1st Service GTI

[gerhard]

No it's less than 4mths young. I was thinking of waiting until Feb but not sure what the whole 1st service/oil change involves. Does every dealership use the same 'standard' VW oil for each service unless specified otherwise by the owner?

Yes, your's is younger than mine but you young people get around a bit more than us oldies

Mine will be probably only 6,500ks at 6 months, which means the first scheduled service will most likely fall at 13,000ks. The oil I will use is an approved longlife oil too, so in theory it will be good for maybe 20-30,000ks, but I don't mind a bit of overkill where my oils are concerned.

In your case the 15000 will most likely come up before the 12 months, so changing at 7500 and then 15000 would be my approach in your situation.

It's an ongoing debate whether you need to do a change at 6mths/7,500 (you don't need to) but I've never seen engine damage occur from changing oil of suitable spec more often than required.

But I have seen people putting 0W-40 into an old Falcon ute, and it's a symphony of rattles when it cold starts - that will probably end up an example of an oil that's far too good causing damage.

How's the Latte going - I'm still loving mine

[NickZ]

My belief for changing oils at 7500km is that (IMO) the recommended interval is a compromise between reducing the service costs (in comparison with other cars) and changing the oil at a suitable time. By changing the oil at 7500km and using a VW approved oil (Mobil 1 0w-40 for me), I am confident that I always have oil in top notch condition protecting my engine.

If I left it for 15000km (I do about 18000km a year), I would feel around that 12-13000 mark that the oil is just not as good as it was when it was 2-3000km old.

Like I said, this is my belief and opinion, it makes me feel better and to be honest that's all that matters

[gti]

Hey Gerhard, absolutely no regrets on the latte. Love it and thanks for the help in making that 'huge' decision.

My thoughts are, the cleaner the oil, the better. Changing it at around 7.5.

[gti]

Service is booked for tomorrow. It'll be around the 8,000 mark.......and also getting the window mirror knob replaced after it fell off last week!

[gti]

Car has been serviced and highly recommend who I went through. (Ballarat Autohaus). They gave me the rest of the oil left over from the new supply. Their service also comes with drop-off transport and free car wash (which I of course declined politely)......