Are you facing a huge cost of car maintenance? Capped price servicing can be the answer to one issue many car owners are plagued with — the crippling cost of maintenance.

With this scheme, buyers are able to see an estimate of the maintenance costs even before they are incurred.

Car owners will receive a servicing schedule which indicates when they need to take the car for a checkup. The schedule usually depends on a time or distance limit set by the manufacturer.

Let’s look at its benefits and limitations:

Pros

  • You can prepare your budget – Knowing when you’ll be paying and how much makes it so much easier to save up for the car maintenance.
  • Pre-paying is an option – Some car dealers offer prepayment of capped price servicing, and depending on the type of financing you availed, this prepaid amount can be included in the bundle.

Cons

  • Not all services are included – It’s important to read every detail when the program is handed to you because some services like the replacement of brake fluid, coolant, and oil may have to be paid separately.
  • Price changes – Carmakers are allowed to change the cost of labour, parts, and fluids depending on the terms and conditions, so again — read the fine print. Another reason for you to scrutinize the details is that some manufacturers only offer CPS within the warranty and you might get shocked at the cost after it expires.

Popular brands and their CPS

Top car brands incorporate CPS in their deals in a myriad of ways. There is no universal CPS because each car model works differently and requires a different type of maintenance. Below are the details of the CPS of popular car manufacturers. We recommend that go to your manufacturer website and get as much information as you can.

Honda

The Honda website has a tool for choosing a car model and basic service costs for the first five years or 100,000 km. Take a note that you are given the “base” price which is $240 for most sedans. After that, you have to select adaptive items such as, dust filters, spark plugs, and brake fluid that will increase the price.

Toyota

Toyota was the first to introduce this system among the top brands. They call it the Toyota Service Advantage and it caps the first three years or 60,000 km of your annual service cost starting from $280 up to $720.

Mazda

To access Mazda Service Select, you have to use your registration or VIN details. They offer a period of 12 months CPS or even one that lasts a lifetime. The manufacturer boasts that their service provides great value for money. In fact, in 2013 the company was considered to deliver the best car servicing throughout Australia.  

Subaru

Subaru offers to cap the first three years of the car or when it reaches 75,000 km. The BRZ however, preferred by those who are into drifting, will have a capped price servicing at 60,000 km. The program includes labour, genuine parts, factory specified oils, and fluid.

Nissan

All the CPS have similarities and differences and, Nissan’s myNissan Certainty Service has six years of your ownership of the car is covered. However, the cost of the brake fluid is not included, it’s expected to cost around $30. You can visit their website and check their list to see if there have been price changes in the program for your car model.

Mitsubishi

The most important thing to remember about Mitsubishi’s CPS is that it is for the first four years or 60,000 km. It will expire before the car’s warranty that’s for five years and at 130,000 km. For the first visit, the cap is at $195 and depending on the model and the number of the remaining services, it can reach up to $580. However, though the amount is pretty steep for some, it is much lower than how it was before the capped pricing servicing was introduced.

Hyundai

Many companies like Hyundai utilizes online services. They made it easier to book when the car would be taken for servicing. Customers can just key in the make and model of their cars and, the kilometres used to get a quote. The company’s CPS is for the entire life of the vehicle and, it includes all cars (Hyundai) sold in Australia since 1986. Before its introduction, the first three visits cost $189 and, around $500 on the fourth. With the company’s subsidy, it’s expected that after reaching 60,000km which is the limit, it would only cost $329.

Volkswagen

The first six years of a Volkswagen car is covered by its capped price servicing. For the first year, the amount is expected to be at $280 and, for a V8 turbo diesel Touareg, $519. The cost always depends on the make and model of the car and, VW’s spokesman has given customers a guarantee that there are no hidden costs. The program runs for 6 years which is just like the car’s warranty.

Holden

The company has made a bold move by including every Holden car ever sold in Australia from 1957 to 2016 in their CPS. Like other brands, their website has a calculator where you put the number of kilometres or the model of your car to get a quote. Parts of the car, fluids and other workshop charges are included in the tabulation. Holden assures customers that they will not pay more than what was indicated online.

Ford

Ford has capped price servicing for all their vehicles sold from 2007 onwards. Not only that, the duration of their program will no longer be just for seven years but the entire lifetime of the car. They promise that the calculations for a service quote made on their website will provide accurate information for 30 days and extra charges like the one spent on timing belts and the like have been eliminated.

We hope this information will help you and minimize your budget for car services, if you need any information regarding Car Finance, Insurance or Extended warranties, call us today on 1300 889 669 or contact us online!