Servicing costs

[Farvs]

The first main service is now due (2 years and circa 13k miles). The car is a 2.0 GT TD. Was going to call dealers today to get quotes but lost track of the days and hadn't realised it was Sunday :D.

I bought the car at 3 months old as an ex-demo and this is the first attention it has asked for. I'm assuming its setup for longlife servicing.

Any ideas what this should cost?

Cheers.

[Keithuk]

Well if you've done 13k and you haven't seen the service warning then its probably set for longlife 20k.

You can check how much longer before you need a service in the MFD menus, watch How to display the service reminder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaVr_OuVVyc)

As regards the cost I asked the price of a service when I ordered mine and they said £150 (thats over 12 months ago) so while its under warranty and has to be serviced by a reputable garage I had the service plan at £250. Just get a guote of a few garages. ;)

[Steve_D]

Ours is a year old now and is showing to be serviced in 7 days now. It's got less than 7500 on the clock and I'm wondering whether to:

(a) Get it serviced at a VW dealer
(b) Service it myself at work (I run a garage/training centre and can issue a vat invoice and stamp the book).
(c) Ignore it, due to the mileage, until it reaches longlife/2 years old/20,000 miles.

Any suggestions? Should I get it changed to longlife due to the low annual mileage we cover? It's obviously set up for the yearly service but would that affect the warranty?

[Farvs]

Well if you've done 13k and you haven't seen the service warning then its probably set for longlife 20k.

You can check how much longer before you need a service in the MFD menus, watch How to display the service reminder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaVr_OuVVyc)
;)

Cheers Keith. Just checked and it said X,XXX miles OR 37 days the latter of which ties in with it's 2nd birthday. If its circa £150 then i'll be a happy chappy - i didn't think a dealer would let you have a coffee for less than £300 these days :biglaugh:.

[pete b]

I have taken my Mk5 and Mk6 Golfs to the local Skoda dealer!
Peerless service, quick turn-around and considerably cheaper than VW dealer.

As a comparison, it took longer to actually book in my daughter's Golf 6 for warranty work (1.5 hours and nothing done to the car) than my 10K service last week (1,25 hours).

And they actually refilled the sump without spilling oil down the front of the cylinder head!

HTH

[Keithuk]

Well Steve if you can get the service schedule stamped and you work for a recognized company then do it yourself, oh you need to use the genuine VW oil filter and the correct grade of oil. They only change the oil and filter, check/report on all brake discs and pads, do a scan with their diagnostic equipment and reset the service light in 0.50 hrs. Thats according to Autodata service schedule.

Now leaving it for the 20k longlife service is up to you but I hate these 20k oil changes. I know they us synthetic oil but its the same dirty s**t being pumped around all the time. The oil reason you change the oil and filter as you know Steve is to remove any carbon thats absorbed into the oil from the bypass of combustion (thas why oil goes black) and any other improperties that are in the sump. I only do local journeys mine is coming up to 6k at the moment and 12 months old and my first service is due at the end of January so I may book it in for the half term in February. You can change the service indicator if you have VCDS.



Just checked and it said X,XXX miles OR 37 days the latter of which ties in with it's 2nd birthday.
I wonder why you have put XXX's Farvs?

Thats another thing you will notice when you check the service time on the MFD menus the days add up but the mileage doesn't. I checked mine a month ago when I was just under 5k and it said something like 4300 miles so 5 + 4.3 isn't 10k.

Yes Pete any VAG dealer should do the service. ;)

[paul.mgrath]

When i had my mk5 that was on a long life service and it only went 13k between services so i opted for the 10k / anual service with the service pack from vw.

I was paying circa 215 if i remember rightly for the longlife service so the service pack from vw was a no brainer for me.

I am of the same opinion as keith 2 yrs is a long time to go and also with me the car only does 14 miles a day through the week so most days it only does short stop start journeys so am guessing the oil is gonna get a right hammering.

I'm guessing at 20k they will tell me the rear pads are up for changing (as on my mk5) but considering this is extra to servicing at least that will save me the bother of having to look at them!! They quoted me 150 quid last time and i bought the OEM part from Vw for 30 and fitted them myself so saved a packet :)

[Farvs]

What's the deal with the servicing pack + can you purchase these on a used (2yo) vehicle? I've not heard about this option.

[paul.mgrath]

Dunno, When I bought my car (new) the brochure shown a 30day option of purchasing the pack from taking the car. I believe it has gone up now but whether they offer anything after that i don't know??

Can't see them (franchises) making a fanastic amount of money out of these schemes on services that is not the sale of the pack as you can go to any vw garage to have the work done so the money cannot be going directly to the garage.

[Keithuk]

I was paying circa 215 if i remember rightly for the longlife service so the service pack from vw was a no brainer for me.

