10,000 mile service in the Bay Area

jthayer

New member
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Location
san francisco
TDI
09 JSW white/beige
Hey folks,

My 2009 TDI JSW is up for its 10,000 service (bought from Chris at VW of Langhorne, I can't say enough good things about them!)

My understanding is that these scheduled services need to be done by a dealership in order to retain warranty coverage- I'd much rather DIY or take it somewhere on "the list". I've searched this site and others and found only horror stories regarding every dealership in the bay area. I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment at the dealership closest to me (Royal Motors), but I thought I'd check in here-

* has anyone had a positive (or at least not horrible) experience at Royal or any other local dealership?
* is it true the scheduled services need to be done by dealerships?

Thanks!
 

rallyruss

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Location
Bay Area CA
TDI
98 TDI jetta, 05 passat wagon
jthayer said:
Hey folks,

My 2009 TDI JSW is up for its 10,000 service (bought from Chris at VW of Langhorne, I can't say enough good things about them!)

My understanding is that these scheduled services need to be done by a dealership in order to retain warranty coverage- I'd much rather DIY or take it somewhere on "the list". I've searched this site and others and found only horror stories regarding every dealership in the bay area. I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment at the dealership closest to me (Royal Motors), but I thought I'd check in here-

* has anyone had a positive (or at least not horrible) experience at Royal or any other local dealership?
* is it true the scheduled services need to be done by dealerships?

Thanks!
You have been mislead. Manufactures are required by law to honor the warranty they offer as long as the services have been done as specified by the factory. So if you as the vehicle owner did your own service as the service manual requires then that meets the letter of the law. Better yet have a qualified shop of your choice do the job. I am not out to put down dealerships but they have a lot of overhead and they dont make much money selling cars....
You can figure how they make ends meet.
 

durundal

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Location
SF Bay area
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen, Candy White/Pure Beige, DSG, panoramic roof, rear side airbags
jthayer said:
Hey folks,

My 2009 TDI JSW is up for its 10,000 service (bought from Chris at VW of Langhorne, I can't say enough good things about them!)

My understanding is that these scheduled services need to be done by a dealership in order to retain warranty coverage- I'd much rather DIY or take it somewhere on "the list". I've searched this site and others and found only horror stories regarding every dealership in the bay area. I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment at the dealership closest to me (Royal Motors), but I thought I'd check in here-

* has anyone had a positive (or at least not horrible) experience at Royal or any other local dealership?
* is it true the scheduled services need to be done by dealerships?

Thanks!
I had my 10k done at Stevens Creek VW (felt too stupid to pay for it as part of the purchase price and then not use it), they knew about the 507 oil and were generally courteous and gave me a loaner. Not sure if it'd be worth driving down from SF for though. Also had a door hinge replaced there, seems good so far. I would avoid Sunnyvale VW, they were much shadier and don't offer loaner cars, just a one way drop off shuttle.
 

soldierguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2004
Location
California
TDI
'15 Jetta TDI S DSG
Try Boardwalk in Redwood City. I haven't been to them, but they are heartily endorsed over on vwvortex as being mod-friendly. Being mod-friendly suggests two things to me: (1) they like the GTI crowd, and (2) they know vehicles. The first may be a negative when it comes to TDI stuff, but the second is a big positive in my book...if they know vehicles, they'll very likely be up-to-date on what should and shouldn't be done to your TDI. On their sales side, they do tend to have one of the larger TDI inventories around...all that says is that they probably do a decent volume business in TDIs, but they also probably see many of them back for service.
 

samba415

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
Location
San Francisco
TDI
04 Golf
Curious as to how your experience at Royal went. I have my own cents to offer, but I'll save some time if this thread is dead....
 

NFSTDI

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Sunny California :)
TDI
'98 Jetta
If I owned a new TDI it would go to Walnut Creek VW. Sonnen Motors in San Rafael would be my second choice.
 

TDI-Shawn

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
JSW 2010
durundal said:
I had my 10k done at Stevens Creek VW (felt too stupid to pay for it as part of the purchase price and then not use it), they knew about the 507 oil and were generally courteous and gave me a loaner. Not sure if it'd be worth driving down from SF for though. Also had a door hinge replaced there, seems good so far. I would avoid Sunnyvale VW, they were much shadier and don't offer loaner cars, just a one way drop off shuttle.
Just called them for my 10K service and they don't do loaner cars anymore. Just shuttle drop-off and no pick-up, so that's probably a deal-breaker as I work in South Bay but live elsewhere and too much hassle to somehow get back to dealership to get my car.
 

ruking

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Location
San Jose area, CA
TDI
2003 VW Jetta, 5 M, Reflex Silver: 09 Jetta, 6 Sp DSG, Candy White: 12 VW Touareg, 8 Sp A/T, Flint Gray
jthayer said:
Hey folks,

My 2009 TDI JSW is up for its 10,000 service (bought from Chris at VW of Langhorne, I can't say enough good things about them!)

My understanding is that these scheduled services need to be done by a dealership in order to retain warranty coverage- I'd much rather DIY or take it somewhere on "the list". I've searched this site and others and found only horror stories regarding every dealership in the bay area. I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment at the dealership closest to me (Royal Motors), but I thought I'd check in here-

* has anyone had a positive (or at least not horrible) experience at Royal or any other local dealership?
* is it true the scheduled services need to be done by dealerships?

Thanks!
The tricky part has always been the (real world) logistics. Both Toyota AND Honda have actually moved to the city where I live (7 mins 3 miles) and either will shuttle me home or other silicon valley destination. I am sure the new Honda dealer in town will match this if I ask. Toyota will actually pick me up if I need a ride to pick up the car. At other times Toyota has sent a tow truck to pick up a car for maintenance. They will also let me drive a new demo if something catches my eye. I have actually been toying (no pun intended) with getting Toyota to do the (non Toyota) maintenance. They have a few dedicated mechanics that do service on all their used cars.

Winn VW is only 14 min or 9 miles away, but it might as well be 50 miles away, given practical logistics. (spoiled eh?) So on the last 10,000 miles interval @ 12,200 miles, I just stayed @ the dealership and test drove new VW's to pass the time. On topic, they seemed to do a seamless job. Even put in the correct VW 507.00 oil (5 units)Castrol LL03 aka gold bottles. I even threw open the hood (tasteless I know) and checked the dipstick @ the 3 min mark. It was DEAD on. This dealership has new and dynamic ownership.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 22, 2010
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
TDI
JSW2010
So, are any of the South Bay dealers better with TDIs than others? Stevens Creek and Toyota of Sunnyvale are the closest to where I work, Capitol would be a stretch. In each case, none offer loaner cars. It has been suggested by multiple sources that I avoid VW of Santa Cruz (right near where I live).

Given I have other things to spend $$ on right now, I'd prefer to take advantage of the "free" 10k service for now.

Thoughts?

Thanks
-jim
 
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