GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Self servicing new car

SeanT93

New member
I'm thinking about servicing my car myself, I always did on my other cars but I never had a brand new car. Are you "allowed" to do it yourself with genuine Vw parts brought directly off my local dealer

Does any here service their new cars when under warranty?
 

Maturedriver

Go Kart Champion
You don’t have to have your car serviced by a main dealer but I did read somewhere that, although you can have it serviced by a independent garage using genuine manufacture’s parts, it must be a VAT registered business. That would obviously rule out most individual owners from doing their own servicing.
 

SRGTD

Autocross Newbie
You don’t have to have your car serviced by a main dealer but I did read somewhere that, although you can have it serviced by a independent garage using genuine manufacture’s parts, it must be a VAT registered business. That would obviously rule out most individual owners.
Yes, I can also recall reading this somewhere.

The UK terms and conditions of VW’s new car warranty state the following;

‘Your vehicle should be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Any damage to or defect in the vehicle caused by poor or insufficient servicing will not be remedied under the vehicle's warranty. Please ensure that you maintain sufficient records to enable our Authorised Network to confirm that the vehicle has been appropriately serviced. In any event, please ensure that the service schedule booklet in your vehicle is stamped by the business carrying out the service work, or detailed invoices supplied with date, mileage, plus specified parts and fluids used’.

The warranty t’s and c’s also exclude ‘Damage or defects caused by not having the vehicle serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations’.

I’m assuming that ‘servicing in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations’ would mean anyone considering self servicing would need to get a copy of VW’s schedule for any servicing and other maintenance jobs (if there are any) that VW recommend should carried out during the warranty period to ensure full compliance with VW’s requirements. Even with a first service - which is essentially an oil and filter change - the VW dealer may carry out other tasks, but what are they? If there are any and they’re not done, then that could be grounds for VW to deny a potential warranty claim.

Also, VW will apply any software updates and service actions that are relevant to a vehicle when they carry out the servicing. Self servicing would mean these wouldn’t get applied.

I personally wouldn’t have an issue using a reputable VAT registered independent VW specialist for servicing a car under warranty. They may not have access to VW digital service records to update the car’s service history, so it would be really important to keep all invoices and receipts of work carried out, so if there was a potential warranty claim, the risk of it being denied by VW is minimised. Also, any receipts for work done would need to be detailed enough to show the work carried out, details of parts and fluids (VW part no’s and VW spec details as proof of the correct parts / fluids being used) again, to minimise the risk of a warranty claim being denied.

Link to VWUK new car warranty terms and conditions below;
https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/owners-and-drivers/my-car/warranties/new-car-terms.html

 

SeanT93

New member
Right think I'll just get it serviced at the main dealer seams easier 😂 I can imagine vw would try to do anything to find a loop hole under a warranty claim.

I googled that vw have 3 service plan (which includes 3 oil changes, pollen filter, brake fluid replacement and complimentary health check) €467.64 or £400. I'm guessing it must be a cheaper option to get a plan?
 

SRGTD

Autocross Newbie
From what I‘ve read on some forums, since the Dieselgate debacle VW do seem to be taking a much firmer line in relation to warranty claims; presumably cost savings on warranty claims can help offset the cost of Dieselgate fines and legal actions. So having the car serviced within the VW dealer network while it’s under warranty reduces the chance of a warranty claim being denied.

In the UK, the cost of the service plan does work out cheaper v’s what you’d pay if you paid for each service separately at a VW dealership. The big benefit to VW is that it ties the customer to VW for the duration of the service plan and probably increases the chance of that customer‘s next car being another VW.

Interesting that VW offer a three year service plan in the Republic of Ireland; in the UK, VW stopped offering a three year plan around 6-7 years ago - it’s now a two year plan and comprises two services - one minor (essentially an oil and filter change) and one major (oil, filter and inspection, plus pollen filter if required). When I bought my car last year the service plan was being offered at a special price if you bought it at point of sale when ordering your car; two services for £199, which at the time represented a saving of over £200 compared to what you’d pay if you paid for each service separately. So IMO buying the service plan was a bit of a no brainier.
 

SRGTD

Autocross Newbie
SRGTD I did the same. Two services but I paid a bit more at about £280. I see the charge now is £386.
The best time to buy the service plan is at point of sale when you order the car as the price is lower than it is if you buy it after the car’s been registered.

Current price if purchased at point of sale is £269 which is probably the price you paid. If you wait until after you‘ve taken delivery, the price is the £386 as per your post. You can buy a further two year service plan after you’ve used up the first one, but the price is significantly higher; £496.45, but does still represent small saving over the price you‘d pay if you paid for the year three and four services separately (£538).

Point of sale price;
F48EED0B-988A-4CDE-935D-A16896739351.jpeg


Service plan price after taking delivery of the car;
EFD6126D-01F6-4E12-AE31-AEBBADA5D1D1.jpeg
 

Maturedriver

Go Kart Champion
When our service plan expires the following ‘All-in’ plan makes sense especially as it includes an extended warranty and MOTs. By then, though, it might not be available or considerably more expensive.

Cars 3 to 6 years old​

All-in from Volkswagen gives you extra peace of mind and could save you on average £833 over two years2. For just £33.45 a month you get 2 years’ Roadside Assistance, 2 years’ Warranty, 2 MOTs and 2 services.
Discover All-in from Volkswagen

Your All-in from Volkswagen policy cover includes:​

Your All-in from Volkswagen policy cover includes:
CoverPay as you go RRPAll-in
1 x Minor3 service£184.00Included
1 x Major3 service £354.00Included
2 x MOT3 tests £109.70Included
2 years’ Roadside Assistance £155.10Included
2 years’ Warranty £833.004Included
Total cost £1,635.80 £802.80 or £33.45 per month
Savings £833.004
3 Price based off Volkswagen National Fixed Priced Servicing for cars over 3 years old
 

SRGTD

Autocross Newbie
Agree, it does seem like a good deal, and for VW it’s another way to generate revenue and keep customers coming back to their dealerships. I think reading the small print in the terms and conditions would be worthwhile, to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting. It may not include some service items like brake fluid change at three years old.

Seat also have the same All-In product, so I dare say Audi and Skoda do too. Your car has to pass an eligibility check first before you can buy the product. I read on a Seat forum that if your car has missed any of the recommended - as opposed to required - service work during the first three years of its life, then that work needs to be carried out first before your car can be considered eligible for All-In cover. The Seat forum member hadn’t had the recommended air con service carried out on their car at 24 months, (VW currently charge £139 for this and recommend it’s done every two years) so they had to pay for this to be done first before their car passed the All-In eligibility check. Anyone buying the product on a three year old car would presumably also need to get the air con service carried out when the car gets to four years old so as not to invalidate the All-In product.
 

Maturedriver

Go Kart Champion
SRGTD. Our current service plan covers 2 services. Assuming we don’t do high mileages I guess we would have to pay for the service at the end of year 3 (outside of any plan) before taking out the All-in plan which is only available for 3 to 6 old cars. Hope you could follow that?

In addition to air con servicing I imagine we would also have to pay for brake fluid replacement which presumably is not included in any plan.
 

SRGTD

Autocross Newbie
SRGTD. Our current service plan covers 2 services. Assuming we don’t do high mileages I guess we would have to pay for the service at the end of year 3 (outside of any plan) before taking out the All-in plan which is only available for 3 to 6 old cars. Hope you could follow that?

In addition to air con servicing I imagine we would also have to pay for brake fluid replacement which presumably is not included in any plan.
That would be my understanding.
 
Top