Service cost 2015 81TSI

[Hoodie]

Booked my car in for its first service and they quoted me $423 fixed price servicing - is this correct. The only parts for the first service (12 months old) is oil and oil filter. Everything else is check levels.

Please let me know your thoughts.

[alexaescht]

This is what VW say on their website:



But considering that the 15k service is only oil and oil filter replacement, it's a ripoff at VW.
A Mahle oil filter (same company who makes the VW ones) is $15 here: Mahle Original Oil Filter OC9771 and oil for that engine can be had for under $80 here: Shell Helix Ultra ECT Engine Oil - 5W-30, 5 Litre - Supercheap Auto Australia (as well as plenty of other suppliers).

[tinneha]

My missus got her 2015 VW serviced today at 15,000km..... cost her $280 at Southern VW! I was shocked. They even topped up the petrol, cleaned it inside & out, & left a heap of car cleaning products in the car for her.

They did however forget to call her when the car was finished.... so this may be why, but worth a suss!

[Hoodie]

My missus got her 2015 VW serviced today at 15,000km..... cost her $280 at Southern VW! I was shocked. They even topped up the petrol, cleaned it inside & out, & left a heap of car cleaning products in the car for her.

They did however forget to call her when the car was finished.... so this may be why, but worth a suss!

Thanks! I clearly need to shop around $200 is way better in my pocket compared to the dealers pocket!

[JonW]

Always ring up and ask what is the best price they can do, you might well be surprised. I got 20% off my last service once I mentioned I could go to the other dealer up the road.

[Transporter]

This is what VW say on their website:



But considering that the 15k service is only oil and oil filter replacement, it's a ripoff at VW.
A Mahle oil filter (same company who makes the VW ones) is $15 here: Mahle Original Oil Filter OC9771

I agree with you that these dealer prices aren't very good, despite their capped price servicing.
However, I disagree with you when you simplyfy that only the oil filter and the engine oil get replaced at 15,000km service, because there are visual and other checks that are done as well. So, if DIY, trying to save money, how do you know what are you looking for, if you're not qualified?

Yes, the oil filter could be had cheaper than in the shops, but always ask how much for the postage, because at Mick's garage you need to spend $200 to get a free postage.

[alexaescht]

I agree with you that these dealer prices aren't very good, despite their capped price servicing.
However, I disagree with you when you simplyfy that only the oil filter and the engine oil get replaced at 15,000km service, because there are visual and other checks that are done as well. So, if DIY, trying to save money, how do you know what are you looking for, if you're not qualified?

Yes, the oil filter could be had cheaper than in the shops, but always ask how much for the postage, because at Mick's garage you need to spend $200 to get a free postage.

Of course there is other work such as visual checks, but that's 30 minutes labour tops (probably more like 10).
Mick's Garage charges $20 postage to Australia – last week I completed the major 105,000km service on the TDI using all parts from Mick's Garage. $110 for all the parts plus $20 shipping, plus $73 for oil from Supercheap. So $203 all up, and 1.5 hours of my time.
That's the major service: I replaced oil and oil filter, fuel filter, air filter and pollen filter using all MANN filters (one of the OEM's to VW at the factory).
The basic oil change service should seriously not cost $423. It's a rip off plain and simple.

[redgoesfaster14]

It states they "are the maximum prices" you will pay for servicing. So $423 isn't a set fee. They don't have to charge you the maximum every time. Just a bit of robbery I'd say.

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[nightphotographer]

I've become a little bias after starting working for VW - the amount of money we've saved people by picking up on things we can repair under warranty from service check overs is incredible. And the towed in cars we get have never been serviced at VW and they're paying $$$$$ for huge repairs that we would've picked up on upon servicing. This also means they're very unlikely to get any help from VW under good will.

The other thing I notice when checking cars that have been serviced other than VW is they either carry out minor services for the entire car's life or they change things that aren't needed - i.e. coolant flushes every 15k or air filter every 15k. We've found people locally actually paying more to get their car serviced at back street garages than they do at VW :/

The potential repairs VW would find under warranty would probably pay off tenfold that $500 you might save servicing the car elsewhere during the warranty period. It's a no brainer if you've invested in a new car, why not invest in servicing it correctly (assuming your local VW garage actually knows what they're doing!)

And also if they're a good dealer, they'll quote you the max and come way under it, it also allows them to replace things like wipers if needed and still come under your budget.

[alexaescht]

I've become a little bias after starting working for VW - the amount of money we've saved people by picking up on things we can repair under warranty from service check overs is incredible. And the towed in cars we get have never been serviced at VW and they're paying $$$$$ for huge repairs that we would've picked up on upon servicing. This also means they're very unlikely to get any help from VW under good will.

The other thing I notice when checking cars that have been serviced other than VW is they either carry out minor services for the entire car's life or they change things that aren't needed - i.e. coolant flushes every 15k or air filter every 15k. We've found people locally actually paying more to get their car serviced at back street garages than they do at VW :/

The potential repairs VW would find under warranty would probably pay off tenfold that $500 you might save servicing the car elsewhere during the warranty period. It's a no brainer if you've invested in a new car, why not invest in servicing it correctly (assuming your local VW garage actually knows what they're doing!)

And also if they're a good dealer, they'll quote you the max and come way under it, it also allows them to replace things like wipers if needed and still come under your budget.

I agree that for ~80 or 90 per cent of the general car buying population, getting services on a brand new car should best be done at a dealership. As you said, they pick up on things that others might miss and also perform the correct services (major and minor) and also have access to service campaigns etc etc.
However, for the people who are very savvy with their cars and understand what needs to be done and have a real care for their cars that's above that of most, I believe they should be fine getting it done either at either mechanic's shops or by themselves at home, as they can check exactly what was done on the invoice and compare that to what should be getting done for that particular service.
Also, not every dealership is nice to deal with. The local VW to where I live are pains to deal with and are very condescending, and going to the next-closest VW dealership would take too much time, so while the car was in warranty, we got most services done at a Mercedes/Euro specialist, and now it's out of warranty, I do the services myself referring to the service manual that comes with the car, and I also plan to source the workshop manual from erWin, if that's possible (I think it is).