Maintain SEAT history or move independant?

Hi all,

My Leon FR has a full seat service history with 4 seat stamps in the book! These came in very useful when my pressure sensor failed the other week.

As I'm due another in December, what do I do? Shall I carry with Seat history or move onto a VAG specalist such as Volksmaster or Awesome.

I can't see me needing the Seat history for anymore breakdowns

Luke
 

predo

Newbie
Dec 26, 2005
421
0
Edinburgh
I'd say for the sake of being able to put FSSH in your advert when you sell it, its worth it.

Also if something major goes wrong you could at least hope that Seat might pick up some of the cost even outwith warranty, if you go independent nae chance.
 
Nov 28, 2006
742
0
I normally maintain a SEAT service history until it's out of warrant. I know you don't have to but I'd rather not have SEAT trying to get our of a warranty claim. After the warranty I go independent as I'm not far from Awesome GTi.
 

Riggz1

Guest
I second what Predominant said, with main dealer history they are more likely to help.
 
Nov 28, 2006
742
0
Surely if you had it serviced to manufacturers spec and parts then they shouldn't be able to argue?

You're right, this is the case. In my experience you can prove that the parts are genuine but very hard to prove your mechanic was up to the grade if they start to argue.

The last few times I've had my car serviced at a SEAT dealer I've got them to price match the independent price. It's a no brainer then.
 

FR_Flavoured

Guest
Surely if you had it serviced to manufacturers spec and parts then they shouldn't be able to argue?

You say this, but its funny how people can get turned off, flicking through the Service Book, SEAT, SEAT, SEAT... non-seat, non-seat....
It can make a potential buyer a little uneasy. They dont know the garage or how great it may be (even if you know yourself the place was as good as SEAT, or perhaps better).

Plus 2 very similar cars - Model, Specs, mileage - but one is stamped with FSSH, the other, starts as SEAT then onto an independent garage... which will the potential buyer go for? ... You get the idea! :D

Do see your point, but when it comes to dropping ££,£££'s on the table on a new car, most would go with the one with full Manufacturer service history.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

mahne

Active Member
Aug 13, 2011
64
0
As far as re-sale value after a 'certain (undefinable) age' I think it matters more that a car has got a full service history, than it has a full Seat service history.
As a garage we went through a spate where cars of a certain, non-seat, variety which had been main dealer serviced, were coming in with problems with the brake calipers seizing - the problem was when the dealership had serviced the cars they had not stripped, cleaned and greased the calipers. They may or may not have charged for it - I don't know, but they had not done it, hence the caliper seized. Problem is it is quicker (AKA cheaper) not to strip the brakes. So for that type of car was it worth having main dealer service at main dealer prices?
 

FR_Flavoured

Guest
As far as re-sale value after a 'certain (undefinable) age' I think it matters more that a car has got a full service history, than it has a full Seat service history.
As a garage we went through a spate where cars of a certain, non-seat, variety which had been main dealer serviced, were coming in with problems with the brake calipers seizing - the problem was when the dealership had serviced the cars they had not stripped, cleaned and greased the calipers. They may or may not have charged for it - I don't know, but they had not done it, hence the caliper seized. Problem is it is quicker (AKA cheaper) not to strip the brakes. So for that type of car was it worth having main dealer service at main dealer prices?

Thats surprising, as usual it would be the dealer, who'd find a reason to charge a couple more hours labour :rolleyes: , rather than avoid doing part of a job that then goes on to fail later (sounds like an isolated issue with 1 particular dealer tbh)?
 

jumpinjackflash

Active Member
Sep 13, 2007
18
0
Until my last car I always had my car serviced at the main dealer while in warranty and have had mixed experiences when it comes to making a claim either in or out of warranty.

With my last car, I used a local independent garage that me and my family have used for some years and completely trust the mechanic to do a great job at a great price. Then the turbo failed...

I went to the main dealer, paid for a diagnostic check for them to confirm what I already knew. I called SEAT UK who requested a "goodwill request" from the dealer to get all of the information available and ended up with SEAT paying 100% of all parts required if I paid the labour.

At this point the car was almost 12 months out of warranty.

Maybe I was lucky, but I was certainly grateful for SEAT UK and the dealer in this instance.
 

SeatDanny

Developing SEAT owner!
Oct 29, 2009
125
0
Northern Ireland, Belfast
Yeah you could maintain FSSH history but it aint crucial, I did while it was in warranty and once after that. Now i have a Volkswagon Mastertech do my work in his spare time. For comparison Seat 40k service £230, i paid £130 for the same work!

So pretty much its up to whether:
1- you trust the dealer not to sail up the river with high prices for little work
2- you really want FSSH when it comes time to sell
3- you believe FSSH will save on possible repairs

My advice
- save your cash, dealers do over priced work with inexperienced young techs (eg painting to adjust cambelts rather than the proper pin method)
- If your going to use an independant mechanic use a VAG experienced tech
- Know what parts are worth (eg after inspection seat stealer quoted me £190 for a wheel bearing when i said i thought i could hear it going, true cost £80, turned out i actually didn't need it!)
- therefore money saved with independants that if something does go wrong you've covered the price of repair

All the best!
 

xander_leon

Active Member
Jul 21, 2011
121
0
bedford
I'm going to use a vw dealer where I got the car from surely seat cant complain at a vag group dealer doing it ? I got a good deal where I only pay £15 a month and they will follow the service plan set out by seat
 

AndrewJB

Friend to SEAT UK & Cupra Racing
Aug 16, 2007
11,211
484
Maranello
My car has been serviced by AwesomeGTI since new, When they stamp the book they use an AwesomeGTI stamp that contains the Seat,VW,Skoda and Audi logos on it so when looking at the book people will see the SEAT Stamp and think full SEAT History
 

Mad Jock

Learner
Jan 25, 2010
39
0
Bathgate, West Lothian
The only reason my wife and I are going to use a SEAT stealer service is due to the ongoing 2.0 TDi injector problem and I don't want SEAT to come up with any lame excuses for not repairing our cars if the worst happens. It's shame really as I have a good local garage that charges good prices and does an excellent job.


Cheers.......Mad Jock
 

AndrewJB

Friend to SEAT UK & Cupra Racing
Aug 16, 2007
11,211
484
Maranello
The only reason my wife and I are going to use a SEAT stealer service is due to the ongoing 2.0 TDi injector problem and I don't want SEAT to come up with any lame excuses for not repairing our cars if the worst happens. It's shame really as I have a good local garage that charges good prices and does an excellent job.


Cheers.......Mad Jock

SEAT UK have already admitted that full SEAT service history is not needed in the ongoing PD170 Injector problems

aslong as its been serviced to interval and has used genuine parts
 

Mad Jock

Learner
Jan 25, 2010
39
0
Bathgate, West Lothian
Cheers Andrew, handy to know as my wifes car is due it's 4yr service this month and that includes the cambelt. Best price from SEAT so far is £681 all in but that also includes waterpump and a courtesy car. Might just have to phone my local guy up and see what he can do.


Cheers........Mad Jock
 

/dev/null

Active Member
Nov 12, 2008
1,649
101
If it's within warranty then you are probably ok for claims, but when it comes to getting a goodwill claim outside of warranty then you might stuggle. Why should SEAT pay what they don't have to when you haven't been loyal to the brand?
 
Opted to go to AwesomeGTI, with myself supplying the parts to the correct spec levels.

Way I think of it is that the car has had the 2 major faults covered by Seat Warranty/Goodwill so I'm happy to move over to a VAG specalist now.
 
Nimbus hosting - Based solely in the UK.