knowledge so might as well go with the independent non specialist mechanic.

My belt was well within the recommended replacement miles but was triggered by the calendar replacement time. My mechanic was relaxed about that as he reckoned the mileage limit is more important but I wanted to keep rob the schedule, so you could probably stagger the service and cambelt change to alleviate cash flow if you’re also well within the recommended replacement mileage

yep, going to ask Skoda what they do, why they are more, and if there is some movement on price.

TBH we’ve used the non-spec indie quite a bit on other cars, with no probs, I got into the habit of using a specialist indie with the alfa I had, as it always worked out cheaper in the long run (they knew what they were doing) but this is hardly uncommon, so don’t have any ‘real’ worries about using them for this, as its now out of the manf. extended warranty they gave me.

I was just thrown by how close in price the spec. indie was, If it split the difference that would be one thing, but…
So thought I would try to get some heads up for anything that might not be being done to account for the difference.

Briskoda doesn’t bring up anything particular to worry about, so think the indie spec might be pricing ‘much’ lower than Audi prices to get that business, and not competing with Skoda…

tbh, will probably end up with the indie guys

but there’s no harm in getting an idea what I should be asking from the hive mind 🙂

Are your Skoda dealer not doing the fixed price servicing stuff that most dealers do?

I’ve just had a cambelt and water pump done by a main dealer on a diesel Octavia and it was about £540 or so.

I’ve always found indies to be a complete unknown quantity. I have zero confidence in any that I’ve tried.

My VW dealer is £350 for a cambelt on a fairly difficult engine. If you want to cut corners I’d say get the cambelt done at the dealer and service for cheap.

going to ask Skoda what they do

Stamp your service log book, probably.

Given the price differential I can only assume they’re using inkjet printer ink.

Dealers simply charge higher labour rates and a premium on their parts. Full stop. No rocket science involved. They’re on much more expensive premises at prime locations, employ more people, have much higher overheads, pay a big licence fee to the manufacturers to have their logo above the door and pay to have the showrooms decked out to the Skoda’s specifications so they look the part. Independent mechanics don’t have anywhere near the overheads, so can charge a lower labour rates. For stuff like standard servicing and cambelt changes etc. there is zero specialist knowledge required (not that the dealer is always the best place to go for specialist knowledge anyway) so absolutely zero benefit in paying more to use the dealer for such tasks.

Sometimes dealers do special deals on service packages, but all that does is bring their prices down to independent mechanics so i usually prefer to give my business to my local trusted mechanic who has helped me out a lot over the years.

we had this years ago on an old A4, dealer wanted close to 900 for it but our local that we used a lot was about 500 so went with them. it’s not always the engine type that makes it costly our A4 has to get a lot of the front end stripped off for access

molgrips

Subscriber
I’ve always found indies to be a complete unknown quantity. I have zero confidence in any that I’ve tried.

My VW dealer is £350 for a cambelt on a fairly difficult engine. If you want to cut corners I’d say get the cambelt done at the dealer and service for cheap.

Using an independent rather than a dealer had got nothing to do with cutting corners.
You cut out the cost of the large expensive building, the receptionist, the ‘free’ coffee machine, the ‘service team’ who spend all day sitting behind a desk etc.
I’d choose a trusted local independent over a main dealer any day, and you can generally get an idea of a local good one, using a Facebook group from your area.

I’ve used our local independent place for the last 16 years or so. They are well priced, don’t do stuff for the sake of it that can wait until the next service, provide good advice & have helped me out of a bind on more than one occasion.
Conversely, I would rate the service I’ve had from main dealers as no better than average at best & diabolical at worst.
The Seat dealer in Letchworth wanted “at least” £850 to replace the air-con compressor in my old Ibiza with a refurb unit. I say at least, as he couldn’t give me a firm price, for some reason. The independent mentioned above did it for £500 all-in with a new unit, rather than a refurb.

My brother had a newly fitted cambelt fail on a Golf, done at a VW dealer. They had only changed the belt & not the rest of the bits advised by VW (tensioner assembly & water pump, I think…)
He also had the same car serviced at a different VW dealer & while driving down the M6 heard a rumbling noise that was getting steadily worse, so stopped at the next services – turns out they had only finger tightened the nuts on two of the wheels and they were working loose.

As for the Citroen dealer that our C3 Picasso came from……ha! I wouldn’t know where to start…

If you go indie route just make sure they use a newer waterpump as Im sure there has been a revision due to the amount of them failing on the MK3.

Just checked my invoice from a couple of years ago and cambelt included water pump and longlife service at an indie came to £648 in vat.
61plate vrs diesel.

I’ve used my local independent for years for everything VAG including cam belt. They did come recommended by an even longer term customer. Very reasonable pricing and no hidden extras.

Hourly rate is the first thing, £35/hour v £100/hour is £140 v £400 labour for a 4 hour job.

A lot of VAG parts are not made by Audi etc, but the same Bosch MAF with an Audi sticker on the box or in an Audi box will be 50% more than just buying a Bosch one.

I was pleasantly surprised at my Land Rover dealer over Christmas – quoted me £700+ for a major service. That’s eye wateringly expensive really, but I wanted £450 of warranty work doing separately/on top, so I was prepared to stump up on this occasion. The service price was quoted before I mentioned the warranty work.

