audi service
Philip Lord8 Mar 2019
NEWS

Audi offers five-year pre-paid servicing

Audi customers are now able to purchase a five-year service plan when they purchase a new vehicle

Audi Australia has added a five-year/75,000km pre-paid servicing option to its existing three-year pay-up-front deal, expanding its offer in the transparent servicing price arena that now covers most vehicle segments.

But the prestige German brand doesn’t match key competitor BMW on price.

The five-year Audi Genuine Care Service Plan, like the three-year offering also offered, covers all Audi models from the entry-level A1 1.0 TFSI ($28,900) to the range-topping R8 Spyder plus quattro ($424,129).

The deal covers routine scheduled servicing such as checks of all key components, and replacement of engine oil, brake fluid, air, oil, fuel and cabin filters.

Where required, spark plugs, transmission fluid and final drive fluid and filter are also replaced as per the schedule.

But while windscreen washer fluid top-up is also part of the deal, wiper refills and brake consumable parts (discs and pads) are not.

German competitors BMW and Mercedes-Benz provide a similar basic pre-paid coverage option, but also offer a more expensive and expansive deal that includes brake disc and pad replacement and wiper refills (BMW Basic Service Inclusive Plus and Mercedes-Benz Platinum Service).

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Audi’s prices sit in between BMW’s substantially cheaper (and presumably heavily subsidised) pre-paid service plans and the more expensive pre-paid offerings from Mercedes-Benz.

At the time of writing (March 2019), the five-year/75,000km plan for the Audi A4 petrol was $2700 (diesel $3140), with the Audi Q5 petrol set at $2520 (diesel $3070) and the Q7 diesel at $3120.

In contrast, BMW’s BSI pre-paid servicing covers five years/80,000km. For the 3 Series it costs $1565, while the X3 costs $1750 and X5 will set you back $2050. Unlike Audi, BMW doesn’t charge extra for diesel servicing.

Mercedes-Benz pricing is steeper. For its five-year/125,000km Silver Service Plan, the C-Class is $4580, GLC-Class is $5380 and GLE-Class is $5580 (all non-AMG models). Note that these prices are under review and are expected to change soon.

Like its existing three-year pre-paid plans (and like all competitors’ plans), Audi’s new five-year offer can be paid for in a lump-sum upfront and/or rolled into the vehicle’s finance plan.

The Audi Service Plan can only be purchased from Audi dealers for up to 12 months from the start of warranty to the original buyer. The vehicle can’t be signed up for the deal once it has had its first service done.

The five-year Service Plan is bundled with Audi Roadside Assistance in years four, five and six of ownership (Audi already covers roadside assist for the three-year warranty period).

Like Audi’s existing three-year deal, if the car is sold, its five-year Service Plan is transferrable to the new owner.

While almost all premium brands now offer pre-paid or pay-as-you-go capped-price servicing, free warranty periods have lagged behind mainstream manufacturers.

All but Nissan in the top mainstream brands offer a minimum five-year warranty. Toyota was the latest to join in.

Meanwhile, all key premium brands including Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz provide just three years/unlimited-km and offer extended warranty coverage at extra cost.

The top end of town’s longest standard warranty is offered by Tesla at eight years/160,000km, followed by Lexus with four years/100,000km.

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Written byPhilip Lord
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