[glenn10]

Hi all,

It's time for my '59 reg to go in for a fourth year service (and MOT). I bought the car and had the 2 year service performed at Lipscombe Alfa, and paid £309.25 for the privilege.

Does anyone have any ideas how much I should expect this to set me back - the car has only done 23K, and apart from the brake balance (which is ever so slightly out) it's in perfect health...

 

[cj romeo]

200 to 250, with a bit extra for a look at your brakes, this is at an independent, add at least anther 100 quid for an authorised dealer.

 

[Mito_No3]

I would try and push for a free MOT if your getting service done at main dealer.

 

[glenn10]

200 to 250, with a bit extra for a look at your brakes, this is at an independent, add at least anther 100 quid for an authorised dealer.

I may open a can of worms with this one - but any suggestions of a good independent? Most of my time is spent around Croydon and Hastings?

 

[pookie]

i took my 95bhp mito to a local fiat garage after the warranty expired, they do a fixed price service for cars over three years old in bronze, silver and gold grades, i had the bronze service done for just 99 pounds, as well as the usual oil and filter changes they handed me a fifty point checklist that had been carried out which is more than the alfa workshop ever gave me, i'm going to do the same thing this year when my service is due.

 

[r_d_g]

Pookie that bronze service wont have included spark plugs which are part of the schedule, not that you have to stick to it after the warranty has expired. I did my third service myself and found the 95 very easy to work on as theres plenty of room.

The 4th service will include brake fluid change on top and if your car is in the high wear category (see the manual) then you should be thinking about a cambelt change as well.

 

[pookie]

hi rdg, i suppose every owner has different requirements when having their car serviced, my mito has only covered 8500 miles from new! it has already had two main dealer services to keep the warranty intact (i know that you can use almost any vat registered garage but there are still stories of manufacturers refusing warranty work) the first service was 100 pounds and was basically an oil and filter change, second service at two years/5000 miles was 180 pounds (which was amazingly cheap for a main dealer) that time the oil, air and pollen filters were changed as well as the spark plugs! so just one year later and 3000 odd extra miles i thought it was plain silly to change the plugs again, the great thing about the fiat dealer service is that you can tailor make it to the age/mileage of the car, next year i'm going to have the brake fluid and cambelt changed, and you still get a dealer stamp in the service book

 

[r_d_g]

Pookie as your doing less than 6000 miles per year then changing the sparks at every service is unnecessary and wouldnt actually be to the schedule anyway. I was just highlighting that people need to be careful with fixed price packages if they are looking at doing the service as per the schedule.

Technically your car has only had its first service to the schedule with its second due when its 4 years old. the service intervals are 18000 miles or 2 years, with an oil change every 12 months if you do less than 6000 miles a year.

I personally change the brake fluid every 2 years as I think its noticeable by then, but I do over 15000 miles a year.

 

[cj romeo]

Brake fluid ages, in the bottle and in the car, and needs done every 2 years.

I would do the spark plugs on mileage, or every 3 years, even if its just to make sure they don't get seized.

Annual oil, filters and brake check is great.

 

[glenn10]

In the end, after a lot of wrangling been Lipscombe and Croydon Motor Village, the price came down from £476 to £339 at Lipscombe; but was still beaten by the £279 offered at Croydon (plus it's two miles down the road, as opposed to 50, so add a tenner for petrol...). Both required four calls though to get a straight 'this is how much it will cost' answer, which is annoying.

Lipscombe managed to yo-yo from £476, to £279, back to £339 once I went to book with them; which is particularly frustrating.

 

[Mitomonkey]

Would be interested to know what you think of Motor Village as they're just down the road from me. Have used them for parts before but never actually taken the car in there for work

 

[glenn10]

Would be interested to know what you think of Motor Village as they're just down the road from me. Have used them for parts before but never actually taken the car in there for work

So, in the end the cost was £271.99 for service, MOT, wash and hoover. The service included sparks, oil change, all filters as well as the full checklist. All done within three hours, fully documented and a courtesy call as soon as it was all done. Very impressed with the service I got from the team there (much better in person than it was trying to get through to them on the phone, so I'd recommend just popping in if you live just down the road); and very happy with the price in the end.

All in all, good job from Motor Village Croydon!