How do you recon that its a no brainer if you paid £215 for a service when you can get 3 services for £250? Don't forget this is a fixed price if services go up in the next couple of years which they are bound to you don't pay any more.

Yes they still do the 3 year service plan for new vehicles Paul its a pity you let the 30 days run out? ;)

VW Service Plan (http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/golf-gti-vi/which-model/compare/service/)

[percymon]

I'm guessing at 20k they will tell me the rear pads are up for changing (as on my mk5) but considering this is extra to servicing at least that will save me the bother of having to look at them!! They quoted me 150 quid last time and i bought the OEM part from Vw for 30 and fitted them myself so saved a packet :)


Dealer will tell you if they don;t think they will make the next service - if you were on longlife servicing then they had to consider whether the brakes would make another 20k miles possibly.

Just had my second (annual service) at 20k miles and not even any mention of needing attention to the front brakes :D

[percymon]

My second annual service (oil, filter, pollent filter, air filter etc) had a workshop time allocation of 0.8 units, which i believe is 0.8hours. Unit cost was about £150 incl labour and vat, first service was around £120.

I've had more than my money back from the £250 service plan, with one service still to go (although i won't get the brake fluid change as the car will only be 20 months old when i've had the 3 services.

[vwcabriolet1971]

I have taken my Mk5 and Mk6 Golfs to the local Skoda dealer!
Peerless service, quick turn-around and considerably cheaper than VW dealer.

As a comparison, it took longer to actually book in my daughter's Golf 6 for warranty work (1.5 hours and nothing done to the car) than my 10K service last week (1,25 hours).

And they actually refilled the sump without spilling oil down the front of the cylinder head!

HTH
Quite a few Skoda owners get their cars serviced at VW dealers because it's cheaper . It pays to ring around and get prices !

[Steve_D]

Think I'll do it myself.

Just phoned up the main dealers - trade prices inc. vat for an oil filter and 5 litres of longlife oil will cost me £40.

VWCS said as long as I use genuine parts (and keep reciepts) and am competent to do the job, my warranty won't be affected. I can even stamp the service book myself as I manage a small garage and motor vehicle training centre. :D

[paul.mgrath]

Keith sorry mate didn't make myself clear.. I opted for the service pack on the day i bought the car. :p


Just had my second (annual service) at 20k miles and not even any mention of needing attention to the front brakes :D

The golf is the first car i have owned where the rears wear out before the fronts!!! Take on board the fact that they have to account for the car doing potentially another 20k on the existing pads. The fronts had loads on them but the rears were practically shot by 20k (compared to the new ones anyway)!!:( But have bought the tool now so replacing them not a problem:beerchug:

[percymon]

Think I'll do it myself.

Just phoned up the main dealers - trade prices inc. vat for an oil filter and 5 litres of longlife oil will cost me £40.

VWCS said as long as I use genuine parts (and keep reciepts) and am competent to do the job, my warranty won't be affected. I can even stamp the service book myself as I manage a small garage and motor vehicle training centre. :D


Your warranty isn;t affected , but...

don't expect any goodwill from your dealership or VW after 3 years
if they check the service history come part ex / trade-in time expect a lower offer than if stamped by the official VW dealership.


I personally wouldn't buy any car under 3 years old if it didn;t have official service stamps, even if the official service stamp means little as to the competence of those conducting the service.

[DW58]

Your warranty isn;t affected , but...

don't expect any goodwill from your dealership or VW after 3 years
if they check the service history come part ex / trade-in time expect a lower offer than if stamped by the official VW dealership.


I personally wouldn't buy any car under 3 years old if it didn;t have official service stamps, even if the official service stamp means little as to the competence of those conducting the service.

Very valid advice and typical across the range of VW/Audi dealerships.

Don't forget the VAG dealer's motto - The Customer Is Always Wrong

[Steve_D]

Your warranty isn;t affected , but...

don't expect any goodwill from your dealership or VW after 3 years
if they check the service history come part ex / trade-in time expect a lower offer than if stamped by the official VW dealership.


I personally wouldn't buy any car under 3 years old if it didn;t have official service stamps, even if the official service stamp means little as to the competence of those conducting the service.

So, 'official' stamps in a service book means more to you, even if that means little as to the competence of those conducting the service? I find that strange, almost as if you are buying service stamps rather than a car.

Anyway, if I did sell it after 3 years, I don't think I'd have too many problems selling a car with just 20K on the clock regardless of where it had been serviced.

As to goodwill from my local VW dearlership, there aint none! I bought the car from a dealer 70 miles away 'cos they gave the best new car price, seemed genuinely interested in selling me a car and gave the best p/x on my previous car despite the fact that I had serviced it and stamped the book myself. My local dealer really, really ****** me about when (a) I wanted to buy a car from them in the first place and (b) when I took this one back for repair under warranty.

