Service costs.

Obanboy666

Obanboy666

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My Swift motorhome based on a Fiat Ducato has a 2 year service schedule according to my handbook and the Fiat website.
I have always as a minimum changed the oil and filter yearly on every vehicle i have owned so have decided to have a oil change / interum service carried out Nov when my motorhome is 1 year old.
Have a commercial dealer nearby who services motorhomes and have been quoted £250.00 + vat for an interum service ! This would involve an oil & filter change and a general 'health' report.
Tried another dealer who quoted £200.00 + vat.
I appreciate synthetic oil is expensive but these charges seem way over the top in my opinion.
Are there any members who have had an oil / interum service carried out on a Fiat based vehicle ? I would be very interested in what they were charged.
 
Find yourself a small independent garage. I doubt it would even need to be commercial.
 
I have just paid my local garage £113.00 for oil change, oil filter AND MOT. As far as I am aware any VAT registered business can carry out service provided genuine Fiat parts are used. VAT registration is to suggest it is a formal business and not just a mate round the corner although to read various post about large MH dealers, one wonders who the cowboys are.:rolleyes2:
 
It would be interesting to get quotes without mentioning its a MH - just a van.
 
Why bother? The synthetic oil in your engine is designed to go for the length of time ie 2 years in this case. Plus, motorhomes generally go on long runs so give the oil an easy time. I'd spend the money saved on treating it to a Waxoyl underneath. I'm, willing to bet the chassis etc will give you problems long before the engine does.

You'll find that local garages may not be keen on a motorhome as it may not go into the bay (unlike normal vans).

Keith
 
I change the oil and filter at about 8,000mls on my Transit, I use a suction pipe thing so I don't have to undo the engine protection plate climbing about under the van, as long as the oil is warm works fine. As I run on Bio that I produce I change the fuel filter every 2,000mls or if the van starts to get less responsive, this of course gives me plenty of opportunity to see if anything else that needs attention.
Always a good idea to know where all the fuses are and have a good idea what should be where. :idea::camper:
 
Have been searching the web for local Commercial servicing and came across a nation wide company that featured on Dragons Den.
Put reg in and it came up the correct vehicle so to confirm i have emailed them regarding it being a motorhome, awaiting a response.
They collect your vehicle and an interum service is £130.00 inclusive of vat using genuine parts.
A lot better than £250.00 + vat !
 
you can change the oil yourself and get the van checked over by anybody realy at any time ,as long as the manufacturers service times and mileages are kept up with at a vat registered garage and stamped with an official stamp .but i doubt whether your van will need it , modern vehicles are designed to run further between services now than they did even ten years ago , and modern oils are longer lived than there old counterparts . and one other thing .service costs seem high nowadays ,but when you look at the number of times a vehicle needs servicing in its life the costs seem to come into line . half as much servicing time a least to what they used to require .
 
i wonder how many garages even main dealers would reveal which oil they use , many of us ,not me may i say, like a certain oil .many prefer the most expensive because they mistakenly believe its the best . garages in my experience use the cheapest oil they can buy in bulk , you may get an independent small garage to use your oil you provide i suppose .but i doubt they would be chuffed about it really. my cars get cheapo supermarket oil when they need it and not as a treat if there lucky and i have never had an engine failure in all my years, probably because they have rotted away under me first
 
As Mandrake says service intervals over the years have extended. It is worthwhile considering that the Ducato and its PSA siblings are essentially commercial vehicles there main target audience are commercial users and not really the motorhome conversion market. With this in mind any company worth its salt considers overall life costs Purchase, disposal and servicing therefore if servicing can be reduced it helps sell vehicles.

Interesting a comment made on the Brownhills thread re they perhaps understand now the importance of a vehicle being off the road. I personally would have the vehicle serviced with a commercial dealer for that very reason. In a previous life I worked for Volvo Truck and Bus and part of our franchise arrangement was overnight servicing to the haulage boys. The whole set up made the retail service departments look amateur.

