Car Service Plans

[KenL]

The price of main dealer servicing is a complete rip off.
My last car, an Audi A3, needed its first service. Audi dealer wanted £310 initially. I eventually got it done by them for only £140 as they offered to match an Independent garage's price.

 

[spongebob59]

The one I bought from Honda was a good deal, the one offered by the dealer wasnt.

 

[Smiffy]

The one I bought from Honda was a good deal, the one offered by the dealer wasnt.

Same with ours.
I've just quoted a customer on a three year plan from Peugeot, £15.00 per month. Our "in house" plan for the same term was just over £24.00 a month. Don't ask me why.. ???

 

[spongebob59]

Same with ours.
I've just quoted a customer on a three year plan from Peugeot, £15.00 per month. Our "in house" plan for the same term was just over £24.00 a month. Don't ask me why.. ???

I asked the dealer why but he had no answer ?.

 

[CliveW]

??????????
PPI has nothing to do with car servicing. In 34 years of selling cars, I've never yet heard of PPI tying you to main dealer servicing. Maybe you could explain????
Anyone can service a car and if it's done properly it will remain in warranty. But it's a false economy. A 3 year old car with full main dealer service history is a much more saleable item than a 3 year old car with a variety of service stamps in the book from non franchised garages. So the few quid you saved by going elsewhere will be lost again at part exchange time. And if it's a "quality" marque, like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Mini and maybe VW, the dealer wouldn't even entertain putting it on their forecourt, so the loss could be even greater.
A service plan is a great idea of budgeting. A bit like Gas and Electric bills. Would you rather have one every quarter and have to find a few hundred pounds in one hit to pay it, or would you rather pay by DD. I know what I'd rather do.
Most of them will save you money over the term, and it's a hedge against inflation.

Dealers selling you an unwanted product just to earn commission.

 

[Smiffy]

Dealers selling you an unwanted product just to earn commission.

I personally "offer" these products to customers. If they don't want them, fine. They are not forced to buy them.
And yes, we make commission, or profit, out of selling them. Funnily enough, everybody who sells something makes a profit. That's what selling is all about!
If you want to save money on servicing, buy a service plan. If you want to protect your investment buy GAP (or RTI) insurance.
Both of these products have been shown to work.
You seem to imply that they are a con??

 

[KenL]

True, but available for about the third of what a dealer charges.

 

[spongebob59]

True, but available for about the third of what a dealer charges.

Yep, I got my gap for about 1/2 price and ceramic coat protection for about 1/4 of what the dealer offer ed by going elsewhere.

 

[Mudball]

i always bought a plan as i was buying new marquees.. it is a bit like insurance, very useful if things go wrong, but equally i realised that in the first three years, the germans did not 'need' one. Any initial defects were covered under warrenty. The most likely thing that shows up in the first three years is an oil top-up that is needed. This is not covered by the plan, so i ended up stumping up for it anyways.

Since then never bought a plan, but (thankfully) never needed it either. Each his own

 

[Smiffy]

True, but available for about the third of what a dealer charges.

Be interesting to hear what your dealer tried to charge you

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Be interesting to hear what your dealer tried to charge you

Does it really matter though? Both manufacturer and dealer are seperate businesses trying to win that purchase, and if the buyer gets a good deal does it really matter from which side of the fence it came?

 

[KenL]

Be interesting to hear what your dealer tried to charge you

I've had "offers" of £399 for gap in the past. Paid ~£120.

 

[Piece]

Yep, I got my gap for about 1/2 price and ceramic coat protection for about 1/4 of what the dealer offer ed by going elsewhere.

Gap insurance is a must, imho, if you are on a PCP type arrangement and you can easily shop around for the best price on the type of Gap you want.

Not all ceramic coats are the same. ?. A very good amateur level ceramic coat cost about £100. If you prepare the car properly before and apply yourself, that’s all it costs and will last for a couple of years. Compare with a ‘ceramic coat’ you could get from a dealer....