VAG on reliability, parts & service costs

[Tom87]

I think the point is that servicing a VW should not cost more than servicing a Toyota especially if they want to take over the world.

[pologti18t]

I am a proud and satisfied Golf owner, that is until the time comes for a scheduled service.
If VW were to include a far more affordable sericing program for the Mk 7, dealers would be smashed with orders. Expensive servicing, along with highly publicised and often unfounded unreliability issues, have been a major barrier to sales success.

'

The Mazda 3 is one of the best sellers on the market... yet its servicing costs are some of the highest.
If you make savage cuts to servicing costs you need to make the money up elsewhere... and that means a higher RRP.

There is no requirement to get you car serviced by the selling dealer or even from a VW service centre. Competition is the only remedy for high servicing prices. This means the vehicle owner needs to make a few phone calls and get the best price. Or are you too lazy to do that?

[Transporter]

I think the point is that servicing a VW should not cost more than servicing a Toyota especially if they want to take over the world.

Says who?
If you skimp on maintenance the reliability suffers. The rich one will not care, but many people will find out that today's manufacturer's recommended servicing caused that they would be better of to sell and buy a new one, rather than spend a fortune repairing it. So, I would start saving for the new car in 4-5 years as soon as I drive the new one from the dealer's showroom.


Sent from my GT-N8000

[Ideo]

Servicing my Golf R is less than servicing a Subaru Forester work pool car we have.

And that is comparing VW dealer to Subaru dealer. Now both taken to my trusted independent. Costs are the same.

I think a lot of people just like whingeing about anything.

[Transporter]

Yes, Subaru is more expensive on parts, here are some parts if you want to compare:
The air and the cabin filter will cost you each $60 + at Subaru dealer and that's for paper cabin filter only / (around $30 for VW and you get the carbon activated cabin filter)
Coolant $60 + for 4L ready to use dilluted / it's around $20+ for VW 1.5L concentrate
The brakepads in axcess of $150+ for a set / should be no more than $100 for VW

on most servicing parts the Subaru cost double than VW
The Toyota will also cost you more on many common parts than VW
The Hyundai and Kia - the servicing filters are as epensive as for the Touareg.

[Tom87]

Says who?
If you skimp on maintenance the reliability suffers. The rich one will not care, but many people will find out that today's manufacturer's recommended servicing caused that they would be better of to sell and buy a new one, rather than spend a fortune repairing it. So, I would start saving for the new car in 4-5 years as soon as I drive the new one from the dealer's showroom.


Sent from my GT-N8000

The general buying public say so... re servicing costs.

But you're dead right on moving them along after 4 to 5yrs. Australia has been lucky in that we generally service our cars pretty well and they do not have to operate in sub zero temperatures and deal with road salt or unsealed/garbage road surfaces.

[brad]

Says who?
If you skimp on maintenance the reliability suffers. The rich one will not care, but many people will find out that today's manufacturer's recommended servicing caused that they would be better of to sell and buy a new one, rather than spend a fortune repairing it. So, I would start saving for the new car in 4-5 years as soon as I drive the new one from the dealer's showroom.

I guess the question is:

Does a VW/Skoda dealer charge more per hour than a Toyota Dealer?

If they do, why? I can understand a VW possibly taking longer due to having a more complicated engine but for a basic 15,000km service there isn't much difference to the minor 10,000km service on a Toyota.

transporter, maybe I've misunderstood but I'm sure that in the past you have advocated services every 7500km/6months even when driven under normal conditions but in this thread it appears you are saying it's OK to go with 15,000km/12m regime. Have I misunderstood?

[Transporter]

transporter, maybe I've misunderstood but I'm sure that in the past you have advocated services every 7500km/6months even when driven under normal conditions but in this thread it appears you are saying it's OK to go with 15,000km/12m regime. Have I misunderstood?

Yes, you did. I always recommend changing the engine oil and oil filter every 6 months/7,500km.
But hey, this thread was started in the spirit of complaining that the servicing of VAG car costs more than the Asian car, so it's kind of pointless to suggest that here.

The last time I've checked, even the Toyota dealer charged well over $100 per hour.

Nothing personal but,
I can understand that the Polo owners are concerned about the servicing costs, however, someone who spend almost $50,000 or even more on a car every 3-4 years, he/she shouldn't be complaining too much about the servicing labour costs, because their hourly rates won't be $30 or $40 per hour either.

[Dutch77]

Nothing personal but,
I can understand that the Polo owners are concerned about the servicing costs, however, someone who spend almost $50,000 or even more on a car every 3-4 years, he/she shouldn't be complaining too much about the servicing labour costs, because their hourly rates won't be $30 or $40 per hour either.

Couldn't agree more with this; I've never really had an issue with the (standard) servicing costs of any of the vehicles I've owned across various brands, and ironically the VW has so far been on the cheap end because of the 12 month interval - although I too think I probably should shorten the cycle a little for oil/filters etc.

No point skimping on something when you have forked out hard earned dollars for it. Anything with moving parts is going to need some work at some stage.. and whether it's $1200 or $2000 over a few years, compared to the purchase price it's a small outlay.

Same reason I have no issue with using a local doctor who does not bulk bill me.. frankly even at their fee level their hourly rate pales when compared to a lot of other professionals.. and I know who is doing something more valuable overall.

[brad]

Yes, you did. I always recommend changing the engine oil and oil filter every 6 months/7,500km.
But hey, this thread was started in the spirit of complaining that the servicing of VAG car costs more than the Asian car, so it's kind of pointless to suggest that here.

The last time I've checked, even the Toyota dealer charged well over $100 per hour.

Nothing personal but,
I can understand that the Polo owners are concerned about the servicing costs, however, someone who spend almost $50,000 or even more on a car every 3-4 years, he/she shouldn't be complaining too much about the servicing labour costs, because their hourly rates won't be $30 or $40 per hour either.

How much the client earns shouldn't be what determines how much you get charged for services (of any type). The charge should be based on the skill set required for the job, the competition for jobs in that area & any overheads that the business has to pay for.
I don't know of anyone that gets a pay rise & wakes up & says "Beauty! I've got an extra $15kpa. I'll sling a few extra twenties at the dealership next time I get the car serviced."

Sure, Toyota (Holden, Ford. et al -are any city dealerships <$100 these days?) are up over $100ph these days but I don't see how a VW/Skoda dealer can justify a higher rate or flat charge just because of the brand name or the "Euro-ness".