Servicing Costs on service No 4

[hotpot8200]

Hi just looking for some information and maybe help in alternative independent servicing of my outlander PHEV .
My concern is at my nearest Mitsubishi centre my service No4 is due and on ringing and obtaining a quote I am looking at £305 WOW .
Speaking with service tech to find out what is carried out for this apparently this is a big service which includes oil filter and oil, brake and clutch fluid ,3 gaskets and a pollen filter change and the usual checks which I guess is battery condition levels etc which I am all ok with but on gaining a price from Mitsubishi for all genuine parts required for this service it would only be £77.14 plus VAT sounds much better.
Does or has anybody used a independent garage to service their PHEV if so who does it please and any experiences ? and my area is west midlands UK Coventry area could you please give me their contact details and rough prices paid for any work.

Also Mitsubishi website is now offering for PHEV over 3 years alternative types of servicing 1:Value service + and 2: Value service... I can only be offered No 1 as still got 3 weeks of warranty left and this is priced at £293 and includes nearly everything quoted on service 4 but will keep warranty valid. The service tech was trying to explain that the value service is just a basic service but could not give me a price as this option is not available for my PHEV until it runs out of warranty. I suppose my question on this has anybody used yet and when speaking with the service tech was saying with the PHEV app available and wifi OBD we can run our own reports on battery levels etc and our type of driving over last 12months has been nearly all electric only filled petrol tank 3 times on long journeys do we always need a full service at these huge costs.
Hope somebody can give me some information on this as when googling not much on about servicing and huge cost or using independent garages but it may be a help to us all if we had alternatives we could use or a least create a little but of a price war if going back to Mitsubishi to carry out servicing.
Appreciate any help in this .
Thanks

 

[gobiman]

Seems pretty reasonable to me at around £300 for a franchised dealer service-
1. Parts are £100 of it. They are expensive because they are "OEM".
2. Given the fluid changes, there is quite a bit of labour involved.
I'm not sure that this is a car that lends itself to indies given its complexity.
My Merc's first year service (little more than an oil change) has just been quoted at £400.

 

[maby]

As I've remarked before, I think you will have difficulty finding any reputable independent that is willing to open the bonnet on any hybrid or EV. I have asked chains like Kwikfit and the other big automotive service suppliers and they are all too scared of the H&S issues. High voltages and potentially explosive lithium batteries - there are not enough (PH)EVs on the road to merit tooling up, getting their staff trained and negotiating with their insurance companies. Now that ours is out of warranty, I intend to research the tasks to be performed on each service and do the simple ones myself - I'm quite capable of doing an oil change!

 

[NightPHEVer]

I'm not sure I'd want to compromise on servicing a PHEV. I compromised on servicing my Smart fortwo after about 5 years by doing it myself, although a Smart car is a reletively simple piece of engineering compared to a PHEV, and not likely to electrocute anybody. Timewise it takes me considerably longer to service my Smart than it takes a main dealer that's for sure. A 10 year old Smart car can still have software issues though, changing the coolant is not for the uninformed (dire consequences if you get it wrong) and the gearchange actuator can only have its adjustement checked by a main dealer or specialist.

A main dealer is also in a good position to see things coming, as whatever might be coming, they've probably already seen it on high mileage vehicles. They also have all the latest factory approved equipment to set things up properly. Would be easier to complain to Mitsubishi 'central' if things aren't to your satisfaction too. A main dealer service history is always a good thing when you come to sell - especially with a PHEV - which for many people has an element of mystery to it's potential longevity. This is after all a £25,000+ vehicle so in proportion £300 a year doesn't seem too bad. Think of all the petrol you haven't had to buy and the free road tax!

 

[HHL]

Just had the 3 year service done yesterday for $470.00.... The initial quotes I had was just over $1000.00 from the dealer I bought it from and $900.00 where I last had it serviced (both PHEV dealers). After asking the service advisor to "get real" and pointing out that this service (A schedule) is not a whole lot more than an oil and filter change, he said he would get back to me, which he did and then quoted $470.00.
Looking at the invoice, in addition to the oil and filter they also replaced the pollen filter and aircleaner. Had a bit of a chuckle when I read checked battery condition and electrolyte....
Overall, the aircleaner element was probably not dirty at all since I rarely run on petrol, the pollen filter... well ok if you must change it.. the rest is just stuff you can do in well under an hour yourself. There is no need to touch any of the "scary" bits, and so it is for all the other scheduled services in the book, ALL of them!
The only advantage to go to the dealer is to get any software updates that may be applied (I seriously doubt they bother unless there is a recall)