Oil change 15,000 necessary?

[brad]

All work on the car must be carried out by a licensed mechanic to keep the car covered under warranty AFAIK, even simple tasks, thats an ACCC rule I believe and stops the dealers forcing you to use them instead of the other shops. Any work by a non VW dealer is not warranted for poor workmanship (thats down to the mechanic you used, not VW) ...and non standard or non genuine parts can void (some or all of) the warranty (this is a huge subject in itself as some things are fine, some are not [1]) but a licensed mechanic has to be used either way.

The term used is "suitably qualified person" which doesn't necessarily mean a licensed mechanic. Plenty of dealerships get the apprentice to work on the car & apprentices aren't licensed (yet) - they should have been trained and assessed as competent though.

I work / have worked with a heap of guys who aren't licensed mechanics that would crap all over me in automotive repair skills even though I have a license. They could easily prove they had the knowledge & competence for many complex technical tasks on a motor vehicle.

[JonW]

One thing thats never talked about is: 'how long do to service the car at the dealer to retain its value' (as perceived on sale).

Is this only during the warranty period or later as well? We've all head of the old granddads car that is 15 years old and still serviced by the main dealer. Im never sure wether to be impressed by the dedication or galled by the lack of understanding and his inability to find a specialist instead. The poor bloke probably forked out as much to service the car as he did to buy it in the first place.

I'll put a stake in the ground. 5 years. after that any buyer will not care where its been serviced, they will just be glad it has been done, and the trade will punt it out to the traders not retail it anyway so wont worry.

Same goes for buying tyres and batteries at your dealer. Mental markups and rip offs there, yet sold by the experts who work on your car for you so they must be right etc. Only lazy owners accept the dealer prices for those things, everyone else spends 5mins on google and makes a few calls.

Ok, I'm not saying dealers are a rip off, or that you shouldn't go to them, they have their purpose. Warranty claims for example.

[JonW]

The term used is "suitably qualified person" which doesn't necessarily mean a licensed mechanic. Plenty of dealerships get the apprentice to work on the car & apprentices aren't licensed (yet) - they should have been trained and assessed as competent though.

I work / have worked with a heap of guys who aren't licensed mechanics that would crap all over me in automotive repair skills even though I have a license. They could easily prove they had the knowledge & competence for many complex technical tasks on a motor vehicle.

I will add this as a reply to your post to keep it away from the other stuff:


Interesting post brad... a few of my friend's sons work in the trade and one youngster who is a brand new apprentice (he started college last week) works at a ford dealer where he does servicing work, drives 'your' beloved car around to 'test' it and is an 'expert' in all things ford/cars... (he's a teenager, they are all experts LOL!), yet knows nothing about how a car works and has no experience yet. He might make a good mechanic one day, but is not right now. Not all the dealer's mechanics are like that, but some are. I always wonder 'Who's working on my car?' as maybe I know more than them... scary. I always hope thats not the case....

FWIW I'm not quite sure how the term "suitably qualified person" would ever be proved to the satisfaction of the importer to enable you turn a declined claim into a successful one without some kind of license, but I do understand what you mean. I just think it would be a hard thing to win with as its an easy argument from the importer. You might swing it in your favour but it would take time and be a lot of work.

[DETROITCANDY]

Many 6R twin-charge owners would question how much of the original oil actually makes it to the 15K interval service?
My first engine would have burnt through all of teh oil from the factory before the first service.

Second (CTHE) replacement has been much better but still requires regular top-ups between services.
Hopefully the 1.8 fares much better.

[alexaescht]

Many 6R twin-charge owners would question how much of the original oil actually makes it to the 15K interval service?
My first engine would have burnt through all of teh oil from the factory before the first service.

That's quite worrying really.
The TDI, thanks to oil dilution with diesel due to DPF regenerations, actually ends up with more oil coming out at the end of the oil change interval than the amount you put in lol. Again, why I prefer 10k intervals.

[JonW]

My 6R ate oil faster than fuel it seemed, one time the oil light came on 600kms into the 1000kms oil test, but after the rebuild its been fine and not used a drop. Amazing the difference. Not all 6R GTis are crap on oil and some are very good, but its easy to bash em, so people do.

[Guest001]

Our 2010 has never used a measurable amount of oil between annual changes

[brayden87]

Well I think I'll just get a quote and service it through the dealer for the 7500, then stick to the 15k intervals. If it's $200+ ill wait for the 15k instead.

As for how long you should stick with the dealer? I say until the warranty. I have 5 years, after that day I'll throw a party and take it to vw/Audi specialists in Melbourne. No doubt they'd probably do a better job than the dealers.

I know that if I take it to a non-dealer at 7500 it will bite me in the arse later on if I need to use the warranty.

As for the 1.8lt, no problems so far. It does have a rough idea when starting it cold but after I let it warm up, she's golden.

Another question though, capped price servicing? It's $400 a service, that seams steep for a oil and filter change. Suzuki and Nissan are only $200. Who's ripping who off?

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[Tuan]

Another question though, capped price servicing? It's $400 a service, that seams steep for a oil and filter change. Suzuki and Nissan are only $200. Who's ripping who off?

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Why not ? Seems like they just pick a number they like to charge you anyway.

Don't forget some people actually do drive their cars (unlike me) so if they do let's say 20,000 kms / year, then 2 x services will be required in a 12 month period - that's just doubled the service price. Whereas with a 15,000 km service interval, you're only up for one service in the same period, going by their recommendations. Over a 3 year period, you end up paying almost the same amount.

[Deleted User 0001]

My 2015 Polo 1.2 TSi has done 3,000kms. I bought it as a demo ( 3 year warranty ) at 1654kms. The oil change geni has been telling me for a month to change the oil. Not due till April ?? Went in to the workshop and had the thing reset to ( March ) next year. Quoted $400 to do the oil change :-P Bought a Polo VW filter ( $19 ) And, 5 Liters of Penrite 5W-30 ( $87 ) and my mechanic will charge me $40 to change the oil A grade mechanic and will not void the warranty Rip off merchants VW

[Transporter]

Our 2010 has never used a measurable amount of oil between annual changes

Because the diesel fuel and soot accumulated in the oil makes up for the oil lost.

[alexaescht]

Because the diesel fuel and soot accumulated in the oil makes up for the oil lost.

He's talking about his 77TSI Polo, not diesel.

[Guest001]

Because the diesel fuel and soot accumulated in the oil makes up for the oil lost.

Bit hard to do as the Polo is a Petrol.

[JonW]

Some food for thought:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMPwC09vOjk