MAINTENANCE PLAN VS SERVICE PLAN

[pikkewyn]

Hi Guys

I have been advised by my dealer that I will be getting my roc within two weeks and I need to make a decision on whether I am going with the add-on 'maintenance plan' or just keep with the VW standard service plan.

I am not sure how the plans work in the UK but in South Africa we get a standard VW 5 year / 90 000 km service plan. As the name implies it covers services only.

If we pay an extra R10 300 (+-GBP900) we get an maintenance plan that covers everything that might go wrong, except tyres, for 5 years. My query is that it seems I will only get any benefit out of the maintenance plan in years 4 and 5 because the warrantee covers everything for the first 3 year anyway.

Am I missing something? Is it worth it?

I would really appreciate some comments from everyone, and particularly the South Afircan roc owners who have done some homework at the time of purchase.

Thanks and regards
Phil

[jammyd]

I think it would depend what they class as service,

In the UK it is split in to Parts and Labour, so might be worth asking. also some things are consumables such as spark plugs etc, in UK you get charged for these, not sure what happens over your part of the world.

I think you could call it insurance...

[nicknotts]

I'm in the same quandry..... I've had SMT, Service, Maint. and Tyres on my past 3 VWs, and have always enjoyed having that there instead of big bills (I know, I know, VWs are reliable etc, but for me its more peace of mind and fully covered than cost). But for my Roco they have thrown in the £250 servicing plan for free even though I am going on HP this time. So do I add the MT part of it...?

I would really recommend the SMT as my 2.0T Jetta had 4 new tyres and 2 services in the 18 months I had it, and the SMT paid for it all with no outlay from me.

So need to decide, do you want peace of mind for all possible bills over the 3 years with servicing or are you ok with replacing tyres/wear and tear parts at your own cost?

[pikkewyn]

Thanks jammyd and nicknotts for the responses, I have really enjoyed having very comprehensive maintenance plans on my last two cars (BMW and Audi) and therefore will no doubt take the full maintenance plan in fear that I will be sorry!

It still seems to me that I will only really get the full benefit of the maintenance plan in years 4 and 5 when the 36 month warrantee has expired, and something like the AC might pack up. I fully agree with jammyd, its insurance at the end of the day!!

ATB Phil

[The_Roc]

Hi Pikkewyn

Im from SA as well and have confirmed with dealers that the service plan only covers labour and not wear and tear items, whereas the mnt/plan covers everything except tyres as you mentioned above. What's my concern is that the cost of the maint/plan doubles from R10k (£900) for 0-90 000 Km (55 000 miles) to R20k (£800) for 0 - 120000km (75000 miles). What is so costly bewteen 90-120k km (55-75k miles), belts?, can someone please advise

[pikkewyn]

Thanks The Roc, I had a long chat to a very knowledgeable guy at VWSA last week as i couldn't get the detail I wanted from my dealer in CT. After discussion with him, I feel that the full maintenance plan is probably worth the extra bucks and I am now taking the 90 000km option,which isn't too bad at about R14k VAT inclusive. I reckon it goes up so much after 90 000km because they are pricing their risk at the end of the day. Lets see what others have to say, Regards Phil

[Ashanl]

Hi

I'm also from SA, decided to take the maintenance plan to 120 000km as I do a lot of milage.
I am taking the 1.4 tsi so the price diff between the 90 and 120k is not that great.
A friend at VW informed me that as far as he knows the huge price difference for the 2.0 tsi between 90 and 120k is for the clutch.
which could need replacing around that time so the cost is factored in.

[The_Roc]

So the clutch needs to be changed roughly every 100 000km (62 000 miles). thats worrying especially if you do high mileage.

[Ashanl]

Maybe but i'm no expert, i'm just going on what I been told.
It is however the only thing I can think of that would justify the huge cost difference.

[The_Roc]

Im not either, but i tend to agree with you, as there is not much else that would ramp up the cost that much, myabe someone with some tech background can advise.

[RW1]

There's no scheduled "service" clutch change but what does seem to happen at that service is a few items being changed out in addition which puts up parts and labour costs. Eg. Spark plugs on the 2.0ltr petrol, replacing Brake Fluid and Air filter change.

C.