MK6 servicing in Melbourne. Dealer or VW Specalist?

[Corey_R]

Yep, I can atest to that. 5L of 504 oil has a retail of around $75 and the oil filter and sump plug is $25 - thus you're already at $100 before the labour... and that's only for the oil.

[MiiLos]

In other words you mean a ultratune/kmart auto/repco style of garage that specialises in nothing.

Well they are all franchises to me, there's 100's of them. This place is a one off, and no they don't specifically specialise in a certain field but they seem to know what they are doing and are up front and don't give you any bulls**t.

What is ACCC certified, there is no such thing.

As for maintaining new car warranty this would require them to know what they're doing on each car so I don't know how they can do this if they don't specialise. Following the book isn't always required as there are other areas that require attention and only a specialist/dealer would know these.

Sorry i got that one totally wrong! I should have typed VACC, mind was elsewhere.. And I see your point with your other comment, however it was obvious that the guys I spoke to knew what they were on about. Anything I would query, they had an answer straight off the bat and it was the same stuff i got told by the VW dealers. Like I said before, i was told if i was to carry out my services with them my new car warranty would not be affected at all. Not trying to promote these guys, just my opinion on what I saw and the service they gave me with my car.

The under $200 I would question, an oil change on the GTI using 504.00/507.00 oil is getting close to that let alone the inspection side etc of the service. As for recommended 10K intervals I assume he means 6 monthly as well? This is another topic entirely but the service book should be followed not the word of someone who doesn't specialise in the brand (the intervals are 12months/15K but for severe conditions 6months/7500K is recommended).

Yep I was very surprised with $200 also as I've been servicing my TDI myself for 3 years until I sold it just recently (oil + filter cost me $100 from VW). But that's what they charge. He also told us that our family Rav4 that just had its warranty period expire would cost about $120 to service. BTW he claims that their service would be no different to what a VW dealership would provide.

They are called - AB Automotive.

[hooba]

My 5 cents, I don't understand the logic behind spending $30K+ for a new car and then saving a couple of hundred bucks a year by not servicing it at the dealer while it is still under warranty.

The money you've saved won't cover the depreciation cost for a month. Take it to the dealer, let them give it the software updates and fix any of the little niggles that VW pick up after having a thousands of customers field test them.

Once the warranty expires, now that's another story.

[MiiLos]

Yeah i get what you are saying and its most likely that I will end up doing my services with the dealership while under warranty.

I guess i was just looking for some opinions on a what would be a pretty good alternative from what I've seen.

[Johnbu]

Yep, I can atest to that. 5L of 504 oil has a retail of around $75 and the oil filter and sump plug is $25 - thus you're already at $100 before the labour... and that's only for the oil.

I'm not debating the pros and cons of dealer servicing.

But $200 is what I would a fair price for a 15k service AT the dealer.

4.6l of 504/507 oil in bulk would be $46, oil filter at $10. Sump plug washer $0.10

2 hours of labour at $20/hour.

The other $90 is for overheads & profit.

I think that is a fair price.

Dont forget the dealer makes more money from servicing than selling cars.

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[Maverick]

I'm not debating the pros and cons of dealer servicing.

But $200 is what I would a fair price for a 15k service AT the dealer.

4.6l of 504/507 oil in bulk would be $46, oil filter at $10. Sump plug washer $0.10

2 hours of labour at $20/hour.

The other $90 is for overheads & profit.

I think that is a fair price.

Very simplistic but you forget all the other costs that a dealer has, the training, the loan cars, parts holding, premium location and so on.

I'm happy to pay $300 for a service at the dealer and $150 for an oil change, it's a fair price given the service you get.

Dont forget the dealer makes more money from servicing than selling cars.

This get's thrown around all the time but is bollocks. A Golf goes in once a year for a service. The first service is ~$280, the second ~$400, the third ~$280, the fourth ~$1000 and the fifth ~$500. That's $2460 in servicing costs over a 5 year period, assuming a margin of ~30% that's $738 profit. Whilst I have no doubts dealer servicing is profitable it's unlikely to be as profitable as new car sales, new cars are getting more and more reliable and extended warranties are available cheaply (~$1400 for an additional 3 years for the Golf) which shows how few repairs are expected during that period of ownership.

How $738 is more profit then they make on the sale of a $40K car I don't know.

[kevvie]

I'm not debating the pros and cons of dealer servicing.

But $200 is what I would a fair price for a 15k service AT the dealer.

4.6l of 504/507 oil in bulk would be $46, oil filter at $10. Sump plug washer $0.10

2 hours of labour at $20/hour.

The other $90 is for overheads & profit.

I think that is a fair price.

Dont forget the dealer makes more money from servicing than selling cars.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The going rate for VW dealers is $180/hr, from the independents I have spoken to they are closer to $100/hr. not a bad mark up from apprentice salaries...

[Maverick]

The going rate for VW dealers is $180/hr, from the independents I have spoken to they are closer to $100/hr. not a bad mark up from apprentice salaries...

My local VW dealer is $110/hr so I don't know where you get $180/hr from. Maybe some dealers charge that but that's not a fixed amount across all dealers.

[MiiLos]

The going rate for VW dealers is $180/hr, from the independents I have spoken to they are closer to $100/hr. not a bad mark up from apprentice salaries...

My local VW dealer is $110/hr so I don't know where you get $180/hr from. Maybe some dealers charge that but that's not a fixed amount across all dealers.

I can relate to kevvie as the Weribee dealership here in VIC wanted $180 p/h for labor to change my cracked front CV boots @ 1 hr minimum per side. Needles to say i called my mate (mechanic) and we done it together over a few beers. It might be more $$ here in VIC compared to NSW and QLD.

[Johnbu]

Very simplistic but you forget all the other costs that a dealer has, the training, the loan cars, parts holding, premium location and so on.

I'm happy to pay $300 for a service at the dealer and $150 for an oil change, it's a fair price given the service you get.



This get's thrown around all the time but is bollocks. A Golf goes in once a year for a service. The first service is ~$280, the second ~$400, the third ~$280, the fourth ~$1000 and the fifth ~$500. That's $2460 in servicing costs over a 5 year period, assuming a margin of ~30% that's $738 profit. Whilst I have no doubts dealer servicing is profitable it's unlikely to be as profitable as new car sales, new cars are getting more and more reliable and extended warranties are available cheaply (~$1400 for an additional 3 years for the Golf) which shows how few repairs are expected during that period of ownership.

How $738 is more profit then they make on the sale of a $40K car I don't know.

I'd be happy to pay the $280, $400, $280, etc you quoted.

Unfortunately, in the real world, it's much more than that.

I have an invoice for the 15k and 30k service for my MkV GTI, it was $450 & $700 respectively.

I admit the $700 service included wiper blades, which would be $50 wholesale. Labour on the 30k service was $340 inc GST. $30 for workshop supplies and oil disposal is a joke.

I didn't bother returning to the dealer for the 45k service as it was getting close to 3 years.

Don't forget that Toyota have $120 fixed price services and still can make a profit. The VW oil is better, but not $300 better.