×

Win your car finance with CarFinance 247


If you win, we'll pay off the finance on your car. It's that simple! Your car becomes completely yours, free and clear.

This amazing offer is open to anyone who has secured car finance with us throughout 2023, including Decemeber 2023!

This means that there's still time to enter, get your finance in December, and you're automatically in!

The lucky winner will be announced the week beginning 5th February 2024 on our instagram page.

Terms and Conditions apply.

Money matters: should drivers take out a servicing plan for their car?

Few drivers look forward to the moment they have to take their car to the garage and have it serviced. Why? Because of the dreaded moment they are presented with the bill. Even a relatively straightforward servicing job, like having the engine oil changed, can cost more than £100. But if there’s an unexpected problem discovered during the service, drivers can find the bill rises faster than steam from an overheating engine.

Written by James Mills
Written by James Mills
Main image

To help drivers spread the cost, increasing numbers of car makers and independent garages are offering servicing plans to drivers.

With new cars, these plans can be paid for upfront, often included as part of any finance deal taken out to buy the car. With used cars, the cost may also be factored into a finance deal or bought later and spread on a monthly basis, rather like paying rent or the mortgage each month.

The obvious question on every driver’s lips is which offers better value for money? We look at some of the more popular servicing plans and compare them to pay-as-you-go servicing.

 

Car servicing: the pros and cons of pay-as-you-go

Most of us may be used to paying for a phone or even a car on a monthly basis. But there’s still plenty to recommend pay-as-you-go for a car’s annual or bi-annual service.

For starters, if you have an excellent local garage that charges highly competitive labour rates, the annual cost of having a car serviced by them is likely to be substantially more affordable than having it maintained through a service plan at a swish franchised dealer.

It also gives consumers the freedom to shop around. That’s a good thing, should you have a bad experience with one garage.

Whereas, for example, if you take out a service plan and subsequently have a bad experience with one Volkswagen dealer, you’re obliged to use another Volkswagen dealer. And that could be inconvenient, given there are unlikely to be two in your local area.

However, taking the pay-as-you-go approach means you aren’t protected against possible future rises in the cost of labour and parts. And if drivers don’t set aside money to cover the cost of a service, they must be prepared to settle a substantial bill.

 

image of cars undergoing a service

 

Carmakers’ servicing plans for used cars

If our cost comparisons are a good indicator, drivers of used cars (the majority, as the average age of cars in Britain is nearly eight-years-old) must do their homework carefully before signing up to a car servicing plan.

An affordable small car, like the popular Volkswagen Polo, is available with a service plan from VW. It’s for models aged between one and eight-years-old, and covers one minor and one major service for two years. It costs £467.82 or 18 monthly payments of £25.99. For the same intermediate and major services, Halfords could knock that down to £304. And at the time of writing, Kwik Fit would charge £248.

Audi offers a more competitive service plan for its models. A five-year-old Audi A3 2.0 TDI can be serviced by Audi dealers for the next two years at a cost of £360 (or 18 monthly payments of £20). That’s a competitive rate that compares favourably with local garages.

We also tried Volvo’s best-selling family car, the XC60. A 2013 D4 diesel that’s covered 35,000 miles and is expected to drive 8000 miles a year is quoted as costing £1251. That can be paid on an interest-free, monthly basis, but it’s still a big expense that could be comfortably bettered by shopping around at the time of each service

 

Car serving plans can’t be transferred to another car

It’s important that drivers are aware that servicing plans can’t be transferred to another car. Instead, they remain with the vehicle, which means the next owner can benefit from them – at the seller’s expense. The same applies if you trade-in the car for a new model.

 

Car servicing: use price comparison sites to get servicing quotes

On the evidence of our price comparisons, used car drivers would be better off sticking with traditional, pay-as-you-go servicing. To find rated garages and get quotes for servicing, call around or try the new breed of price comparison sites. Whocanfixmycar.com, bookmygarage.com and mycarneedsa.com show reviews of local garages and let drivers get quotes, all from the comfort of their armchair.



Written by James Mills
James Mills

* The UK's largest online car finance broker by unique users to the website. Based on Similar Web data – 1,137,647 to CarFinance 247 vs. 753,819 for nearest competitor. January to June 2023.

CarFinance 247 is a trading name of CarFinance 247 Limited. Registered office: Universal Square, Devonshire Street North, Manchester, M12 6JH. Registered in England. (Registration Number 06035525).

CarFinance 247 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for insurance distribution and credit broking (Firm Reference Number: 653019). CarFinance 247 is registered with the ICO (Registration Number Z1897658).

Finance is subject to status and is only available to UK residents aged 18 and over. Written quotations are available on request.

This site uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience. By continuing to use the site you are consenting for cookies to be used. Further information on cookies and how you can disable them is available on our cookie policy.