Servicing/Repair Costs - could we help each other?

[Graeme]

I'm uneasy about our ability to "control" our repair costs.

We are often kind of stuck with the dealers because of the need for their technical knowledge and equipment. And theoretically they ought to be quicker than the local garage which has to muddle along with less experience.

The trouble is it is hard to get useful competing quotes for several reasons...
1. Dealers only tell you that an xyz service "should cost about..."
2. Geographic limitations
3. Dealers have few owners (Inchcape Group and Barlowworld and ?)

My recent experience was not untypical. I chose Chatswood Classic over BarlowWorld as the former had around $6.00 per hour lower labour costs and I guessed parts prices should be similar.

But was I dudded? Firstly an hours spent item appears nowhere on the bill. The 90,000 service came to $310.50 with another $159 in parts Maybe that was OK but then they hit you with another $41 for workshop consumables, waste recovery levy, and VAG 5051 electronic testing. The last seems rather naughty - it should surely be part of the service charge and in any case you are not billed for use of their spanners. On their 50 cars a day throughput they earn $190,000 a year to pay for their VW laptop.

SUGGESTION

We have a section of the Forum merely for listing details of repair costs. For example...

HEADING: T5 128kw 2006 4Motion 90,000km Service
Chatswood Classic Cars
Service Charge $310.50
Parts $159.23
Misc $41.21
Comment: includes two figures of concern: $130.31 for a fuel filter and $14.95 for the computer.


We might learn where to go and what to argue about.

[Transporter]

Graeme,

You can be the first to add your information.

I made a spreadsheet anyone should be able to download it and edit. Use tabs at the bottom of the sheet for your state and write the dealer/workshop name with the prices, leave front page for only the cheapest/best job. You can use insert comment in cells if you want to write the comment and additional information. T4 and other transporters and Caddies can use that spreadsheet just rename it and change/modify it to suite. I didn’t fill any prices for SA Solitaire Automotive, cause I do my own servicing. I’m sure some one will fill in.

How ever IMO independent VW workshop that you can trust may be the way to go.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AqrBI3u98haPdEtydEZ3T3F6UDFDMENzaHBvWEpILUE&hl=en

[Seano]

You can get a service estimate via www.carservice.com.au but I'd have to support this thread as a good way to go.

As I live in a regional centre you may be interested to know that my VW dealer service costs are significantly cheaper than they were when I used metro dealers (Chatswood Classic, Central Coast VW and the dealer in Perth).....both in terms of parts/consumables and in terms of labour (despite the labour charge of $90/hour).

I can also specify what I want done. I just had the dealer supply & change the inner front CV shaft boot plus do an oil change (I supplied filter & oil). They did the repair and simply an oil swap (no VAG time) and I paid $399 with most of it (almost $300) being labour.

Even so the independant lads around town are typically cheaper....mostly because they only charge $70 to $80 per hour and they only charge for the time they take (as opposed to the preset time prescribed by VW) and they charge less for oil etc. The downside is that unless I supply the oil they use the wrong specification of oil because "we don't like using that thin oil in our operating conditions".

The result is that I tend to shop the T4 around town depending on the job required. Basic stuff by the independents or yours truly and the specialist stuff by the dealer....

I'll see if I can drag some of the old records out to further illuminate this thread.

[Shifter]

What a brilliant idea - when my ride finally gets down here to Tassie, I'll will contribute.

[Graeme]

Thanks for the spreadsheet and more details

The more I looked at my bill the more dubious I am about the whole racket.
Here's the detail BEFORE GST is added...

The Service is $311. I assume that is the labour but it does not actually say so. That was supposed to be at around $126 per hour. I would have thought that the "checking" this and that could be done in half an hour. Another half hour for the oil change?

Oil Filter 19
Sump Plug 4
Fuel Filter 130
Hose clip Fuel 3
Oil 148
Consumables 17
Waste levy 10
Electronic test 15

The above is the service for 90,000. There was another 68 for regassing the a/c.

Only one question for the technically knowledgeable. How important is it to get the vehicle plugged in the the VW computer to assess everything? Presumably the local presumably cheaper garage cannot manage this.

The forum members ought to buy a VW computer one for each state and share it around! If only.

[Transporter]

The more I looked at my bill the more dubious I am about the whole racket.
Here's the detail BEFORE GST is added...

The Service is $311. I assume that is the labour but it does not actually say so. That was supposed to be at around $126 per hour. I would have thought that the "checking" this and that could be done in half an hour. Another half hour for the oil change?

