I'm sure the dealers take all the hit on these packages by getting much lower hourly rates from Honda (etc) that they would normaly charge.
Therefore I think the only thing you have to watch with these service only deals (rather than service and maintenance) is that the dealer doesn't load on things to try to recover some of the cost, especially in years 4 and 5 when the car is out of warranty and you may well have used an independant for servicing rather than the dealer.
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Not a Honda but my son's IS is nearly 5years old - 60K service was an estimated £580 - he put it into our local Independent and it was £350 inc new front pads. At the main dealer it would have been £680 so the Indie was half price.
£800 for 5 yrs servicing sounds excellent.
Beware DiL mini was on £500 TLC servicing @ the Mini garage. The servicing was slipshod - serviced under the contract it failed an MoT about 3 weeks later - seized pistons and pads needing replaced. Under the Mini service package the franchise gets some £30+ per hour (warranty rates?) instead of the more usual £70+ that they charge. Mini was sold and a Honda bought.
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My petrol auto CRV is coming up to 2 years old now and the 5 year service package I have cost £500. I think the front discs are a little warped as I get the steering wobble when braking hard from 70mph.
I know these items are not covered by the service pack but I will be very interested to see if they will be covered (fully or partially under warranty when the car goes in for service 2 in a couple of weeks time. I am a bit reluctant to pay for another set of Honda discs as they are most probably going to warp again so Ideally I would like a set of uprated drilled ventilated discs.
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Pica
Keep us informed on this. Thanks to all advice given everybody still havent parted with cash yet.
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£800 for services in the next 5 years!
Pay by credit card - if "the dealer disappears"
Credit card Co are liable under Clause 75 you would get your cash refunded by the bank!
Keep the receipt!
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Wisely I paid my deposit by credit-card (on the suggestion of the sales chap !)
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if you write off the car or die then then my guess is the insurance company will be significantly in profit, i doubt you would get the money back or similar, im sure there are other examples
hence i think its a bad deal
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But since most cars are not written off then most of us think it is a good deal.
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...and how worried would you be if you were dead?
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I too am thinking about whether to go with this on the CRV I just ordered. I believe you have 8 months to decide.
I have posted on here before about a friend of mine who had 'issues' when he had his Accord serviced and a subsequent MOT at my local Honda dealership. Another HJer subsequently posted in the same thread about a bad experience that he also had with the same dealer.
Hence I am a bit reluctant to pay the money for the Honda service deal as I am not sure whether the benefits of getting the car 'Honda serviced', and hence hopefully maintain value of the car, will... Heck, how can I explain this...
I have a good local mechanic who I know well, is honest and a great mechanic. The plus side is that I trust him but fear that, having forked out for a new car, by not going to a Honda dealer I might void my warranty and give Honda an excuse not to fix any warranty issues that may crop up.
On the other hand the £830 seems a good price over 5 years - I thought you paid for it by direct debit yearly? - and if there are probs you can always say that they serviced the car.
My friend had issues with the dealer servicing his Accord, ringing him up and saying that his bulbs had gone (Yes, that old one) and whether he wanted them replaced which, of course, he agreed to until he saw the bill later on. A week or so later he had them MOT his car and he gets a call from them saying, guess what, that he needed new bulbs. He threw a wobbly naturally and never had his car serviced there again... so I a bit concerned about the pros and cons of signing up to that Honda service plan. My next nearest Honda dealer is 50 miles away.
I would be grateful for thoughts on the above.
Thanks,
T.
Edited by tawse on 18/03/2009 at 21:54
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Tawse,
My wife's Civic is now serviced at the Bassett's garage in Bridgend, they seem to be competent enough! When I first started going there, I made a point of explaining how disappointed I was with the local branch. I also have very low expectations nowadays of Honda franchises.
I'm currently using them for the servicing as per schedule, and any 'extra work' (there hasn't been any so far) will go to an indie if I think they're trying it on.
I reckon you should get the fixed-price servicing deal, if only for the engine management uodates, electronic downloads, etc. that you seem to only get from a dealer.
valmiki
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Thanks valmiki - yes, I probably will go for it and perhaps, like you, will go to Bridgend or even Cardiff for servicing. The local one is out of the way anyhow - at least the dealers on Neath Road have bus stops outside.
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Thanks for everyones input into this thread. I have now asked Honda cars UK for further details about this scheme. This after taking account of the replies posted. Firstly i first rang them 10 days ago and the customer service rep couldnt answer my question. She said ''i will ring you back''. She didn't. however i decided to ring them today and ask a few questions. The rep did ring back this time firstly after not knowing answers to my questions. Firstly the deal is with Honda and not the dealer, hence you can get the servicing done at any dealer in the country. It is transferable should you sell the car. I also asked the question what renumeration would i recieve should the vehicle be an accident/insurance write off, lets say after 13 months. So the first service would have been carried out then 1 month later bang its a write off what money would Honda give back. Bearing in mind i would have paid £830 out up front for this scheme. Answer nothing. No renumeration whatsoever. The warning here is at your choice you take the risk. For a Diesal CRV these would be the present serving costs
1st year=£198
2nd year=£365
3rd year=£261
4th year=£198
5th Year= £365
What i also found out today was Stratstone (part of pendragon group) have re introduced their own servicing package. Stratstone are a pretty big multi franchise organisation who have a Honda dealer locally. I asked what price for my CRV . £600 they said for 3 yrs. I have also asked a question about Honda roadside assistance and i am now going to put a new post up and would appreciate any input into this. By the way i have written to Honda for more clarification.
