Service ouch

[lafcadio]

My July 06 V8 Vantage is due its 3rd birthday service.

I've been quoted £961 from Stratstones for what appears to be an oil and air filter change, plus a check up of all systems. This seems, well, a little pricey. So the thousand-pound question is:

Can anyone advise of anywhere else in London that can do the same for less - crucially whilst maintaining the validity of the warranty (i've paid to extend it another year)?

Many thanks for all suggestions.

[Murph7355]

I have yet to hit that milestone (will no doubt be done in a few months), but try HWM (Walton on Thames).

Pretty sure the 2nd service is the lumpy one. My 2k service was pretty much spot 1k at HWM.

[Soul Reaver]

Just use Rick at DMS. http://www.derbymotorservices.com/

[carlgb]

Soul Reaver said:

Just use Rick at DMS. http://www.derbymotorservices.com/

Rick gets my vote too, i make the trip up to derby from london,

[bogie]

thats cheap in London - Ive been quoted nearly £1500 before !

within reach of London/M25 area the cheapest dealer is Grange in Brentwood - I had a couple done there and it was £700-800ish

other than that then you need to go to a specialist like DMS - thats where my car goes now I live up North ...so if you fancy a day out in Derby to save 50% on your service bill then take a drive up the M1

[lafcadio]

Spoke to Rick - really helpful. Assured me there are no warranty issues with Aston! So looks like I'm off to Derby.

[superlightr]

so if you can get it done for half the AM figure - have a flutter with the money saved and you may even make some

[dafydd2008]

Done the same from London to Derby and used Rick.
Saved money had a nice drive up there and a good blast home!
Can not fault him

[magarnett]

Just had my second service which started at a price of £950 but with negotiation reduced to £750.

Ring Richard at JCT600 in Leeds.

Mark

[DSLiverpool]

dafydd2008 said:

Done the same from London to Derby and used Rick.
Saved money had a nice drive up there and a good blast home!
Can not fault him

I intend to do the Derby trip in October what did you do whilst it was being worked on ? is Derby a cultural nirvana or did you toll around Ricks place for a few hours ?

[Dan1heMan]

DSLiverpool said:

dafydd2008 said:

Done the same from London to Derby and used Rick.
Saved money had a nice drive up there and a good blast home!
Can not fault him

I intend to do the Derby trip in October what did you do whilst it was being worked on ? is Derby a cultural nirvana or did you toll around Ricks place for a few hours ?

Derby is quite a good place to explore, Definetely better than most citys ive been round. Also just to add my 2 pence worth i just had my 4 year service and MOT done on my DB9 at Rick's place and it was £700 all in. He did a great job and will Definetely have my custom next year.

[michael gould]

you can reduce your bill a little by suppling your own oil and telling them that there's nothing wrong with your windscreen wipers, dont bother to fill up the washer fluid bottle ( £5.90 +vat)and get a quote to start with. I tell Stats in Wilmslow that I dont play football for a living that seems to keep the bill down a little.

[bogie]

also watch out at dealers for the "tyre check - 1 hour" ...for them to tell you how many mm you have left, and report back "new" when theyve just put 2 new rears on ...yes, that was £115+vat for someone to tell me theyve put new tyres on ...needless to say, i didnt go to that dealers again !

[dafydd2008]

DSLiverpool said:

dafydd2008 said:

Done the same from London to Derby and used Rick.
Saved money had a nice drive up there and a good blast home!
Can not fault him

I intend to do the Derby trip in October what did you do whilst it was being worked on ? is Derby a cultural nirvana or did you toll around Ricks place for a few hours ?

Personally i went into central Derby and sat in Starbucks for a few hours doing some work on the laptop.
There is a massive 'Westfield' there so loads of shopping etc to bide your time!

[labrit]

Just having mine done today by Stratstone - just under 1k.

[michael gould]

If a dealer attempted to charge me £115 +VAT to check my tyres I would have told them to shove the bill where the sun don't shine......in fact I would help them shove it there

[bogie]

michael gould said:

If a dealer attempted to charge me £115 +VAT to check my tyres I would have told them to shove the bill where the sun don't shine......in fact I would help them shove it there

me too...I was in a rush on the way to work, just looked at the final amount which was ballpark what I had been quoted, it was the first time Id had a service on it, ...only later did I bother to go through it....I didnt go back there needless to say

[Murph7355]

bogie said:

michael gould said:

...I didnt go back there needless to say

I would have. And would have left with the money back in my account!

[bogie]

Murph7355 said:

bogie said:

michael gould said:

...I didnt go back there needless to say

I would have. And would have left with the money back in my account!

well it was the same large chain of dealers starting with an "S" mentioned above

...after that I always found Grange in Brentwood, excellent, and well priced for a dealer...nothing too much trouble for them and occasionally things done/fixed not charged for

[oilman151]

I'm off to Ricks in Derby this month.

I don't know what it is about main dealers and services, but I always feel fleeced after coming out from them. Very polite but it's like you've been raped.
"That will be 725 pounds, sir. Thank you very much. Do call again". And that wasn't for a service, just for 3 hours labour and two brake wiring harnesses!

Rick has quoted me a fixed cost for the service, (incl VAT) and I'm going to have cruise control fitted and some new key fobs programmed.
Hopefully all done in the same day!

Edited by oilman151 on Saturday 4th July 21:30