	omarrana I hooked up my accelerator to my brake lights. I hit the gas, people behind me stop, and I'm gone.
	View My AgentPage

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

omarrana submitted on 05/13/2008 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 11:49 AM
from: www.egmcartech.com

[22] user comments | category: New Cars

Print this Page |

Digg It |

del.icio.us

Tags: Volkswagen

Tag Link: Volkswagen

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

Volkswagen Group of America will begin offering free vehicle service starting in the 2009 model year in a move to boost sales and shed the German brand’s image of high-cost maintenance.

The “Carefree Maintenance Program” will give owners of 2009 Volkswagen cards and SUVs free scheduled service for three years or 36,000 miles as well as a checkup after 90 days or 6,000 miles.

According to the COO of Volkswagen Group of America, Mark Barnes, the program will make V-dub “the only automaker among our key competitors to offer a no-charge maintenance program.”

BMW started a similar... Read Article

Comments:

Images hosted in your AgentSpace can now be posted in the comments section using the following syntax (case matters):
[img]IMAGE URL[/img]
Example: [img]http://agent004.myautospies.com/users/150/Sample-Gallery/sample1.JPG[/img]

Brembo - 5/13/2008 12:26:54 PM

+1 Boost

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

reply to this comment

Htay7500 - 5/13/2008 4:21:55 PM

+2 Boost

well aint that the truth? I'd stay away from the dealers, not even touching them with a 10 foot pole. self oil change ftw...

Notjustlex - 5/19/2008 3:01:20 PM

+1 Boost

Of course they increase the price of the cars to cover the cost. When was the last time you got anything at all for free????? There is no free lunch.

Brembo - 5/13/2008 2:27:36 PM

+1 Boost

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

reply to this comment

mercuryguy - 5/13/2008 3:59:55 PM

+2 Boost

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.

reply to this comment

Brembo - 5/13/2008 4:10:08 PM

+1 Boost

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

reply to this comment

auto001 - 5/13/2008 5:02:09 PM

0 Boost

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

reply to this comment

ceric - 5/13/2008 5:38:53 PM

+1 Boost

You beat me to it.
Everyone who own BMW from new knows that you are not going to enjoy many "free" services for 3 yr/36K according to THEIR service interval.
- 1st oil change comes on at 12k-15k (free)
- 1st Inspection I comes on at the second oil change (25k-30k)
(oil change and N-points inspection, air filter, etc.)
- 3rd oil change at 36k-45k (you're out of free service now)

You think you are getting 36K/5K = 7 free oil changes?
Yeah right! Keep dreaming.

auto001 - 5/13/2008 6:06:15 PM

0 Boost

well according to BMW philosophy, when you hit 45K miles, it's time to lease another one!

now you're trapped in a never ending cycle of lease-return-lease-return... ad infinitum :) or you can keep the car and start paying for $120-200 oil changes!

ChicaneShooter - 5/15/2008 1:53:19 AM

+1 Boost

LOL! truly SMART people buy japanese, and NOT have to trade so often. my 13-yr old toy truck is still going strong. expect it to continue doing so for another 10 - 13 years.

excluding normal maintenance, actual REPAIR costs to date: $0.00.

ChicaneShooter - 5/15/2008 1:59:19 AM

+1 Boost

GF has a '93 toyota 4Runner. 275,000 miles and still going strong too.
she ALMOST shelled out nearly $600 to the local Stealer's service dept. for a "failed" power window motor replacement.

took her to my friendly indy mechanic. who found that the motor had NOT failed. trouble was merely a frayed wire at the door jamb. she got her $350 back from the Stealer for the new, UNneeded motor.

toyota dealer mechanics must be like Maytag repairmen. they're hungry enuff to "INVENT" repair jobs! (one way good products lead to bad Stealers, apparently.)

finishline - 5/13/2008 5:45:43 PM

+2 Boost

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

reply to this comment

mercuryguy - 5/13/2008 5:49:54 PM

+1 Boost

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.

reply to this comment

moto - 5/14/2008 12:20:44 AM

+1 Boost

You are glossing over the facts a bit. Oils - even synthetics - do lose their lubricity over time. Worse than getting dirty, oil acidity builds, which causes long term problems even for "perfect" cars like the much-beloved, fanboy praised Lexus machines. Poor maintenance can kill even those specimens of mechanical perfection.

