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Each to their own I guess.
For my 07 Jetta, I'm happy to take it to a dealer while it's under warranty. I know all about apprentices working on cars etc but at the end of the day, the Jetta is not exactly a common car and I'd prefer someone who at least seen one before service it.
My main concern is though, having had a car that had many warranty issues in the past, I have also experienced the "goodwill" that comes from having a service history with the dealer. My last Land Rover had a gearbox and a ABS sensor ($3500 and $1000 respectively) replaced out of warranty. I seriously doubt they would have done that if it was never serviced there - it would have been "letter of the law" type stuff.
In fact I have seen that first hand - a vehicle with 3.5yrs/108,000kms on the clock had a head failure (turbodiesel). No servicing by the dealer (and fingers were pointed at out-of-specification lubricants, but I doubt that was the cause, but what can you do) - sorry no warranty goodwill - warranty is 3yrs/100k only. Repairs were to cost $12k, vehicle was worth $18k. He got $6k from the dealer for it, and walked away. Massive financial hit.
However, once it's out of warranty, I will still take it to a VW specialist (not a dealer). There is a lot to be said for being familiar with a vehicle, and unless it's a Commodore, Falcon or Corolla my opinion is that the local service monkey will not be alert for any 'common issues'. My 01 Jeep gets serviced by an independent, but one who is a Jeep expert.
For my 07 Jetta, I'm happy to take it to a dealer while it's under warranty. I know all about apprentices working on cars etc but at the end of the day, the Jetta is not exactly a common car and I'd prefer someone who at least seen one before service it.
My main concern is though, having had a car that had many warranty issues in the past, I have also experienced the "goodwill" that comes from having a service history with the dealer. My last Land Rover had a gearbox and a ABS sensor ($3500 and $1000 respectively) replaced out of warranty. I seriously doubt they would have done that if it was never serviced there - it would have been "letter of the law" type stuff.
In fact I have seen that first hand - a vehicle with 3.5yrs/108,000kms on the clock had a head failure (turbodiesel). No servicing by the dealer (and fingers were pointed at out-of-specification lubricants, but I doubt that was the cause, but what can you do) - sorry no warranty goodwill - warranty is 3yrs/100k only. Repairs were to cost $12k, vehicle was worth $18k. He got $6k from the dealer for it, and walked away. Massive financial hit.
However, once it's out of warranty, I will still take it to a VW specialist (not a dealer). There is a lot to be said for being familiar with a vehicle, and unless it's a Commodore, Falcon or Corolla my opinion is that the local service monkey will not be alert for any 'common issues'. My 01 Jeep gets serviced by an independent, but one who is a Jeep expert.
It came back washed (lotta good seeing its raining today and tonight) and vaccumed. They also replaced under warranty the RHD drivers door lock actuator that was sticking and no charge for headlight aim check.
Nearly every time towards the end there was some stupid reason for keeping it over night too. The warranty list was huge and I am sure 90% of things didn’t need doing; they are too incompetent to actually find the fault (if there was one at all)- just start replacing really expensive parts and invoice the manufacturer. Unfortunately for me and others they are the only dealership in Brisbane.
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