Tawse
Keep us informed on how your CRV is running on the CRV thread.
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My CRV has had service no.2 today which is quite a big service, air filter, pollen filter, oil and filter, spark plugs, valve clearances adjusted etc. Cost would have been £365 so by choosing the £500 fixed price deal when I purchased the car was the right choice for me.
I asked them to look at the brake judder and they confirmed the disks were slightly warped but not bad enough to advise a change of rotors. I am not a heavy on brakes and at 2 years old and 23000 miles the brakes are only just 50% worn out. They categorically insisted that this is not a warranty item and most CRV's they look after are having new front rotors and pads at around 25000 miles as they are worn out! - fair enough I thought.
I was quoted £210 to replace front discs and pads by Honda (while I wait 1.5 hours) or £63 if I do them myself after buying the bits from EBC (£91 if I upgrade the pads).
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If the disc is warped, i would have thought Honda should replace them.
Sorry but somting is not right here, pads and disc are wear items, yes but warped disc no?
My last xtrail had plenty left on the pads at 30k, that is normal.
As for the 5 year service plan, after 3years i would be using an independant. So the approx £300 pound saving may be lost.
Nissan do a simular deal, but the sooner i can get away from the main dealer prices the better.
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xtrailman, I agree with you and they came out with contradictory arguments on why the warping has occured from me holding the car on the brakes at traffic lights (it's an auto) to they don't leave the discs out long enough in the atmosphere to rust and harden properly. They even suggested (off the record) I might like to look at the EBC pads and discs as they are very good!
Coincidently, a friend had a similar problem last year on a Toyoto and they took his car in and they replaced discs and made him pay for pads. I suggested this and they said no :(
Up to this point I cannot fault Honda they even changed discs under warranty on my company Accord (around 3 years ago) but this time I had no luck whatsoever. I will most probably do this job myself so the replacement costs will be minimal.
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I have just spoken to Honda customer service and a very helpful lady explained that all Honda parts are warranted for only 12 months so it is my understanding, if you drive 5000 miles or 50,000 miles in that time you should be covered but if you drive 5000 miles in 2 years you will still only be covered for 12 months.
I asked for some reassurance that if I replace the discs with Honda parts that they will not warp in another 18 months and they could not assure me as it would depend on my driving style and whether I am in the city or say a country area.
I have also been in contact with an independent supplier of discs who quoted "No disc should warp" I said this to Honda but they kept on about the 12 month warranty. Now be careful, I asked what would the implication be regarding warranty if I changed the discs to another make and not Honda as I don't have much confidence in the quality of their part; they said that this would invalidate the warranty relating to the whole car! So I guess I will be fitting genuine Honda parts for the next year.
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Pica
The car being auto will use pads/discs more often than manuel, i use a mix of light engine braking, and anticipation to get good service from my brakes.
I believe that autos have larger discs to deal with the extra work that is required.
Is it possible that your brake discs are for the manuel version, just a thought?
I don't understand the comment about allowing the disc to rust, i go to great lenghts to AVOID rust on the disc.
When i wash the car, i allways drive the car and apply the brakes to dry the disc, to prevent rust, as i feel this leads to increased pad wear.
Also i park the car in the garage with the handbrake off, this stops the pads sticking on.
I'm sure most people wouldn't bother, but whats better to reduce the pad thickness than it rusting away?.
As a matter of interest the front discs on my xtrail are a lot larger diameter than my old xtrail, and also the rear discs are now ventilated.(171bhp version)
Should the auto CRV have rear ventilated discs, or do you have them.
Finally i always associate warped discs with overheating, do you drive a lot of hilly roads, where you have to brake heavily?
Edited by xtrailman on 05/04/2009 at 20:13
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Hi xtrailman
Mine is driven very sedately and not held on the brakes at Traffic Lights. I tend to use the handbrake when waiting at lights etc. I think the steel is not as good quality as they were in the good old days. Never ever had this problem before with any car I have owned. My old Scimitar had its discs changed after 12 years of ownership (and that was an auto too).
Not too many hills in North West Surrey
On the Mustang (Also Auto) it gets driven hard and the brakes get very hot and I tend to hold the car on the brakes especially when as I want away from the lights quickly I ust love that V8 sound :) The mustangs brakes are fine and guys I speak to who take theirs around the track have not complained of warp.
I have got 12 months warranty left so I will leave it for a few months until the warranty comes towards its end and then fit some EBC discs to see if they are any better.
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Popped to the Honda garage today to try and blag a cargo net (failed) - talking to the sales guy who sold me mine he told me that the MoTs were covered by the contract as well - now that is a good deal.