Oil Filter 19
Sump Plug 4
Fuel Filter 130
Hose clip Fuel 3
Oil 148
Consumables 17
Waste levy 10
Electronic test 15

The above is the service for 90,000. There was another 68 for regassing the a/c.

Only one question for the technically knowledgeable. How important is it to get the vehicle plugged in the the VW computer to assess everything? Presumably the local presumably cheaper garage cannot manage this.

The forum members ought to buy a VW computer one for each state and share it around! If only.

Ok,
Looking at the part's prices they seem reasonable. Even the total for the service is not that bad for the dealer’s 90,000km service.

You don't have to connect to VW computer every time when you change the engine oil, these T5's are capable 50,000km or 2 years between services (in Europe running on LongLife oil which you have to use in any country anyway - in before 2006 T5 TDI with PD injection).

Any independent VW workshop would have VCDS (vag-com) which is not exactly the same like connecting it to VAS, but more than enough for checking, testing and troubleshooting.

[Shifter]

Just droped my T5 off at the local VW garage for it's first 15,000 k service. I asked them if they would change all of the drive train fluids and the Haldex filter - he looked at me with a very strange look, but said nothing until I asaked him to also change the brake fluid. He asked me why I wanted that done and I expalined that brake fluid is hygroscopic - attracks water, he looked bemused and said we never change it. I just said please do it and also give me measurements of the wear down on the rotor, again he was bemused.

Mechnaics ain't mechanics anymore!

We will see what transpires tomorrow when I pick it up?

I fill in the spreadsheet, when I get the costs, probably need a second mortgage!

[gregozedobe]

He asked me why I wanted that done and I expalined that brake fluid is hygroscopic - attracks water, he looked bemused and said we never change it. I just said please do it and also give me measurements of the wear down on the rotor, again he was bemused.

Mechnaics ain't mechanics anymore!

You are absolutely right, which is why VW have brake fluid listed for replacement every 2 years in all their service schedules (regardless of distance travelled). Sounds like he isn't following the official VW service schedules - I wonder what else he is not doing ?

If you really want to see his head spin, tell him to change the clutch fluid at your next service (if you have a manual gearbox) !

The clutch shares the fluid in the brake reservoir, but unless you drain the old fluid from the clutch line and clutch slave cylinder (via the bleed screw on the slave cylinder) it accumulates all sorts of nasties and ends up stuffing up the clutch slave cylinder. That ends up a very expensive fix, as the only way to get access to the slave cylinder itself is to remove the bell housing - what a great design for easy maintenance -NOT !

Much better to avoid the problem by bleeding the clutch line and clutch slave cylinder every two years at the same time as replacing the brake fluid (and confirm that they bleed the brake lines and calipers thoroughly to ensure all the old fluid is gone from them too).

[Shifter]

For some unknown reason I can't get the speadsheet to open?

Anyway, just collected my dual cab T5 having had the following work completed:

15,000 km service $212.40.
They checked the brake pads for weardown 11mm remaining on the front and 9mm remaining on the rear. They also checked the rotors for wear down 29.3mm measured on the front , mim 25.5, don't know what thickness they start at?

Change all drive train oils $236.00

Axle synthetic oil 2 units $92.50
Haldax oil filter $40.90
High Perfo??? $55.47
4 motion gearbox oil 3 ltrs$138.00
Wscreen solution $2.01
Screw $3.32
Oil filter element $16.64

Castrol SLX engine oil $120.00
VW Dot 4 breake fluid $24.75
Fuel cleaner $11.80
Workshop supplies $9.00
Envio fee $5.00

Total $967.79

GST $96.78

Round off $0.02

Total 1064.55

More than I thought and the labour to change out the oils in the drive train seems excesive, but mabe not. Anyway I now know that that all is well for another 30,000 k's with and engine oil change at 7,500.

[Transporter]

It's not bad price,
3L oil for gearbox probably includes bevel gearbox.
Check T5 Maintenance and Care thread for info on brakes and other.

You can download the excel sheet from here

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=27697044ea6264b82fb2ca15d7ea42d9e04e75f6e8ebb871

Google docs. is probably having some glitches.

Google docs. fixed? let me know if not

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AqrBI3u98haPdE1LbHFLZWc1aklRd0RFTjQzdnJWZHc&hl=en

[Shifter]

Google spreadsheet still no go. 3ltrs of oil includes bevel gear.