VW service costs

[tw586]

is just me or is the fixed price service costs very expensive, I have a GTI original and had its 1 yr service, $452.00, no extra work just a standard service, I was shocked that 6 lt of valvoline synpower cost $130. and charged 300+ for 70min work?
but they did wash the car as well. I used to run a ford dealership workshop about 15 years ago and a simple service was like $150 then. When I questioned the cost they just said that what VW recommends to charge. I priced the oil and is retails for $75 for a 5 lt container. to me thats just over the top prices

[doc_777]

They’re not cheap, that’s for sure but the upside (IMO) is that there are no surprises. I just had the 2 year done on my Alltrack wolf. $609 minus one of the $100 vouchers the dealer gave me when I bought the car. So for five hunjee they flushed the brake fluid, replaced the cabin filter, engine oil and filter, as well as all the checks etc. it’s all the little things like lubricating locks and hinges etc that don’t get done on a cheap, basic service. For the actual work that gets done - yeah, I can live with the cost.

I’m a qualified mechanic - up until this vehicle I used to do my own maintenance and servicing and there was a definite cost saving. However these days I prefer spending the hours on recreational or fitness pursuits.

There are are plenty of places that can do less work for less money. The Hobart dealership however has been great to deal with for both my wife’s and my VW’s - I don’t regret spending my $ with them and I reckon that is part of the deal - you gotta find someone who you don’t begrudge paying the $ to, because for you there is a benefit.

[ABCD]

To be fair here not sure you can use a $150 basic service over 15 years ago to conclude that a $450 service charge today is unreasonable. But I would argue that for what is essentially an oil and filter change, a quick hose down with the Karcher and if you are lucky a quick look over of the car charging $150 15 years ago or $450 today is ridiculous.

[Kachingg]

My service for my alltrack is $260 for a oil and filter and basic check over
Dealership want $400 for same deal
Plus i get better oil my mechanics wont use anything but motul
Remember dealerships make 65% of their profit from the service center
My parent's have a gla200 merc the dealership wanted 2200 for front brakes a diesel fuel filter and a engine air filter!
Sent them to my mechanics cost was 1000 for same...

[Lucas_R]

A good independant VW specialist would be <$300 for the same service.

As a comparison, I paid the following late last year:

$308 for a 3rd year scheduled service on my Audi SQ5. This was at an independant VW/Audi specialist (Newcastle VW Centre). My car holds more oil than your Golf so a service for your car would be around $290 based off that pricing.

$296 for a basic oil + filter change and check over on my Lexus IS-F at a different workshop. This car holds around 9.5L of synthetic oil at $15.00 per litre so much of that cost was the oil - your car would have to be $60 or so less than that based off oil quantity alone.

[tw586]

To be fair here not sure you can use a $150 basic service over 15 years ago to conclude that a $450 service charge today is unreasonable. But I would argue that for what is essentially an oil and filter change, a quick hose down with the Karcher and if you are lucky a quick look over of the car charging $150 15 years ago or $450 today is ridiculous.

My previous service on my last car, C250 Merc cost less than $400 from the selling dealer, and prior to that was a honda accord euro and its service costs were sub 300 minor service and around 350 for a major. By comparison the Vw cost is very expensive. I was just so shocked at the price! For info labour charge in 2003 when I left was @90 per hour, considering I was at the VW dealership for a total of 2 hrs I estimate they are earning @150 or better labour cost. even the pest Truck dealers dont charge much more than that. May be I should go back to the car industry as it seems the heavy vehicle is not as lucrative as I though (Pun)

[doc_777]

So what you’re saying is that you didn’t research the service costs before you bought the vehicle. Otherwise there should have been no surprise since VW have been using capped price servicing model for quite a few years now...

[tw586]

Yep guilty as charged, made the assumption it would cost less than Mercedes Benz to service.

[doc_777]

I found Mercedes service prices quite reasonable for their basic vehicles. I bought a W164 ML new back in 2007 and the service prices were really quite moderate. S350 however - starting price was $1100 per year. Of course, the VW purchase prices are tiny compared to the Benz as well....

[syncro]

The biggest rip off is the cabin air filter. They last for many years and take about 3 minutes to replace. They don't ever check them, they just change them. Wiper blades are another. I get at least 10 years out of genuine blades.

[GolfRWag]

Quick check of fixed prices for Golf R shows $452, $584, $651, $821, $386 for first 5 years up to 75 000 km.
Bit exxy but not too far over the top as long as you don't fall for the unnecessary expensive dealer fitted wipers, cabin filter, brake job, tyres etc - far cheaper to DIY those or pick a specialist.

[doc_777]

Quick check of fixed prices for Golf R shows $452, $584, $651, $821, $386 for first 5 years up to 75 000 km.
Bit exxy but not too far over the top as long as you don't fall for the unnecessary expensive dealer fitted wipers, cabin filter, brake job, tyres etc - far cheaper to DIY those or pick a specialist.

the fixed price services from VW has plenty of inclusions like cabin filter, brake fluid flush etc etc. Our VW dealer has quoted some seriously competitive prices in tyres too.

[GolfRWag]

the fixed price services from VW has plenty of inclusions like cabin filter, brake fluid flush etc etc. Our VW dealer has quoted some seriously competitive prices in tyres too.

That's good to hear - normally you expect a decent rip from the dealer for extra things.

[Transporter]

These days most of the cars are serviced once a year. I remember, not so long ago, it was every 6 months and dealer prices didn’t change much, so you still should be paying less than 10 or so years ago.

[doc_777]

These days most of the cars are serviced once a year. I remember, not so long ago, it was every 6 months and dealer prices didn’t change much, so you still should be paying less than 10 or so years ago.

Thats a very good point - 6m/10k km was the standard not too long ago at all. Plus all the consumables like rotor buttons, distributor caps points, plug leads that seemed to last a couple of months in summer...