VW to offer 3-year free-maintenance on 2009 models

So would that add to the initial cost of the vw car.

— Brembo (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 12:26:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

At least you wouldn't have to pay for anything.

— Brembo (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 2:27:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I do my own oil changes.

I had a car dealership forget to put oil in my vehicle a number of years ago. It ruined the engine, and they would not cover the damages even though it was still under the Factory warrantee. This also happened to a few other people I know.

These service bays today are too fast paced.
Everyone rushes to get it done, and rampant mistakes are made, and the customer pays the price for efficiency.

The dealer can keep the free maintenance. Take the money off the price of the vehicle. (They won't of course)

If you want it done right, do it yourself.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 3:59:55 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Fortunate for my car... I dunno how to do oil change. LOL

— Brembo (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 4:10:08 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

So whats the oil change interval on the VWs? is it the same crazy 15k mile interval as BMW?

— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 5:02:09 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Then they almost have to bring this back for Audi, too, right?

— finishline (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 5:45:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Oil doesn't wear out, Oil gets dirty!

Changing the Oil every 3,000 miles is a great way to get well over 100K miles.

Use of Synthetics like Mobil 1 is a great idea as well.

You can hear the engine start to get rough if you push it to 5K miles.

After the oil change it gets smooth as silk again.

You have to change the oil when it is very hot to get all the contaminants out.

Waiting until 5K Miles to change the oil is just lazy and dumb. A big reason why I won’t buy a used car, people just abuse them.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 5:49:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I love these car companies and oil companies that say” Our product is so great, you don’t have to change the oil until 15K miles”

This is just a marketing scheme. Does anyone really believe this nonsense? Changing oil often is the best thing you can do.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 5:53:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

If you have the dealer change the oil, get a red marker, and put a red X on the filter, because dealers have been known to cut corners, and not take the time to replace the filter.

This way you will know for sure if they did what they promised. Don’t even bother to get the oil changed, if you neglect changing the filter.

I had a service manager at Firestone once say:
“We change the filter every other interval.”

Come on, what a joke!

I have also heard the classic (from a dealer):
“ we buy a tank truck of 10W30, that is all we ever use, never mind that the label under the hood says 5w20, 10w30 will work just fine, we never had any problems with this grade”

How about changing Automatic Trans Fluid? They no longer drop the pan and replace the filter “Too time consuming” they tell me. They use a machine to draw the old fluid out, and pump new fluid in.
Wow about the contaminants still trapped in the filter?

This practice makes me want a stick shift even more now.

Faster, better, cheaper, The American Way.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 6:09:53 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

^^^ works for Mobil Oil

— aarononymous (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 8:09:48 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I have owned 5 Porsche 911's including a turbo and the oil change interval was always 15k miles. Even though the cars use a dry sump system, I have always driven the cars very hard, including lots of track time and the motors always ran like a champ, no matter how hard you drive them. 15k on Mobile one is no problem.

— Badkarma (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 10:17:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Supposedly all the 09 vw's will have synthetic oil and the oil changes are every 10,000 miles. Don't know what kind of oil.

— donthegreek (View Profile)

Posted on 5/13/2008 11:24:25 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

10k miles is just too long an interval. Tough on the motor. I don't even like to go 5k. People just can't be bothered these days I guess.

I had an engine last 250K miles. I even traded the car in. I used Mobil One, and I changed oil and filter every 2,500-3,000 miles.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/14/2008 3:39:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

there are a lot of MYTHS about the 'proper' oil change intervals.

mfgrs. do not want their engines to fail prematurely. while that mite speed up trade-in cycles, the damage to their reputations is just not worth it. it's best to go by the owner manual recommendations. no one KNOWS your engine better than the folks who built it.

if anything, most rec'd intervals are still on the conservative side. especially considering how much both engine components AND lubricants have improved over the last 100 years. changing oil more frequently just WASTES MONEY.

on the Car Talk program, a guy called in and asked, "Hey, what's this oil change business all about anyway???" he had NEVER changed the oil on his 135,000 mile honda accord! and it still ran!

(turns out, he bought it with 35k miles already on. the first owner, fortunately, was not so neglectful. and/or, Honda makes far better and more abuse tolerant engines than ANYONE ever suspected!)

— ChicaneShooter (View Profile)

Posted on 5/15/2008 2:11:00 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1