Me again,

I've ordered a 500S with the service pack, but what I want to know is, is it actually worth it?
How much approx is a service for the 500 etc?

Nope, not worth it at what you'll have paid.

I managed to get it for £299.....

Depends what it actually includes though.

306maxi said:

Depends what it actually includes though.

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:yeh that:

If it covers three years servicing suppose it's ok but many have so many get outs and loopholes its unreal one dealership offered me a mot guarantee for "x" a month when pushed I laughed at him. It didn't cover tyres it didn't cover brakes it didn't cover exhausts for example Same for the service plan they wanted it every 11k miles where the interval is every 18 and didn't meet fiat spec

306maxi said:

Nope, not worth it at what you'll have paid.

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Got a crystal ball have we Maxi?

Well I don't think it sounds too bad. Even if it only covered three oil/filter services, that's still £100 a service. Is that really all that outrageous for a main dealer service? Not really IMO, there's certainly a few on here who have paid waaaaaay more than that for their first service....

If you follow the schedule, it would have to include brake fluid and spark plugs by the end of year two, and probably the pollen filter as well (can't remember off the top of my head!) so it might not be all that bad at all?

Anyway, the key point as said before is what the service plan covers. So Notfer, it's over to you!

No service plan will ever cover brakes.

This is what it includes

Over what term and how often.

306maxi said:

No service plan will ever cover brakes.

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No I was refereeing to the mot insurance plan they offered me sounded great "if ever your car fails its mot we will sort it" lol

Notfer said:

This is what it includesView attachment 122681

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Does nowhere strip clean and grease moving brake parts anymore :thumbdown:

Also it just looks like a generic service list. You can't adjust a hydraulic clutch there's no pas fluid bottle for example, and no where does it mention brake fluid change which should be done every 2 years

£299 by itself doesn't sound a bad figure. However, if it covers a car for 3 years then since the 500 is on 2 year/18,000 mile intervals that'll basically be one service, unless you do under 9000? a year in which case it gets an annual service, which the service plan might or might not cover.

My biggest problem is that it's with Hartwell. Having family who've bought several Vauxhalls & Fords from some of their other dealerships, I'm of the opinion that you'd be better off taking the 500 to one of your other local dealers (like Windsors of Heswall or Forward Autos, St Helens) if you want to maximise your chances of being completely satisfied.

Hartwell are good for getting a decent deal when buying a car if you haggle as they're a big group & seem to be able to knock money off easier than the smaller dealers, but for service I'd be surprised if you end up completely satisfied with them.

Andy, was referring to Super Uwe's post

I had a 3yr service plan on a 500 and in hindsight it was a waste of money and tied us to one particular garage.

We only ended up getting 2 services because we part - exchanged the car a few months early. Quite annoying.

Be extremely wary of any service plan which includes the words "inspect and advise".

Anything they can find to do (brake pads, tyres, whatever) will be charged to the customer as an extra - usually at a premium rate.

This is exactly the same trick as the likes of Kwik-Fit use with their "free" inspections, and those garages offering "half price MOT's".

Basically they're prepared to offer a "loss leader" in the expectation of picking up additional profitable work.

Thanks for all of the advice. Before I cancel the plan, how much is the first and second service?
My fords first was £80 and second was £180ish I think

Find put what it actually includes and the t's and c's first

Hi Notfer,

Thanks for posting the photo of the Hartwell's service plan.

It's a shame that it's only over 2 years, but to be honest £299 might still be an alright price. A lot will depend on how many miles you are going to be covering as well though.

If you do decide to go ahead with it, what is absolutely crucial though is that you get two services out of it. A low mileage oil and filter change in a 1.2 500 is probably around the £100-£120 mark from a main dealer, whereas a proper 18k one (oil, filters and spark plugs) is around £150 to £170. This can of course vary from dealer to dealer. So you can see it is 100% in your interests to get as much done as possible...

Maxi is right about finding out exactly what is covered - what I would recommend is that you email them and ask them to confirm in writing what they will be doing and is it in line with the FIAT servicing schedule in the handbook. The document they sent you has no relevance whatsoever to a FIAT really; it just shows a whole load of checks which may or may not satisfy the warranty (chances are they probably will, but that's not the point of course!).

Also - have a good look through the 500 section in the service book before you contact them and compare it to the document they sent you. Then you will have all the info you need to question them.

If you aren't happy with what they tell you, then by all means go ahead and cancel.

Good luck with it all.

You can get a full fat service done for 130 pounds or so.

299 isn't the worst price I've seen, but it's not the worst either.

306maxi said:

You can get a full fat service done for 130 pounds or so.

299 isn't the worst price I've seen, but it's not the worst either.

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When you say "full fat", which one are you referring to? Do you mean the full 18k one or the full 36k one?