Audi Service Vs Indy

[Tacko]

Hi All,

I know this is a topic which has been done to death however, i was hoping for some advice.

I have owned my RS4 for two years now. I have maintained the full Audi service history and now it's time for it's next one. It is currently on the long life service plan and isn't due until next year or 13'000 more miles (Only done 7k since last service). It was serviced by Audi Northampton last March at 91k. I am on 98k. To be honest i'm not a fan of the long life service plan and will at least do an oil change once a year.

Audi want £347 for an oil change (Pants down). My question is this worth it considering MRC are only 45 mins down the road and far more reputable? I'm not planning on selling in the near future but may want to move on in the next couple of years. With this in mind is it best to take one for the team and head to Audi or think 'F@%k it' and head to an Indy garage?

Any thoughts/advice is welcome.

Thanks

Lee

[TobyRS4]

Hi All,

I know this is a topic which has been done to death however, i was hoping for some advice.

I have owned my RS4 for two years now. I have maintained the full Audi service history and now it's time for it's next one. It is currently on the long life service plan and isn't due until next year or 13'000 more miles (Only done 7k since last service). It was serviced by Audi Northampton last March at 91k. I am on 98k. To be honest i'm not a fan of the long life service plan and will at least do an oil change once a year.

Audi want £347 for an oil change (Pants down). My question is this worth it considering MRC are only 45 mins down the road and far more reputable? I'm not planning on selling in the near future but may want to move on in the next couple of years. With this in mind is it best to take one for the team and head to Audi or think 'F@%k it' and head to an Indy garage?

Any thoughts/advice is welcome.

Thanks

Lee

Iv just had the same dilemna but it ended up an easy choice I went for MRC, come resale it will be hit and miss on the affect, personally I'm happy to see a specialist stamp and after using MRC I'm more than confident in their ability and knowledge.

They see RS's day in day out and in terms of common faults id argue their specialism would mean a better quality of service, how many Rs's audi see on a weekly basis, particularly B7s would remain to be an unknown I'm guessing not that many.

[Harris.]

MRC every time . £347 for a oil change is shocking .

[Surrey Sam]

Just for reference, MRC are £352.18 for the Annual Service or £595.85 for the Long Life Service.

So there isn't a saving to be had. However, a car with full Audi Service History will always be more desirable and fetch better prices come re-sale.

[Tacko]

Appreciate the replies. Still unsure. If i am looking at £352 for MRC then i may as well head to Audi.

Decisions decsion

[chunky79]

Just for reference, MRC are £352.18 for the Annual Service or £595.85 for the Long Life Service.

So there isn't a saving to be had. However, a car with full Audi Service History will always be more desirable and fetch better prices come re-sale.

Me personally, I'd rather see Unit20 or MRC history over Audi. Audi very rarely have any idea about their RS range.

[geordie jay]

Totally with sam on this one...having your book fully stamped by audi was a deal breaker for me....if you want to get car fixed then yes mrc and unit 20 are the best but for service that stamp is a must in my eyes.

[TobyRS4]

Just for reference, MRC are £352.18 for the Annual Service or £595.85 for the Long Life Service.

So there isn't a saving to be had. However, a car with full Audi Service History will always be more desirable and fetch better prices come re-sale.

Me personally, I'd rather see Unit20 or MRC history over Audi. Audi very rarely have any idea about their RS range.

There's always going to be 2 sides to this debate, what appeals to one person will not always appeal to others.

At the end of the day you cant please 100% of the people 100% of the time, personally based on experience and also 10+ years of motor trade experience working for dealers a specialised performance car id like a specialist to maintain, although on the same note age also plays a part in this, should i have a 2014 B8 RS4 rather than a 2006 B7 RS4 the Stealer would still present a stronger proposition for servicing etc.

At the end of the day does a full compliment of Audi stamps looks good and aid re-sale, of course! however that now opens up an entirely new debate on whether you bought the car as a car to drive and enjoy or whether your looking to be conscious all the time during your ownership not of it being yours but of the person who will be owning it next......

[Tacko]

Just for reference, MRC are £352.18 for the Annual Service or £595.85 for the Long Life Service.

