It’s common for dealers to offer you a service plan when you’re buying a new car. This involves a one-off or monthly payment that covers the cost of a certain number of scheduled services so you don’t have to worry about large bills when the time comes.
They might or might not be worth the cost, though, because ad hoc servicing can be more affordable or convenient, depending on your car and your requirements.
Avoiding expensive servicing bills is a big draw, so the prospect of paying for a certain number of services up front or as a fixed monthly fee is appealing. You may even be able to bundle it into your overall car finance payment so the whole thing becomes one, straightforward monthly cost.
The price of the services are set at the point of sale, so you don’t have to worry about parts and labour costs increasing; you just book your car in whenever it’s due for maintenance.
Many dealers sell official manufacturer service plans and their own versions. Either way, if you’re buying one along with a new car, you know that you’re going to go back to a franchised dealership to have the work carried out, which means you get all the main dealer stamps in your car's service book and that they use genuine parts. It’s reassuring and looks good on your car’s service history.
The cost of service plans varies hugely between manufacturers and the type of car you buy. A small number of them charge a single, fixed fee that covers several services for any car in their range, but it’s more common for manufacturers to tailor service plans by model and fuel type, while many of them offer different periods of cover.
As a result, manufacturer plans can start at less than £100 for something like a year’s worth of servicing on a basic model, while the most expensive cost more than £1000 – but that includes several years of maintenance for a luxury car. It's why servicing for a Nissan Micra will cost less than for a Nissan Qashqai, for example.
Servicing plans can be better than just paying for each service, but not always. Getting your car serviced at a franchised dealer is almost always more expensive than using an independent garage, and one of the problems with service plans is that they often cover only basic forms of maintenance, such as an oil and filter change.
Some of them cover additional items, maybe even wearable components such as brakes, but these plans generally cost more. If the technicians discover that your car needs any further work, which often happens during routine maintenance, it’s guaranteed to cost you more at the main dealer.