They returned my Disco and told me the final bill was £100 cheaper than quoted. I was surprised to say the least

Using an independent rather than a dealer had got nothing to do with cutting corners.

I should have said ‘cutting costs’ not corners. Of course indies can change oils and replace parts and the like.

I have never had a good experience with one though. They all seem ready to lob parts at your car but anything tricky they don’t want to know. I’ve been ripped off, lied to, fobbed off and had my car expensively broken by independent mechanics. My main dealer (Sinclair VW of Cardiff) on the other hand, whilst they have to charge the book price, have given me loads of help and every freebie they were able to to help me out. And they take the time to properly talk me through stuff, enabling me to fix things myself. And their mechanics are trained in-depth by VW. I think they see themselves as brand ambassadors and since they also sell cars they want you to leave with a warm fuzzy feeling to get you to come back and buy a new one when the time comes.

Of course not all main dealers are good – Wessex Nissan were terrible to my Dad and then 20 years later terrible to me too when I was actually trying to buy a car.

A lot of VAG parts are not made by Audi etc, but the same Bosch MAF with an Audi sticker on the box or in an Audi box will be 50% more than just buying a Bosch one.

Oh yeah. Parts. I always research parts and buy whatever company makes the OEM one, and I’m usually fitting myself. But if I weren’t fitting I’d buy the part I want and have an indie fit it. Done this a few times on jobs I couldn’t do. I’m happy to have an indie fit a part or do something very specific. Where I’ve had problems is with difficult diagnostic issues.

we had this years ago on an old A4, dealer wanted close to 900 for it

Yep. 2002 Leon cambelt change similarly eye watering.

IME a decent independent is better that a dealer for a lot of stuff. They won’t be a lot cheaper, but you often find a lot of experience of doing things the right way unlike the plug it in approach of a dealer. There you’re paying for the mechanic not the dealer facilities.

I’d drive the hour to midland VW for work on my cars happily, at the moment I’ve been using main dealer for service work on a fairly new car just to get the book stamps as ill likely sell it.

My van gets regular servicing at the cheaper independent but Ill be taking it to MVW for its cam belt service.

As long as it’s a reputable garage and you make sure they’re using genuine parts and changing all the correct bits then you shouldn’t have a problem.

Roughly where abouts are you? Some of the VAG independent specialists are very experienced and I rather use them than a main dealer.

I have the same engine (pretty much).in my passat, 450.for cam, timing, water pump, fluids at a local vw specialist.

As long as it’s a reputable garage

How do you find one though? People don’t talk about garages much and most people just accept whatever they are told as they know nothing about cars.

How do you find one though? People don’t talk about garages much and most people just accept whatever they are told as they know nothing about cars.

Personal recommendation. Friends. I’ve used the same local garage since the late 1980s and they’ve been unfailingly brilliant – efficient, reasonably priced, do the job properly. I know the mechanic who works on my car and he’ll happily chat over what’s been done / might be needed in the future etc.

They’ll fit parts I source myself if I want them to as well. They’ve always gone the extra mile. I sort of inherited them from my girlfriend at the time. Several of my friends use them on my recommendation, everyone’s happy.

After moving house, I also occasionally use the one-man-band in the light industrial estate round the corner because it’s super convenient. He was recommended by a mate of mine who’s used him for years.

Ask your mates who they use and would recommend. If you know whether a garage is good or not, why wouldn’t they? It’s the same as any local tradesman: builders, plumbers, sparks etc.

Last time I had a cambelt done the main dealers labour charges were £90 an hour.
Specialist indie labour charges were £45 per hour.

That’s your difference right there, the cost of physical parts for a cambelt change are almost irrelevant if it’s a 3 or 4 hour job.

Disclaimer:
Not all indies are good
Not all main dealers can be trusted to do a good job.

How do you find one though? People don’t talk about

Another suggestion, join an owners club forum and you can find recommended independent specialists more easily.

If you know whether a garage is good or not, why wouldn’t they?

Cos they know nothing about cars and will accept whatever they’re told and pay whatever they are asked to.

Is there any weight to having a dealer carry out a cam belt change with regards to accountability and warranty should the replacement belt fail soon after the service? I appreciate that most garages alike would be accountable for their work but I was wondering how much peace of mind and security comes with dealership service should the worst happen?

I am faced with a belt change on my car soon and the fixed price dealer service is either £775 or £925 if the waterpump needs replacing as well.

Strong money whichever way you look at it but I kinda knew what I was getting into when buying it, so far I have not discovered a specialist to my liking in my area so I pick and choose between normal garages for the easy jobs like brakes and oil and the dealer for more Audi centric jobs such as gearbox repair and service.

Our local VAG specialist charge FROM £200. Got mine done when the water pump went kaput on the Octavia. Unfortunately I don’t know what the total cost was as it was done under warranty.

http://www.chesterfieldvwspecialist.co.uk/service–repair.html

Edit: Another one charges £396 https://www.autohausdolby.co.uk/timing-belts/

Final edit: Think I paid £170 for a full service from the first VAG specialist for my diesel Octavia.