So there isn't a saving to be had. However, a car with full Audi Service History will always be more desirable and fetch better prices come re-sale.

Me personally, I'd rather see Unit20 or MRC history over Audi. Audi very rarely have any idea about their RS range.

There's always going to be 2 sides to this debate, what appeals to one person will not always appeal to others.

At the end of the day you cant please 100% of the people 100% of the time, personally based on experience and also 10+ years of motor trade experience working for dealers a specialised performance car id like a specialist to maintain, although on the same note age also plays a part in this, should i have a 2014 B8 RS4 rather than a 2006 B7 RS4 the Stealer would still present a stronger proposition for servicing etc.

At the end of the day does a full compliment of Audi stamps looks good and aid re-sale, of course! however that now opens up an entirely new debate on whether you bought the car as a car to drive and enjoy or whether your looking to be conscious all the time during your ownership not of it being yours but of the person who will be owning it next......

I totally agree mate. I suppose there is an element of when i want to move on and the car being more desirable. However, maybe i am being to conscious of the next owner rather than enjoying the car.

Every time i take her out i realise how great the car is and how much i would miss it if i sold up.

Thanks for all your thoughts

[PetrolDave]

Me personally, I'd rather see Unit20 or MRC history over Audi. Audi very rarely have any idea about their RS range.

+1

Neither of my local Audi dealers have a clue about RS models, for me the final straw was when they kept referring to my A4.

I would far rather see a service stamp from a good indie than a bad Audi dealer. For me FASH could suggest an owner who has just taken the "no brain" option rather than the best option based on quality of servicing and vehicle knowledge.

If I had to choose between a car with FASH and a car with mixed dealer/indie servicing then I would Google both the Audi dealers and the indies to see what feedback they get, and if there are several from dodgy dealers but the indes get good reviews then I would choose the car with mixed dealer/indie servicing every time.

[irishmike]

I do like the fully stamped book from Audi, but £347 for an oil change is daylight robbery.

I just got mine done on the Audi Fixed Price service for €249/ £190.

[geordie jay]

I understand what everyone is saying about taking car somewhere else and i agree in a way...for something that needs replacing or fixed mrc or unit 20 are top choice..for me in newcastle it was revolution...but the problem of getting it serviced some where else rather than audi is if you take it to audi coz theres a big problem(lets say drc issues)8 times out of 10 they will fix it for nothing because they can see in your service book that you been loyal to them over the years....when i had my rs4 all the drc pipes needed replacing due to corrosion and my local audi did this free of charge coz they knew i took it to them on every service...im not saying every dealer is like that coz there is some bad ones out there but for me when the car needed servicing that stamp is like like gold....and also its the first thing a new buyer will look at and will also make you that extra money on sale of car....just remember not everyone has heard of mrc or unit 20 so means sod all to new buyer if he that ignorant..

[PetrolDave]

if you take it to audi coz theres a big problem(lets say drc issues)8 times out of 10 they will fix it for nothing because they can see in your service book that you been loyal to them over the years.

On a 10 year old car most Audi dealers, and from my experience all of those in the supposedly affluent South, won't make any attempt to offer a contribution let alone pay the full cost even with FASH.

So for mamy owners FASH is an expensive luxury that doesn't come with any benefit until you come to sell to an Audi novice who doesn't know why many Audi dealers are known as stealers.

Having said that I understand why some people look for FASH.

[chunky79]

When bought my first Audi, all I looked for was FASH, that was before I car on here. Since then, trying all the local Stealers to me (wolvo, halesowen and Stafford) , and reading on here about most the stealers, I wouldn't waste my time or money at them again.
I think an enthusiast who's an Audi forum member would prefer seeing one of the top specialists stamps, but the general Joe blogs who's not on a forum would rather FASH cause they wouldn't know who bad Audi's servicing network is.
I hear what your saying ref the free repairs Jay, but you obviously don't have confidence in audi for most of the work either. Do you trust that Audi pick up all the issues during a service like a specialist would? I know for sure that Audi by me wouldn't have a clue.

[Tacko]

I think the more i read in to it the more i am edging towards the likes of MRC. However, if they are just as expensive as Audi in regards to an Oil change then it makes sense to keep hold of the FASH. Need to make the call this week.