Servicing under warranty--anywhere?

[brad]

My questions are: (1) Where/how do I find these 'qualified' mechanics? Qualified by whom?
(2) How would I know if the servicing is done according to the 'manufacturer's requirements'. Is there a certificate or some other document to evidence this?
(3) Is the 'good will' 2yr extension free?
And lastly, and perhaps most importantly,
(4) Which dealer or 'qualified' mechanic would you recommend (in Sydney), to get my car serviced (and keep the warranty)?
I'd appreciate information based on direct experience, thanks.

1) Motor Traders Association of Australia give out the qualifications. You can ask your mechanic - it used to be a white credit card item with blue printing (that's what i got in 1982). Maybe it's changed
The workshop itself should also have an MTAA registration sign somewher prominent. Again, blue writing on white about 500mm x 300mm IIRC.
2) Workshop stamp in your service book
3) no idea - ask the provider
4) Where are you in Sydney? There's a fair bit of choice and Sydney is 3hrs drive North to South & 1.5hrs East to West. No point driving 2 hours if there's somebody close to home. There is a "recomended suppliers" area in this forum somewhere.


edit: delete MTAA. It's the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Council. I'm surprised Transporter didn't correct me because he's still in the thick of things.

[stickshift3000]

We just got caught out as our qualified mechanic failed to replace the DSG fluid at 60,000 because on the service page it says 'as required' but at the front of the book it says every 60,000km. VW Aust are now looking to use this to get out of the issue we have with our DSV saying we didn't have it serviced appropriately however to our knowledge (at the time) we did.

It wasn't serviced according to the manufacturer's directions, I'm not surprised VWA aren't honouring your warranty. You'll need more than good luck with that one.

I tend to think that your mechanic is not competent to work on VW DSG's if he's not aware of the DSG oil service interval.

[logger]

..Still, you're right and it should not mean anything in this instance and the car owners get their cars fixed, but most likely get flagged in the VW system as the one that was tempered with.

I doubt they will be noticed, let alone flagged. Have you had any experience of flagging actually happening in recent times? I know it is technically possible but I dont see why they would even bother checking and adding to their work load.

[blutopless2]

...and if you do so, just make sure that your VAG car doesn't have any performance tune since that automaticaly voids the warranty.

Not true. I had a 2008 MKV Jetta which I had tuned by APR at 12 months old. DSG (6 speed) was replaced under warranty with no comments from the dealer about the tune and I never switched it back to the stock program either.

[Transporter]

Re: Servicing under warranty--anywhere?

Not true. I had a 2008 MKV Jetta which I had tuned by APR at 12 months old. DSG (6 speed) was replaced under warranty with no comments from the dealer about the tune and I never switched it back to the stock program either.

Hmm, yeah 3 or 4 years ago.
But now not everyone has the same experience.

Sent from my GT-N8000

[logger]

Hmm, yeah 3 or 4 years ago.
But now not everyone has the same experience.

All very anecdotal it seems! Anecdotally, I know of people getting engines, let alone gearboxes replaced, very recently with no questions asked.

[Goz]

2) Workshop stamp in your service book
4) Where are you in Sydney? There's a fair bit of choice and Sydney is 3hrs drive North to South & 1.5hrs East to West. No point driving 2 hours if there's somebody close to home. There is a "recomended suppliers" area in this forum somewhere.

Thanks for the info everyone.
2) I think HillBilly suggested that ticking "the bits in the service book" by a non VW dealer is not good enough to keep the warranty, that you need to get a printout from VW about all the items that need to be serviced for a particular service. Have others had the same experience?

4) I'm in Summer Hill. I wouldn't mind driving 2 hrs if that VW dealer/non-VW dealer/qualified mechanic has a proven track record to be competent, trustworthy and gets the job done. And doesn't void the warranty. I need names! In the meantime, I'll see if I can find this list of "recommended suppliers" brad suggested.