All that said, when to change your oil depends strongly on what oil you use and how you drive. A lightly driven modern engine with the latest synthetic oil can indeed travel 10k + miles with no problems. However, the speed racers on this site who thrash their perfect Lexuses and GT-Rs around Nurburgring faster than any vehicle ever before will probably be advised to change their oil every ~5k or less miles.

Bottom line, do what the manufacturer recommends, and if you care about your vehicle, splurge for synthetic oil.

mercuryguy - 5/13/2008 5:53:54 PM

+1 Boost

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.

reply to this comment

mercuryguy - 5/13/2008 6:09:53 PM

+1 Boost

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.

reply to this comment

aarononymous - 5/13/2008 8:09:48 PM

+1 Boost

^^^ works for Mobil Oil

reply to this comment

Badkarma - 5/13/2008 10:17:39 PM

+2 Boost

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.

reply to this comment

donthegreek - 5/13/2008 11:24:25 PM

+1 Boost

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.

reply to this comment

mercuryguy - 5/14/2008 3:39:43 PM

+1 Boost

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.

reply to this comment

ChicaneShooter - 5/15/2008 2:11:00 AM

+1 Boost

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!)

reply to this comment

To post a comment for this story, you must first Login.

If you do not have an account, you will need to Register (It's Free!).

Most Recent Stories

Is Lexus Missing the Boat By Not Having a BMW CS Competitor?EVO Magazine: Nissan Skyline GT-R Birth Of An Icon 1989 EVO Magazine Long Term Test: Mitsubishi Evo X FQ-300 SST.....More Exciting Then The M3?2009 Suzuki SX4 Special Edition With TRIP Carlsson Tuned Mercedes GL500 With 435HP 2008 Bentley Continental GTS Black Edition by Project Kahn BMW Puts Lexus and Mercedes on Notice - But Did BMW Go Far Enough With Their New 7-Series?Bigger and more powerful Prius in the works 2008 Jaguar XKR Portfolio Limited Edition in Australia Porsche 911 Powered Trike Troubled Waters by Phoenix Trike Works Peugeot Builds 50 Millionth Peugeot Car Paolo Martin’s rendering of what the Fiat Topolino should look like Brazil receives a new Volkswagen Gol 2009 model Seat reveals schedule until 2010, includes first ever Seat SUV British companies plan a new kinetic hybrid flywheel system Tata faces a rough ride as shares drop Gordon Murrays T25 City Car Sketches Interior spy pictures of the next-generation BMW 5-series Spy pictures of the BMW X6 Hybrid New Tatra concept revealed, the 903 concept model Opel to feature the Insignia hatchback and sedan at the British Motor Show The Chevrolet Beat is being considered for the U.S market Bugatti wants a new model, maybe even a four-door-coupe Toyota Canada Reduce Retail Prices on 11 Models Maybach Exelero Concept for sale for $7.8 million Details emerge on 2010 Toyota Prius, more power and better fuel-economy 2009 Ford Focus RS images leaked before debut GM To Unleash Corvette S-Limited in Japan A Sneak Peek At Mercedes Benz's European SLR Code Name Z199 Leaked Images Have Hit The Web But The Spies Are The First With Full Details Of The New 7-Series STUD or DUD? The 2009 BMW 7 Series Leaks It Way On The Web MINI SUV to spawn a 5-door hatchback Think June Sales Were Bad? Both GM and Toyota Say Their Sales Will Fall Even Further BMW 135i with carbon fiber parts Merrill says GM bankruptcy possible AUTOEXPRESS UK: Jaguar XKR-S vs Audi R8 vs Nissan GT-R Porsche 997 TARGA Refresh Leaked Before Launch Audi A5 3.2 Quattro Review Toyota struggling to meet small car and hybrid demand Now Just What Would You Do For A Tank Of Gas?High Gas Prices Causing European Market Downturn The Good The Bad And the Ugly - Who Will Rise And Who Will Fall In 2008?Video: New Lexus RX goes testing at Nurburgring 2008 JE Design Audi Q7 Street Rocket 2008 BMW Z0 Concept Design by Andrei Avarvarii 2008 Lamberti LS1 Concept The New Kia Forte Sport Sedan 2008 Volvo & DOE Expand Drivelines 2008 Audi R8 DTM Safety Car B&B Tuned Audi TTS Sportcoupe With 362HP

More Recently Added News

Join AutoSpies

00K's Corner

Join Agent00K as she brings a special perspective to the automotive world.

Photo Galleries

AutoSpies presents the best Auto Show Photos, Automotive Videos, Car Reviews and Hot Rides.

Latest Galleries