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Popped to the Honda garage today to try and blag a cargo net (failed) - talking to the sales guy who sold me mine he told me that the MoTs were covered by the contract as well - now that is a good deal.
They're free under the contract we have on daughter's SEAT too, but I won't make the mistake of getting them to do it a second time. I'd rather pay and have our trusty village garage do it.
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Pug so years 4 & 5 you don't have to pay for an mot. That's not a bad saving how much will an MOT be in another 3 years about £50 do ya reckon. Not bad eh another £100 saving. I think ill ask the question about the 5yr deal including MOT's.
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That's what the guy said !
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The way I understand it is that braking generates a lot of heat and the part of the discs being gripped by the pads when stationary after braking do not get a chance to cool properly, hence you get a warped disc.
mega snipquote
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 25/04/2009 at 21:00
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Brentus, have you gone for the Honda 5 year service £830 plan or not? Am thinking of popping round my local dealer to sign up for it with Honda.
If it wasn't for the engine management updates I probably would not do it though and use an independent instead.
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If it wasn't for the engine management updates I probably would not do it though and use an independent instead.
Dealers generally don't do software updates unless you complain about a specific issue for which they've been told the solution is to do a software update.
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VAG certainly do. How do I know ? Because I took a perfectly good Golf GTi to a well known national VAG dealer - they messed up the software download and I had to take it to a proper VAG garage to be sorted. If you look in the boot area of any VW you will see a label confirming the installation of new software updates as they become available.
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they messed up the software download
I think that's why many dealers don't normally do them! They also can take a long time to do - some manufacturers only do them with direct internet connections to "the factory" and by the time the other end of the link is plugged into the car in a workshop, there's a lot that can go wrong.
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The dealer from whom we bought our Hyundai i10 'phoned earlier this week to say that they are doing a similar deal. We are awaiting details and full price breakdown, but I will post it when it arrives. You can pay monthly by direct debit.
We are quite interested, dependant on price of course. My concern would be what happens if the dealer goes bust - but presumably the deal is with Hyundai UK so would be valid elsewhere.
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Make sure the deal is with the Importer and not with the dealer - chap in the Honda place told me that some franchises were doing direct deals, one has gone bust leaving the owners with bits of paper and nothing else.
Edited by Pugugly on 22/04/2009 at 21:27
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So, um, not sure if anyone actually went with the fixed price Honda servicing or not? Did anyone?
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I notice that the 5 year servicing deal works out at 12,500 miles per year with the final service at 62,500 miles.
Therefore, in theory, a high miler will go through the '5 years' much more quickly - i.e. if you are doing anaverage 15,000 miles per year the servicing will be done in 4 years or thereabouts.
I assume that it makes it even more cost effective - or have I got my maths wrong?
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Still considering it Tawse. You have 8 months to register for the scheme in the mean time money in bank making interest. Thats good news what Pug says about it including MOT's. I hope its not only Pug's local dealer doing that, ill ask the question. What is interesting though is the fact my local dealer have re introduced their own scheme £600 for 3 years. Off to Cornwall on Saturday so my first big run will report back on crv thread.
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I took it out yesterday with my local dealer - tried to charge me 850 originally but then they double-checked on the PC and it was now 830. I asked about MOTs but they said they did not think they were included.
With hindsight, I made a bit of a boo boo as the sensible thing to do would be to have taken it out in 8 months time so that the 5 years was from that date, in say, October, as opposed to it starting yesterday. I didn't think that one through.
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Nor me - but not going to worry about it.
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I never thought of the 5 yr term as in what difference it would make. I will take it out but will wait to the 8 months are nearly up. like i said money better in my account than dealers. The question now is :- 5yrs from date taken out. So take it out at 8 months that means it expires at when the vehicle is 5yrs 8months . The 5yr fixed price service at £830 means 5 scheduled service's are carried out a saving is made here. I have posted the cost of each individual service. The only benefit i see by doing what i am going to do is make interest on the money while it is my bank and not the dealers/Honda or whoever's. So doesnt include MOT's in yrs 4 & 5 then. Thanks for input.
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Must be a delaer's deal the MoT thingy.
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...money better in my account than dealers...
Yep, but only just.
Interest zilch in a current account and probably about £5 in savings account if left for eight months.
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= 1.5 pints of best though !
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Yes, although if Brentus is a basic rate taxpayer, he might have to wait for the half. :)
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yep i am a basic rate tax payer. suppose it aint making much anyway. missus might have used it by time i need to get it out eh.
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so that the 5 years was from that date in say October as opposed to it starting yesterday.
Surely they'll date it from the date of first registration, whenever it's taken out?
Although thinking about it - does it make any difference? The cover is for the first 5 services, so it surely doesn't matter when it starts as long as its before the 1st service.
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The dealer asked me for the registration date so it may be relevent.
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I said I would post the details of the Hyundai i10 offer. It arrived this week from Manchester Hyundai - not sure if it is available elsewhere.
The deal is 3 years servicing for £530 - 0% credit, so works out at £18 a month by DD. We are thinking about it. Considering that the CRV is a much bigger vehicle, the Honda deal sounds pretty good value.
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