S3 19k (ish) Inspection

[Steelster]

So at about 18k miles a message appeared on the dash of my car saying "Inspection due in 1,000 miles".

Phoned my local audi to ask what this was for and they were very vague. Rang back again today because after looking at these forums in some older threads a few people pointed out that since I've got almost £45k of car, I should probably listen to Audi and get it inspected when appropriate.

So when trying to book in today I was re-directed to a call centre, not my local service department. The guy on the phone was trying to up-sell me all sorts of stuff, and quoted me £190 for the inspection. When I asked what exactly I'd be getting for this money he couldn't answer and asked if I would like to speak to someone with more technical knowledge...... yes please.

After being on hold for a while again, I was connected with my local dealers service department. So I asked what was involved. Basically.... not a lot from the sounds of it. Since my oil was changed with my service in April, that wasn't needed. Also no filters are being swapped or anything. She then offered me a charge of £130. I said that I still wasn't sure what exactly this £130 would be getting me, apart from a look around the car which I could do myself. Very quickly offered a rate of £90 but this was the best they could do.

The cost isn't the issue here, I wanted to know what is involved.

Anyone have any idea?? Is it something I definitely need??!

I'm booked in anyway , like I said previously with such an expensive car it would be foolish to overlook things like this. I just feel like maybe my customer service experience has left me feeling bitter about booking it in.

 

[PHutch33]

I've got the same thing, albeit mine says in x days rather than x miles.

A few other threads on this forum suggest the inspection service isn't just a walk around the car and a tick box exercise:

https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/difference-between-service-inspection.267322/

I believe it's oil and filters that are changed.

 

[RichardT]

How many miles do you do? If under 10K per annum you should be on fixed annual servicing. Then you at least get whatever is needed done together annually.
However I do agree that the “inspection service” is a bit vague. I had a service last month which was oil change and “complimentary inspection”. But I don’t think that is the same as the inspection service. It was just a tick sheet - tyres, levels etc.

 

[PHutch33]

I've just called Audi again to get to the bottom of this. Given my oil was changed around 11 months ago and i've only done around 6k miles since then, that would not need to be done as part of the service. All the inspection service would entail is a thorough walk round the car, checking levels of fluids etc and reporting back - no filters changed or anything!

All for the grand total of £234 !

 

[RichardT]

Well that does sound like the “complimentary inspection” that I had with my £180 oil change last month.!

 

[alpesh26]

It's checks which you can do at home. The only thing you cant really do easily at home is checking for play in the suspension and steering components. I hightly doubt they will change any oil or fluids especially if they're offering it you for £90, which is about 1 hours labour at Audi

 

[Mylee]

My S3 is four years old now but only on 15k (1 year in my possession) and I've decided to dump Audi for servicing. I have receipts for yearly servicing from the previous owner, although the content is vague. I'm opting for a local indie and after chatting to them, confident that I'll get what I want.
Only downside is my local Audi dealer has a well fit bird on the service desk

 

[oli356]

What mileage and age was the car back in April? When it had the oil change done.

The inspection does just seem to be just that though. Having a look everywhere, touching a few things etc...

 

[Chris4410]

I, much like yourself couldn’t work out the cost of this “inspection” service. For me it’s a money generating exercise, what is covered could easily be included during the normal service. All that seem to be be included in mine that wasn’t just a general check around the car was the topping up of the power steering fluid.

Having own a number of BMWs they have oil and inspection services, however these are how they define a minor and major service and you can clearly see how they differ from each other, however this not the case with Audi.

 

[Steelster]

What mileage and age was the car back in April? When it had the oil change done.

The inspection does just seem to be just that though. Having a look everywhere, touching a few things etc...

1 year old and around 12k miles when it had the oil change.

Obviously with it being an expensive piece of kit I'm "happy" to have it checked over if they say it is necessary to make sure all is in good order, I was just a bit annoyed that no one wanted to tell me what was really involved and when I suggested that it might be a waste of my money as I could do many of these checks myself they got extremely defensive almost to a point of rudeness.

Thanks for all the replies everyone