Every service advisor eventually asks: "Would you like to enrol in our AMC?" An Annual Maintenance Contract bundles your scheduled services into one upfront payment, usually with a discount versus paying per visit. It sounds like an easy win — but whether it actually saves you money depends heavily on your car, your driving pattern, and what the AMC does and doesn't cover.
How AMCs typically work
You pay a lump sum — usually covering 1–3 years or a fixed number of services — and in return get scheduled maintenance at a locked-in price, sometimes with extras like pickup-and-drop or a loaner car. Pricing in 2026 typically runs:
- Hatchback/compact sedan, 2-year AMC: ₹6,000–₹10,000
- Mid-size SUV, 2-year AMC: ₹10,000–₹16,000
- Premium/luxury, 2-year AMC: ₹25,000–₹60,000+
When an AMC genuinely saves money
- You drive predictably — roughly the annual kilometres the AMC assumes. Under-driving means you are paying for services you don't need yet; over-driving usually isn't covered beyond the contracted visits.
- You already plan to use the authorised centre. AMCs only make sense if you were going to pay authorised-centre rates anyway — they don't beat a good independent garage's regular pricing.
- Your car has expensive scheduled items — spark plugs, coolant, brake fluid — where the AMC locks in today's prices against future inflation.
When pay-per-service works out better
- You drive well below the assumed mileage. A car doing 6,000 km a year doesn't need every scheduled interval an AMC bakes in.
- You plan to switch to a multi-brand garage once the warranty ends — an AMC locks you into the authorised network for its full term.
- You might sell the car within the AMC period. Most AMCs are non-transferable or only partially refundable, so a sale mid-contract can waste the unused balance.
Read the fine print before signing
Three things trip owners up most often:
- What's excluded — AMCs almost never cover wear-and-tear repairs (brake pads, clutch, tyres), only scheduled maintenance. Ask for the exact item list.
- Consumable caps — some AMCs cap the litres of oil or the number of filters included; anything beyond is billed extra.
- Refund terms — ask specifically what happens if you sell the car, move cities, or simply stop using that centre.
The simple math to do before deciding
Add up what your last 1–2 years of authorised-centre servicing actually cost — you likely have the invoices. Compare that total against the AMC price for the same period. If the AMC isn't meaningfully cheaper than what you already paid, the "savings" are mostly theoretical. For an itemised sense of what each visit should cost on its own, our 40,000 km service guide breaks down exactly what's included at each interval.
Bottom line
An AMC is a bet that you'll use exactly the services it assumes, at a centre you'd have chosen anyway. For predictable, authorised-centre-loyal owners, it can save real money. For anyone planning to go multi-brand, drive irregularly, or possibly sell mid-term, paying per service usually keeps more control — and often costs about the same.
Before your next service visit, use our free estimator to check what your car should cost — so you walk in knowing exactly what is fair.