Why doesn't the Citroen service agreement include three services?
Nearly three years ago I bought a new Citroen C4 Grand Picasso 1.6HDI, plus the Citroen 3-year service agreement from a Citroen UK Main dealer in Coventry. The car has been excellent but sadly I cannot say the same about the service agreement that cost £375. The salesman and the service manager assured me that I was paying upfront for all servicing the car needed for 36 months. This sounded good, until I read the small print on the back of the A3 sized contract.
To cut a long story short, because the car’s annual service is every 12,500 miles, I could get the first and second annual service, but not the third due at 37,500 because the contract stated the maximum mileage was 35,000 miles or 36 months. So it’s not possible to get the third annual service done under the contract no matter what you do. So, feeling very ripped off, I complained to the service manager and, after a lot of pushing, she got the sales manager to do me a favour and agree to take the cost of the third service on his budget.
I duly took the car in and after they'd had it for five hours, I received a phone call from the service dept saying the car needed new front brake pads, (no surprise after 37,000 miles) and the cost would be £90 which I had to pay. I was amazed but asked if that was just for parts and they said no, it was parts and labour. Apparently, brakes are not included under the service agreement. I feel as if I've paid £375 for three oil changes. Totally ripped off. Is this the norm?
My view is that generally these service agreements are not the value they purport to be, and you found the Catch 22 that you don't actually get three services in three years. But in your case £375 is buttons for two services, never mind the three you eventually got. And brake pads are never included in an 'inclusive' service agreement. They are always extra and, in fact, £90 is a fair price for them.
Answered by Honest John on