Hi,
Has anyone had any experience of the servicing at One Stop? I'd like to get a basic (10000 mile) service for my Audi Coupe, and thought I'd try One Stop as they are fairly cheap. I could take it to my usual Audi specialist (not a main dealer, an independent garage) but I know he'll charge me about £120 rather than the £80 of One Stop.
For this price, they are offering: Oil and filter change, air filter change, spark plug change (inclusive of parts, labour and VAT).
What's the general opinion here: pay the extra for the specialist, or is One Stop OK??
Comments appreciated!
Cheers,
Stuart
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Stuart,
Are they "bothering" to look at the brakes, steering and suspension etc as well??
David W
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Or you could do it yourself. Four cylinder Coupe is a delight to work on as the engine bay was designed for the bulky 'five'. A quick visit to somewhere like German & Swedish will get you all the bits you need, including genuine VAG oil filter and some good quality semi-synthetic oil for under £30. There are no fuel or ignition adjustments to make (all electronic) so for a basic service, there isn't a lot else you need to do beside checking fluid levels and a visual inspection of brake pads.
Of course, if you are the kind of person who can't fit a 3 pin plug to a toaster without ending up in casualty, or if your tool kit consists of two rusty screwdrivers that came free with flat-pack furniture, you might be better to leave servicing to garages. In which case I'd go for the Audi specialist, since he will be more likely to use genuine oil filter and the correct Bosch plugs, and should hopefully take more care of the vehicle as his market is limited to Audis in your area, and he needs you to tell other Audi owners what a good chap he is. Fast-fit chains use newspaper adverts and eye-catching posters to pull in the punters, and aren't relying so much on repeat business and word of mouth recommendation.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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Hmm, unfortunately, I do kind of fall into this category! I am very skilled at taking things apart, but not at putting them back together again. This, combined with my inherent laziness will probably dictate that I take it to a garage.
I see your point about the specialist, and it would make sense to get genuine parts I guess!
With regards to the question above about other checks, they did say they perform a "thorough check" of the vehicle, so I would hope this would include brakes etc... But you never know!
Any more thoughts?
stuart
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One further point - having spoken to the Audi specialist just now, he has advised me that the 10000 mile service they do (for £80 + VAT) would only be checks on the car, and an oil and filter change. I did have sparks done last year (on my 20000 mile service) but does this sound expensive, or not?
Stuart
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IIRC the VW Group four cylinder motor uses Bosch multi-electrode plugs, which seem to go on for ages. After 18,000 miles the plugs on my Coupe were still in good condition - I changed them anyway because they are not expensive, but I have no doubt they would have done another 6,000 miles with no trouble.
One thing about the Audi specialist - he should know which particular weak spots to check on the Coupe. Provided he is doing a thorough inspection, I guess £80 plus VAT isn't particularly bad value. I wonder how much a franchised Audi dealer would charge?
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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Richard is on the right lines really.
Now we know you don't need plugs this time an oil filter and semi-syn in town will be about £17, an hour of your own time and it's done......but only if you feel happy you can make all the checks OK.
Assuming you don't want to do it yourself keep to the specialist. If you find someone you like and trust never give them up to save the odd £20.
I wouldn't say I'm a specialist but I do tend to see more Citroens/Peugeots/Land Rovers/Discoverys than some other makes and the punter really gains when you get such vehicles in. You know exactly what to look for and can give best advice on future maintenance.
A local "nip-in centre" has just been done by trading standards for only completing about 30% of the service they charged for, some of the missed items were safety related. Their response...."this was a one off and we are looking at our staff training to ensure it doesn't happen again". Back to normal the day after I bet.
In the same week the local paper carried a 1/3rd page add singing their own praises for fixed price services..... not far from the report of their prosecution! Strange.
David W
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OK, I think I'm convinced! I have just spoken to One Stop again about genuine parts. They say I can supply my own parts, but they will still charge me £70 to fit oil, air and fuel filter, and do an oil change. They did mention an 80-point check as well, but I'm not so sure about that!
I must admit, I've been using this Audi Specialist in Sheffield for some time now, and he seems to be pretty good. Done quite a lot of small jobs for free, which is the sort of customer service I admire...
So, thanks for everyone's comments - I think I'll get my Oil and filter change, and checks done at the specialist, and do the air filter myself.
WRT plugs - I just found out (through speaking to the specialist - he recognised my voice and remembered last years service!!) that I had plugs done last year. Only done about 9000 miles, so will leave them...
Thanks again...
Stuart
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Well, I think that little lot and the associated peace of mind is worth the extra isn’t it ?
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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Were you really going to go away from your friendly specialist, who by your own admission has done jobs for free, and take your business to a bunch of blokes who can probably bodge anything and fix nothing and all to save £40? Stay with the man who has done you good and pay a bit extra IMHO!
If you think motoring is expensive don't try divorce!
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"I must admit, I've been using this Audi Specialist in Sheffield for some time now, and he seems to be pretty good. Done quite a lot of small jobs for free, which is the sort of customer service I admire...", "he recognised my voice and remembered last years service"
Sorry, but I can't believe you even considered going elsewhere for the sake of a few quid.
Chris
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