XC70 Service
 

It's rare that I ever go to a dealer for a service, but having picked up a XC70 again in January of this year, I thought I may take vehicle for a dealer service and MOT as both due at same time.... Got quoted £430 for Service and MOT!! :shocked:

Almost spat my coffee out when I heard this number on the other end of the phone! And the words were spoken casually as if it was a cost not to guffaw about! I said thanks but no thanks and will stick with my local garage at less than half the cost. Anyone had a similar experience with their local dealer? Extortionate servicing costs? I know dealers are always more expensive, but when the 'service' was broken down into it's component parts, doesn't seem a lot for your money...

Yes £375 is about par for a service on any prestige car these days at the dealer... and has been for some years certainly not extortionate .. was this the small service or the one with air filter and fuel filter ?

You do get what you pay for ... and a few "free" concessions ... did they discount the MOT ?

If volvo were a prestige car I may agree but my xc70 has FoMoCo stamped on everything but the engine and gearbox.
The rip off of charging the retail price per litre for oil that is baught in bulk and I can buy in halfords on trade card cheaper than my dealer charges.
£36 for a pollen filter that landrover charge £9 for.

The only thing prestige about it are the prices.

Discounted MOT is common around me, no one charges the full price unless they don't want to do MOT, from as little as £30 here.
Car washed @ £80 /120 an hour labour dependant on area when the local hand car wash charges a fiver.

I take my car to volvo for annual service for the updates on the elechronic, but am under no ilusion that it's expencive and as with everything else is dependant on the ability of the fitter/ technician doing the work. Being a tradesman myself am well aware of the variance in ability of those holding the same bits of paper, I have had to clear enough of their **** not to..

Paul.

It is odd that you don't supply your own oil , that was common in the 70's and 80's , but people cant be bothered these days i guess... and yes there are huge differences in knowledge, attitude and pay between one technician and another with the same paperwork ..

Are there any independent Volvo specialists in your area that you could bring your car to possibly? They would be a much cheaper alternative, simply because they don't change main dealer hourly rates! I've always found that main dealers are expensive for repairs/servicing, although, some brands are cheaper than they used to be (Mercedes as an example). I've just read another thread where a Volvo main dealer wanted £900 to service a car & to change the timing belt!

Yeah I can never justify paying main dealer prices. It had been a while since my car was at a dealers, but called for a quote anyway as they kept pestering me with letters. Maybe it's retirees with no mortgages who pay those prices because someone does, otherwise they'd drop them if no one ever used them for services etc. I noticed they said they'd price match but I bet that comes with caveats and probably won't be local dealer prices either.

Stick to who you know as they say. If you've used your local garage before & you know that they do a good job at fraction of the cost, then that's the place to go.

I used a main dealer to service my Mercedes A Class once. It was only a basic service, which was just an oil change & a top-up of fluids - That cost around £200 with the Mercedes stamp in the service book. Then the next year, it was due the 'D' service, which is basically a full/major service & they wanted £575 when I rang up for a quote! I decided there was no chance I was paying that, so I went to the Mercedes dealership & purchased all the genuine parts required that the dealership would replace on a 'D' service for around £70 (The parts advisor told me exactly what I needed). Me and my Dad changed the oil, replaced all filters etc & reset the service light ourselves. Its no wonder these companies have fancy showrooms & workshop facilities! £575 for basically a glorified oil change is simply outrageous.

Honestly it's insane! What I like about my local garage it's mostly the same faces that have been working there for years, unlike the likes of Kwik Fit etc who have high turn overs of 'mechanics'. I know the dealer where I got my Volvo are good at what they do, shame about the price. :(

Would you do the service yourself? Its the cheapest way for sure. I know it takes up your own time, but you're saving what you'll be paying a garage to do the same job.

As for the MOT, you could get that done anywhere really.

I've had Company cars for years and it was only in 2016 where I changed job and had to get my own car. I wouldn't be confident doing it myself to be honest. I am one of those guys, once I am shown then fine. Trying it myself, I'd prob make an a**e of it.