[brad]

Thanks for the info everyone.
2) I think HillBilly suggested that ticking "the bits in the service book" by a non VW dealer is not good enough to keep the warranty, that you need to get a printout from VW about all the items that need to be serviced for a particular service. Have others had the same experience?

4) I'm in Summer Hill. I wouldn't mind driving 2 hrs if that VW dealer/non-VW dealer/qualified mechanic has a proven track record to be competent, trustworthy and gets the job done. And doesn't void the warranty. I need names! In the meantime, I'll see if I can find this list of "recommended suppliers" brad suggested.

2) When I hand my vehicle over to a workshop that says they do logbook servicing, that workshop assumes the responsibility that they will carry out the work in such a way that the factory warranty will not be affected. If they don't read the service book properly or use incorrect lubricants then they have to make good. Sure, it turns into a bun-fight with lots of finger pointing & wasted time.

I got the impression that the person who had their service book "ticked & flicked" went to a generalist mechanic rather than an independant VW specialist.

4) This area for recomendations
Good places near you in no particular order:
Wolfsburg Motors on the Southern side of Newtown (St.Peters??)
VW Village in Kensington
Bug Racer's place at Girraween (can't remember the name)
Camden GTI at Campbelltown (where I go)
There's a place at Monavale or up that way -name totally escapes me
Exoticars at Nth Parramatta
The place that Martin goes to - BWAauto (Ryde??)
Muller & Muller at lakemba
Ashbury Service Centre

[Goz]

Thanks brad for the recommendations and the link, really appreciate this!

I was just talking to the guy from NRMA --I had to call VW Roadside Assist(again! I called them only last week!) because the engine coolant went below MIN for the second time in the two months since we bought this new car!--and he's found patches of pink fluid on the bottom of the vehicle on the driver's side. Suspects a radiator (tank?) leakage.

Now this NRMA guy tells me I need to take this to a VW dealer for repair if I want to get it done under warranty and free of charge. According to him, non-VW dealers can fix this and the warranty won't be void, but because VW won't be paying them, they'll need to charge me for their services.

Questions:
(1) Is this true? Is this in line with what the incredible people on this forum have experienced?
(2) If I need to go to a VW dealer, which one would everyone recommend (or avoid) and why? Here is a list of VW dealers that I'd like your feedback on, beginning with the ones closest to me:
1. Barloworld Volkswagen Five Dock
Address: 155 Parramatta Road (enter via Spencer Street)
2. Rockdale Volkswagen
Address: Corner of Princes Highway and Subway Road
Rockdale, NSW, 2216
3. North Shore Volkswagen
Address: 43 - 45 Hotham Parade
Artarmon, NSW, 2064
4. Chatswood Classic Cars Commercial Vehicles
Address: 43-45 Hotham Parade
Artarmon , NSW, 2064
5. Denlo Group
Address: Unit 12-13, 148-308 James Ruse Drive
Rosehill, NSW, 2142
6. McGrath Sutherland
Address: 409 - 423 Princes Highway
Sutherland, NSW, 2232
7. Bill Buckle Volkswagen
Address: 196 Harbord Road
Brookvale, NSW, 2100
8. McCarrolls Volkswagen
Address: 132 Pacific Highway
Waitara, NSW, 2077
9. McGrath Volkswagen Liverpool
Address: Cnr Hume Highway & Boundary Road
Liverpool, NSW, 2170
10. Trivett Volkswagen
Address: 2-10 Second Avenue
Blacktown, NSW, 2148
11. Paul Wakeling Volkswagen
Address: 1A Mill Road
Campbelltown, NSW, 2560
12. Penrith Volkswagen
Address: 2128 - 2140 Castlereagh Rd
Penrith, NSW, 2750
13. Central Coast Motor Group
Address: 360 Mann Street
Gosford, NSW, 2250
14. Southern Classic Cars
Address: 188 - 196 Corrimal Street
Wollongong, NSW, 2500
15. Moss Vale Volkswagen

Thanks in advance for any info.

