Service Costs and Intervals?

[glennbot]

I have been looking into the service cost of the 118TSI DSG and as usual everyone I ask gives me a different story.

Service Department says:
The 15k service is around $320,
The 30k service is around $440,
The major service is at 60k and the cost is around $1150 including the DSG service
I asked if the new 7-Speed DSG cost less to service than the 6-Speed and was told - there is no difference.

Sales Department says:
Minor service 15K,30K,etc. = ~$300
Major service 100K = ~$800 (I think this should be 120K? - sales guy doesn't know his stuff) what does it say in the manual?

And from what I read on other forums:
The old 6-speed uses a wet clutch which holds ~6 litres of special expensive oil however the new new 7-speed DSG uses a dry clutch and has only ~1.5l , this should cost less to service?

Has anyone else been given expected service cost for the new Golf?

I wonder if you void your warranty by servicing the car at intervals of 15K or 12month "what ever comes last" instead of what come first?

Do you have to get the car serviced by a VW Dealer on Australia to keep your warranty?

[Ozram]

Interesting. Thanks for that. You can get your car serviced anywhere and not void your warranty. Unless you have been tied into one of those dealer extra warranty schemes where they give you an extra 2 years warranty if you get your vehicle serviced at their dealership for the full term of the warranty. In which case you need to go to them.

Getting someone to change the engine oil and filters even before the service is due is cheap insurance if you ask me. I certainly don't see the benefit of extending service intervals, I've seen what engines look like on the inside when the oil breaks down & it ain't pretty. Oil & filters =$150, engine blow up = ?????

I reckon I'll change the oil & filter myself at the first 7,500km. Then get the dealer to do every 15000km.

I would however recommend that you get whoever is going to do your servicing to use genuine filters while it is still under warranty. Just in case like......

[Prestige_GTI]

Hey mate

Only the 6 speed DSG needs to be serviced at 60k.
The 7 speed dry clutches do not require servicing

The major service previously at 120k has now been split up

The cambelt is replaced at 105k

Then a service identical to the 60k is performed at 120k

This is different to the golf 5 where the 120k would be one big service

Cheers

[saveferris]

The cambelt is replaced at 105k

I was under the impression that the new Mk 6 golfs came with a drive chain instead of the cam belt.

[brad]

I wonder if you void your warranty by servicing the car at intervals of 15K or 12month "what ever comes last" instead of what come first?

Do you have to get the car serviced by a VW Dealer on Australia to keep your warranty?

You're wasting your time trying to pin them down on costs. My dealer seemingly changes his prices by the hour depending on how full his bladder is.

Why would you want to service your car at "whichever is last"? If I did that I'd be on 25,000km oil changes

You can get your cars serviced by anyone "with appropriate qualifications using genuine parts & correct spec oil.

[Prestige_GTI]

TDI is cambelt driven

Forgot he was talking about a TSI

and

Yes it is true anyone can service a car! It is servicing a vehicle correctly that is the problem!

Have you ever heard someone say every time i go to a dealership for a service I come out with a massive bill with more items?

The truth is if the non genuine service provider was doing there job the list of items should be identical.

I know I would rather a technician work on my GTI that has gone to VW Australia training and has the backup of the factory technical department if they need help!

[brad]

Have you ever heard someone say every time i go to a dealership for a service I come out with a massive bill with more items?

The truth is if the non genuine service provider was doing there job the list of items should be identical.

I know I would rather a technician work on my GTI that has gone to VW Australia training and has the backup of the factory technical department if they need help!

How do you know the list of work required (from any workshop) is a true & fair indication of what is needed? I know when i worked at BMW every car needed wiper blades - it was a directive of our workshop foreman. When I worked for Toyota, every car "needed" 3 cans of additive (engine flush, fuel conditioner, oil fortifier) by order of the Service Manager. At another workshop, I was "counseled" because they recommended brake pads be replaced at 5mm thickness instead of 3mm (thickness of the backing plate). The list goes on as to all the ways they can claw back a few extra dollars to the P&L.

Technical backup? Whats that? At Toyota there was one techo for all of NSW.
Factory Training? In 12 months at Toyota I did one training day with an instructor. At BMW I did a 30 minute video every week.

In all the dealerships I worked at, there were a fair percentage of "no-hopers" that would never last in an independent workshop.

Don't judge a workshop on their corporate structure, it's the guy swinging the spanner that counts.

[Prestige_GTI]

How do you know the list of work required (from any workshop) is a true & fair indication of what is needed? I know when i worked at BMW every car needed wiper blades - it was a directive of our workshop foreman. When I worked for Toyota, every car "needed" 3 cans of additive (engine flush, fuel conditioner, oil fortifier) by order of the Service Manager. At another workshop, I was "counseled" because they recommended brake pads be replaced at 5mm thickness instead of 3mm (thickness of the backing plate). The list goes on as to all the ways they can claw back a few extra dollars to the P&L.

Technical backup? Whats that? At Toyota there was one techo for all of NSW.
Factory Training? In 12 months at Toyota I did one training day with an instructor. At BMW I did a 30 minute video every week.

In all the dealerships I worked at, there were a fair percentage of "no-hopers" that would never last in an independent workshop.

Don't judge a workshop on their corporate structure, it's the guy swinging the spanner that counts.

The fact is you don't! Like any industry you need to find someone you trust. I just believe in dealerships.They are factory backed and have auditing systems. Of coarse some are horrible but the good thing is there is more than 1.

Yes I am aware BMW dealerships change wiper inserts every service but they also have service intervals of 25,000km and BMW believes in preventative maintenance. Most BMW customers want it running 100% all the time. They don't want to have to travel all the way to the dealership just for wipers. With a prestige brand like that it makes sense!

The VW technical department on the other hand is very large which might explain why VW is growing and will probably one day overtake Toyota in Australia.

With your training I bet working on one brand every day would mean you were a lot more confident working on it than some backyard garage with 20 different brands of vehicle in that day.

Truth is every business is there to make money. Being a dealer or an independent workshop you need to survive and it's a tough game. Some people just do it better and are more trustworthy than others. Its up to the consumer to make the right choice.

[Umai Naa!!]

Volkswagen Australia's technical department consists of 4 people manning the phones and computers. Quite often, they'll be one or two down, for various reasons. Regardless, they've been pretty helpful to me, and my dealership in the past. In-dealership resources aren't too bad, either. There haven't been many special tools I've had to order to get a job done, so far in the last 18 months or so.

As for servicing costs, every dealership is different. Your best bet is to get a quote in writing upon making your booking. As previously mentioned by Brad, each dealership has it's own policies, and labour rates. You can cut the price down a bit, by stipulating that you don't want the extra additives like fuel treatments, oil flushes, etc. VW doesn't recommend these, anyway. In essence, don't give them the impression that you've got an open cheque book.

[brad]

Yes I am aware BMW dealerships change wiper inserts every service but they also have service intervals of 25,000km and BMW believes in preventative maintenance. Most BMW customers want it running 100% all the time. They don't want to have to travel all the way to the dealership just for wipers. With a prestige brand like that it makes sense!

This was a while back - 2 sets of wipers every year @ $40 a set. I know when I'm doing preventive maintenance & when I'm fleecing the customer on the bosses orders.

No customer, no matter how cheap & crappy their vehicle likes to come back yo the dealership between services but their are plenty of instances of overservicing out there.