The lubrication properties and viscosity of oils has improved no doubt, however part of me has always been sceptical that cars and vans service intervals have been extended beyond what is reasonable The selling points taking preference over sensible mechanical care and precaution.

Channa
 
Synthetic oil is now so good that it is even a bad idea to "run in" rebuilt engines in with it. You need a controlled wear to get the right clearance. Thus advice is often to run the first 1000 or so miles with mineral oil then switch to synthetic thereafter. Of course, modern engines are built to such tight tolerances that running in is effectively no longer needed.

Keith
 
I gave my 2014 Auto Sleeper Broadway an oil and filter change yesterday less than an hour's work. I used the manufactures recommended oil, Total Quartz 5w-30 fully synthetic, £47-50 for10 litres of oil, and a decent Mann oil filter £11-20. All off Ebay.

So for a total of £39-50 I did my own oil and filter change, now I'm retired it's better in my pocket than their's. When the warranty is up I will from now on do my own and also my car.

John.
 
shortcircuit said:
I have just paid my local garage £113.00 for oil change, oil filter AND MOT. As far as I am aware any VAT registered business can carry out service provided genuine Fiat parts are used. VAT registration is to suggest it is a formal business and not just a mate round the corner although to read various post about large MH dealers, one wonders who the cowboys are.:rolleyes2:
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Getting ready for the off are we Hamish.

John.
 
artheytrate said:
I gave my 2014 Auto Sleeper Broadway an oil and filter change yesterday less than an hour's work. I used the manufactures recommended oil, Total Quartz 5w-30 fully synthetic, £47-50 for10 litres of oil, and a decent Mann oil filter £11-20. All off Ebay.

So for a total of £39-50 I did my own oil and filter change, now I'm retired it's better in my pocket than their's. When the warranty is up I will from now on do my own and also my car.

John.
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yes i do all my own work .i have even sent off for an obd11 reader program fordiag its called that goes in my computer and a Bluetooth connecter to fit in the cars obd11 port . so as i can monitor the cars performance whilst driving via s smart phone app and read any fault codes it may kick up at anytime saves money and gives you access to the cars ecu . it also reprograms the injectors according to form something a garage charges megga bucks to do .
 
mandrake said:
yes i do all my own work .i have even sent off for an obd11 reader program fordiag its called that goes in my computer and a Bluetooth connecter to fit in the cars obd11 port . so as i can monitor the cars performance whilst driving via s smart phone app and read any fault codes it may kick up at anytime saves money and gives you access to the cars ecu . it also reprograms the injectors according to form something a garage charges megga bucks to do .
Click to expand...

Do not get overexcited about the OBD reader. After third attempt gave up as although the bluetooth unit appeared to connect, no information was provided. Still have unit as supplier did not want hassle of returning but gave me a full credit. May potter about once I have time.
Other two were hard wired into socket although first appeared to work on Fiat gave no info but did say and allow resetting of faults. Worked ok on old Peugeot but second did not work on either.

Worth a try though as you never know your luck
 
Obd readers are notorious even in garages for not wanting to communicate. I have a small problem with the Honda occasionally and sometimes frequently wont run over 3000 rpm ....it could be several things but a OBD reader would be useful if only clearing fault lights for MOT...I have issues with the Fiat too, so perhaps worth a try. I have seen them on ebay in the US for £30 that work through an iphone

Channa
 
This has been an interesting thread I personally change my car oil yearly as recommended ,but i can do it myself cheaply. my citrone motorhome. Has a 10 thousands miles or 12 months service interval. I do 5000 miles year, other makes have 20000 or 2 years, if mine was 2 years I would still change the oil yearly. If I had to pay to have it done I would stick to manufacturers recommendations ,I am old school that believed in regular oil changes. But i fully accept that it is now not as necessary .no engine was ever harmed by regular oil changes so to me it is personal choice .so both calls are right,,My dealer also asks if I would like my engine flushed out before filling with new oil which I decline, not at 5000 miles .
 
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