[Guest001]

2) When I hand my vehicle over to a workshop that says they do logbook servicing, that workshop assumes the responsibility that they will carry out the work in such a way that the factory warranty will not be affected. If they don't read the service book properly or use incorrect lubricants then they have to make good. Sure, it turns into a bun-fight with lots of finger pointing & wasted time.

I got the impression that the person who had their service book "ticked & flicked" went to a generalist mechanic rather than an independant VW specialist.

If thats me you are referring to I agree I had problems and got my money back and now go to a dealer.

However the mechanic I went to was a "Specialist VW" one but still stuffed up after I asked questions to ensure the correct things and correct lubricants would be used. They werent.
Wont be caught again though as now I supply my own oil.

[brad]

If thats me you are referring to I agree I had problems and got my money back and now go to a dealer.

No, I was referring to the person with the DSG issues.


To the OP: yes, only a VW dealer workshop can do warranty work FOC. If you go anywhere else, you can't claim the costs back from VW. This is because VW pay the dealers a wholesale rate for repairs & generally say how many hours they are willing to pay.

I can't help you with what workshop to go to. Generally, the smaller the workshop, the less of a crapshoot it is because the techs are more accountable.

I had work done at Wakelings & Penrith. Didn't like Penrith & Wakelings were only slightly better.

Rockdale VW: Are they the same as Rockdale Skoda? If so, they get good reports.

Moss Vale: same as the Moss Vale Skoda workshop? Another tick (& heaps cheaper).

McGrath Sutherland: My sister takes her EOS there. Thumbs down.

Re: the fluid leak. If it's the TSI engine it's probably the water pump & will cost about $1200 at an independent. Keep in mind that you don't have to get the service work done at the dealer just because you are getting warranty done.

[blutopless2]

Hmm, yeah 3 or 4 years ago.
But now not everyone has the same experience.

I agree... but don't really think its just now... people around the same time with issues that sounded exactly like my issues with the dsg were having trouble getting anything done... I put it down to the dealership that was being dealt with. Over the last 10 years I have dealt with the same dealership regarding warranty work on various cars (general servicing done elsewhere). I have not had any issues with them trying to bs their way out of doing the work. In some cases they have gone beyond what I thought they had to in order to get issues sorted.
guess I was lucky.

[noone]

Not true. I had a 2008 MKV Jetta which I had tuned by APR at 12 months old. DSG (6 speed) was replaced under warranty with no comments from the dealer about the tune and I never switched it back to the stock program either.

Luck. Turning it back to stock or not makes no difference with the newer ECU's, its detectable any which way.

With VWA being expected to replace thousands of parts, some will be looking for a route to avoid doing anything extra unless they have to.

[cbay]

4)
There's a place at Monavale or up that way -name totally escapes me
The place that Martin goes to - BWAauto (Ryde??)

The one at Mona Vale is European Autotech, used to take my old A4 there.
My brother takes his MKV GTI to BWA Auto too, it's in Seven Hills.

Both quality workshops!

[logger]

Luck. Turning it back to stock or not makes no difference with the newer ECU's, its detectable any which way.

Sure its detectable, but why is it even an issue..

OTOH:
1) Why would an Australian VW dealer want to enhance their reputation even more, by trying to get out of warranty work? VAG will pay for it not them. VAG already attributed the fault to design of early model mechatronics units? A corrosive ECU tune - unlikely!
2) A lot of the effected vehicles may have "older" ECUs where it may not be detectable without significant effort,
3) A lot of the effected vehicles would already be out of warranty (already older than 3 years) so the ECU tune would be voiding a warranty that is already void.
4) Blutopless is not Robinson Crusue. Many people have already had warranty work done with ECU tunes - no questions asked - in recent times. Must be a lot of LUCK going around.

Anyway I don't hear of too many people being refused warranty work due ECU tunes? Do you?