Mrs Yorkies car is getting towards a first service so I ring the nearest Audi dealer in Leeds and ask receptionist for service rep to give me a trade price.

10 minutes on hold !

A wet lettuce then speaks !

Unable to answer basic questions !

Reading off a sheet possibly but can only tell me I need a 30 year mortgage for a service !

Questions asked and put me on hold never too return !

Now with shotgun loaded I await a call from service manager as I have escalated it!

Called the next nearest dealer at Harrogate and headline price given (20 year mortgage) and offered me a 10% trade discount seamlessly. We got around to talking about extended servicing as well as it may be cheaper and happy to set car up for it. Thanks Natalie.

Leeds Tossers abound and whoever thought letting untrained girls into service departments wants shafting with the handle of a sledge hammer. In my time reception was the first step up for a keen mechanic into a management career so they knew the product inside out.

Edit. York dealer only needs a 10 year mortgage.

Rant over.  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

But they only need to be able to deal with Audi owners so no harm done. The longer you can keep an Audi off the road the better it is for everyone else

But they only need to be able to deal with Audi owners

You left out typical T4.

We are having some legal work done and the clerk/ scribe (who does most of the work) is circa £90 an hour plus VAT.

Audi are charging in Leeds / Harrogate over £160 per hour plus VAT for a spotty faced 18 year old to kick your tyres. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Try IVT on Hunslet Road, Audi/VW Specialist

I spoke to Leeds, as want to know costs for first service for my Audi, given price no issues.

Huddersfield would not provide a price, with out registration, as system generates it, as depends on options, told her it standard bar sunroof, still not price, as depends on options, informed her she isn't going to be servicing the sunroof, just the engine, she then put me on hold and came back with a ball park price of £400-£700 for a oil & filter change

IVT quoted £175, Leeds £470, Bradford £440, and the business manager were i'm buying from old me £600, but will do it for £450

I'm sure everyone bar IVT think customers are Daft

Wouldn’t a service plan be less? 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

Wifes car currently not kept that long so a service plan is swings and a roundabout. Will need to reconsider all this when she no longer draws her car allowance. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Audi say they don’t offer a service plan on S cars

Independents all the way for me, Audi are taking the mick with service prices and from experience with an early fault on mine, I would judge their service department as remedial at best.

Quote:

Leeds Tossers abound and whoever thought letting untrained girls into service departments wants shafting with the handle of a sledge hammer.

Classic! Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

I suppose that when you add on the true overhead of running a big franchise service centre to the hourly rate ( + social on costs ) of the 18 year old spotty tosser , £160 an hour is justifiable . Or let’s look at another way: a decent mid market executive type vehicle costs let’s say £35- 40,000 and up . So a £650 service is around 1.5 to 2% of the vehicle’s purchase price . In real life that’s not a disproportionate amount for maintaining a significant capital investment . Certainly through the first few years if you want the full co-operation of the manufacturer on warranty and software update . Personally even though non franchise service is a possibility on new cars I’d just suck up the cost and stay with a main dealer . 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

I see no reason to pay through the nose for simple basic maintenance when an independent can do so using genuine parts more cheaply or more cost effectively and still maintain the manufacturers warranty . If it's the difference between £175 or £600, why would you spend money needlessly? Maybe to wealthy people £600 is not a significant outlay but I suspect to most working families it is. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

Agree fully with you Bob.....how do main dealers justify their prices? Bigger showrooms but hey, they sell cars to cover those costs whereas most Indys are really only involved in servicing. And it's not staffing costs that push up their prices

£600 to wealthy people is still £600, spend £160 for exactly the same and save £440, maybe that’s where the wealth comes from

I have been trained by multinational companies, worked for multinational companies, now I do it for myself, charging significantly less for exactly the same, or possibly better with experience behind me, and doing very well. I have found an Indy with the same mindset, the same Shell synthetic oil, genuine Audi filters, Audi trained technicians and £440 in my back pocket to flitter away on girls n beer

Maybe it helps come warranty, but not once did the dealer ask me who serviced the FL2, only that it had been fully service each year and never asked for proof

Don't be too hard on Audi dealerships, they must have a hard time dealing with all of those hairdressers. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE