Dealer servicing plans worth it?

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Originally Posted by Tombie

Quality relationships with service managers go a very long way if the vehicle has any issues during or just out of warranty.

Do intermediate services at home yourself.


Whilst not LR, I just had my dealer put a full service kit in the truck so I can mid interval service it. I’ll service at half sun point, then they can service at full interval. And provide me another service kit [emoji106]

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In general when trying to get reparis out of warranty.. yes you can go them under consumer laws, but it's a PITA.

Most brands will offer an unspoken warranty once it's passed the stated warranty. Maybe they will cover everything if it looks bad, or maybe just parts or labour.

I'm told the test they use when deciding what claims to cover out of warrantly.

1. Did the customer buy the car new?
2. Did the customer buy the car from us?
3. Did they service it in a reasonable fashion with us?

If you tick all three you've probably got a good chance. If you are (4) nice that probably helps as well. So in summary dealer servicing gets some extra points. Maybe you'll use them - maybe you won't. Maybe if you have a big issue it could be really helpful.

Thanks everyone. I think I'll go for the service kit then. The point about "unofficial" extra warranty is something I hadn't considered.

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Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot

In general when trying to get reparis out of warranty.. yes you can go them under consumer laws, but it's a PITA.

Most brands will offer an unspoken warranty once it's passed the stated warranty. Maybe they will cover everything if it looks bad, or maybe just parts or labour.

I'm told the test they use when deciding what claims to cover out of warrantly.

1. Did the customer buy the car new?
2. Did the customer buy the car from us?
3. Did they service it in a reasonable fashion with us?

If you tick all three you've probably got a good chance. If you are (4) nice that probably helps as well. So in summary dealer servicing gets some extra points. Maybe you'll use them - maybe you won't. Maybe if you have a big issue it could be really helpful.

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Unfortunately though, that only gets you so far. The dealer may want to warrant it, but the job can still get rejected from head office. Still, you’re better having the dealer willing to fight your corner than not, that’s for sure. Bean counters ….

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Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Unfortunately though, that only gets you so far. The dealer may want to warrant it, but the job can still get rejected from head office. Still, you’re better having the dealer willing to fight your corner than not, that’s for sure. Bean counters ….

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Yep, no guarantees. I guess the other thing is this kinda assumes you have a good dealer who cares about the customer.

We had a Golf that kept eating a clutch pack every 25/30k. It was like a few thousand repair. they had a three year warranty when we bought it - but we bought the factory extension to 5 years (another plus for the customer if you take the extended warranty). The clutch failed on it at 6 years and they covered the lot, no questions. In this case they probably felt that two cludch packs by 55k didn't look good, and we passed all three tests.

Hey Will,

just for a bit of transparency for you - Below is an image of the first 3 services for a standard 3.0L Diesel with Diff lock.

Attachment 195697

Inclusions:
34km/24M - Oil, EGR, Pollen Filters + oils, brake fluid
68km/48M - Oil, Air, Pollen, Fuel, EGR Filters + oils, brake fluid
102km/72M - Oil, EGR, Pollen Filters, Drive belt, Flexi brake hoses x4, diff plugs + Oils (transfer case, diff, engine), brake fluid

If you want to know a specific breakdown of your actual vehicle let me know the build and I'll check it out for you. :)

I've not been offered a servicing plan nor have I sought one

I see my dealer for a service every 12 months based on time and Kms (10,000 usually). Every alternate service is an interim service. They do more than change oil at the interim service....they do a detailed check.

It achieves two things: confidence that my expensive vehicle is well maintained by the dealer and that I have a relationship with them in case the metaphorical wheels fall off.

Cost wise this Defender is cheaper to service than my old one.

When the warranty ends I'll review my options but so far the dealer beats my former independent servicer.

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Originally Posted by Probably Jay

Hey Will,

just for a bit of transparency for you - Below is an image of the first 3 services for a standard 3.0L Diesel with Diff lock.

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That's awesome info, thanks Probably Jay! Your spec pretty well matches mine (3.0L diesel with a diff lock). Those services seem very expensive for what's included, but now I have hard numbers, which is the main thing. Again -- thank you, this is extremely useful.

+1 for the service manager relationship, has worked well for me on the past.