Just a further question on this if you don't mind with something that cropped up today. A suitable Yeti was found this week and the car was due to be collected tomorrow but the (non Skoda) dealer called this afternoon to say that the service history of the vehicle is unclear, without necessarily an issue.

The car was registered in October 2015 and has now completed only 7k miles. Skoda, like VW, have either fixed interval (1 year or 10k miles) or long life (when the car decides) services and I am still unclear about which servicing regime the car is on as yet - this will be clarified tomorrow. If it's long life then it's entirely feasible that, with the mileage, the first is just not due and everything is fine.

If, however, it's on fixed interval it means that the first service in October 2016 was missed and he is unsure as to whether to go ahead or not? As far as I see it there are 2 issues:

1 - The car is highly unlikely to have suffered an issue regardless of the missed service given it's low mileage and it can be serviced straight away then revert to its second service when due in October 2016.

2 - The warranty is the issue though Skoda may agree to give something in writing to say it will be honoured/extended.

What's your advice please? If Skoda are agreeable to honour the warranty do you see a reason not to go ahead or would you walk away anyway? Is there a reason to not go ahead with the car on any mechanical grounds after a missed service?

Thanks for the help.

You've identified the crucial question - which plan has it been on? The point being that if it hasn't been serviced in accordance with the plan, it could void the warranty, which should run until October 2018. And as we all know, there has to be a chance that something will go wrong with the DSG.

The long life plan is designed for high-mileage cars so this is less likely. You don't need us to tell you that if it has missed a service, your friend needs to walk away.

Thanks Avant. I had a brew with him earlier this evening and that was pretty much the conclusion we came to - if it's on long life servicing (and it may have been as it was ex-lease) then he's ok with it but at face value if it's missed a service by so long then it's think again time.

Just one thing we need to consider - if it is on fixed interval servicing and has missed one but Skoda agree to extend the warranty and we were to get the car serviced now would that necessarily be equally as bad a decision?

I have never come across this before so have to make sure it's a head not heart decision.

Thanks again.

You should be able to interogate the onboard computer and find which service regime the car is on along with the miles and time till next service. Im not familiar with the Yeti but they are all much the same. With the ignition on but engine not running you can scrole thruogh a lot of options on the screen between the instuments, one is for service information. The variable service can not be rest by my the owner but the fixed one can.

My car is on the variable service interval and I do a low mileage. Wifes small petrol car is used for the short trips so my diesel has a lot of days not used at all. Dealers dont like it as it cuts their revenue a lot. Many factors determin how long between services but the main ones are, number of cold starts, oil quality as measured by the sensor and hours at very high oil temperratures.

If you need an automatic where are you going to get one more reliable than the wet plate DSG ?

30 years ? I didnt know we were talking about classics. LOL

Yes there are good torque converter atomatices out there no argument, but in a Yeti type vehicle. I cant think of any, maybe Mazda ? More suited to bigger cars in my opinion.