They didn't deserve my hard earned money in exchange for a car and they don't really deserve my money to service the car they couldn't be bothered to sell me.

[Keithuk]

The golf is the first car i have owned where the rears wear out before the fronts!!!
Yes I find this strange and I've had this discussion before.

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/forum/f23/wifes-choice-tdi-4752/

[percymon]

So, 'official' stamps in a service book means more to you, even if that means little as to the competence of those conducting the service? I find that strange, almost as if you are buying service stamps rather than a car.

Anyway, if I did sell it after 3 years, I don't think I'd have too many problems selling a car with just 20K on the clock regardless of where it had been serviced.

As to goodwill from my local VW dearlership, there aint none! I bought the car from a dealer 70 miles away 'cos they gave the best new car price, seemed genuinely interested in selling me a car and gave the best p/x on my previous car despite the fact that I had serviced it and stamped the book myself. My local dealer really, really ****** me about when (a) I wanted to buy a car from them in the first place and (b) when I took this one back for repair under warranty.

They didn't deserve my hard earned money in exchange for a car and they don't really deserve my money to service the car they couldn't be bothered to sell me.


I agree the dealers are a bunch of useless halfwits and have no idea of custoemr service once they have your money.

However, i doubt any dealership will see you car as an approved used VW if its not got VW stamps. If you trade in for a Ford or soemthign else it may not make a difference.

Whether i'm 'buying the stamps' or not, if i were to buy a used VW with no VW stamps in the service book i'm sure i'd get no sympathy come any out of warranty issues. If you plan to sell at the end of the warranty then its someone elses problem once you've moved the car on, at whatever price you can get. My view is saving circa £280 servicing yourself is a false economy because you may lose more than that when its time to move on - just my 2 cents worth.

As the car gets older then its becomes false economy - when i bought my Mk3 the previous owner had a huge bill from VW and then some pretty hefty bills from independent garages for running repairs and servicing. I did all the servicng myself , using garages for repairs when i didn't have the time or inclination to do them myself. I probably saved a fortune over the 55k miles i ran it (e.g. VW cambelt £500, local garage £210)

[Farvs]

From VW's site + confirmed by a call to the dealer. Cost is £249 although goes up by circa £25 if I want long life oil (even though I kept saying that surely 2 years is a longlife service so should inlcude longlife oil by default :aargh4:) .




Major Service £249 every 24 months / 20,000 miles


Major service includes:
Oil & filter change
Replace pollen filter
Vehicle inspection and report to include:
All lights
Instruments
Bodywork
Glass
Locks
Battery
Coolant level
Drive belts
Braking system
Steering
Hoses
Drive shafts
Suspension
Exhaust system
Wash and vacuum
Replace air filter
Spark plugs (petrol engine) or fuel filter (diesel engine)
Remove wheels and check brakes
Check/adjust tension on all drive belts
Check gearbox oil level
Check final drive oil level
Full vehicle road test
Diagnostic check including report
Re-set service interval display
Volkswagen stamp in service book
Price includes parts, oil, labour and VAT (20%)
Prices are valid until 31 December 2011. Up to and including 2.0 litre vehicles.
This offer applies to vehicles following a time and distance servicing regime only. Customers whose vehicles are on a long-life servicing regime can ask their participating authorised repairer about changing over to a time and distance servicing regime if they believe this will better suit their needs. Offer applies to retail customers only.

[Welshade]

Had my cars first service yesterday, went back to the dealer where i bought the car which is a proper VW garage 40 miles from home,
Had Oil, filter, safety check, cleaner, plug?, tyres checked, car cleaned.
This was about 2 hours, while at the dealers they offered to take me to the local town shopping which is a good touch as previous dealers just say we'll give you a ring when its ready, i decided to hang around the dealers and drink coffee and mess about with the r32 and Gtd's they had on display.
Cost of service. £89

[Keithuk]

Major service includes:
Oil & filter change
Replace pollen filter
Vehicle inspection and report to include:
All lights
Instruments
Bodywork
Glass
Locks
Battery
Coolant level
Drive belts
Braking system
Steering
Hoses
Drive shafts
Suspension
Exhaust system
Wash and vacuum
Replace air filter
Spark plugs (petrol engine) or fuel filter (diesel engine)
Remove wheels and check brakes
Check/adjust tension on all drive belts
Check gearbox oil level
Check final drive oil level
Full vehicle road test
Diagnostic check including report
Re-set service interval display
Volkswagen stamp in service book

That list should be checked on any service not just a major ones apart from pollen filter, air filter and fuel filter.

When I was in the dealers last Tuesday having mine serviced (service plan) they had a board in the showroom offering a special offer on services. Major service £230, minor service £136