Just had my 10K mile maint.

Painless.

VW is picking up the tab for the 10K maint on all the 2015 TDis so I used the dealer where I bought the car. Totally painless other than the hour and a half it took to change oil/top fluids, including DEF/rotate tires.

I'm normally anti-stealership but I like Fitzgerald in Frederick MD so far.

Nice I like my dealer in VT also and use for all scheduled maintenance. Dealers always get a bad rap but there are definitely good dealers out there with good VW mechanics.

kevkor2002 said:

Painless.
VW is picking up the tab for the 10K maint on all the 2015 TDis so I used the dealer where I bought the car. Totally painless other than the hour and a half it took to change oil/top fluids, including DEF/rotate tires.
I'm normally anti-stealership but I like Fitzgerald in Frederick MD so far.

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Is the 10K maintenance free for everyone or was this something you had with the dealership?

I'd go at 10k if they'd give me 6 quarts of oil, an oil filter, and a couple of Kruse bottles of AdBlue for free without touching my car.

But they won't and I won't.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

I'd go at 10k if they'd give me 6 quarts of oil, an oil filter, and a couple of Kruse bottles of AdBlue for free without touching my car.

But they won't and I won't.

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sounds like you know what you're talking about, same here

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

I'd go at 10k if they'd give me 6 quarts of oil, an oil filter, and a couple of Kruse bottles of AdBlue for free without touching my car.
But they won't and I won't.

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I passed on the 3 free oil changes on my mk6 for the same reason. Plus, I can't stand waiting a couple hours for something I can do in 15 minutes.

You guys are hardcore. I like the free coffee, donuts and wifi at the dealer plus I head into town as my favorite burrito shop in close by. Way better then getting greasy and wrestling with an oil filter.

BobbyWires said:

You guys are hardcore. I like the free coffee, donuts and wifi at the dealer plus I head into town as my favorite burrito shop in close by. Way better then getting greasy and wrestling with an oil filter.

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If you trust that they'll:

1. Actually change your oil.
2. Actually change your oil filter.
3. Use the correct oil.
4. Fill it to the correct level.
5. Replace washer and correctly torque drain bolt and filter housing.

Go for it!

I don't trust them and I value my time, so I do it myself.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

If you trust that they'll:

1. Actually change your oil.
2. Actually change your oil filter.
3. Use the correct oil.
4. Fill it to the correct level.
5. Replace washer and correctly torque drain bolt and filter housing.

Go for it!

I don't trust them and I value my time, so I do it myself.

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Just more of this forums hate the dealer mentality. Propaganda to make you fear them. I like the trust but verify philosophy. I have purchased three TDIs from my dealer and utilized the free service and the nifty $500.00 VW dealer only card there. From the waiting room window, I watched them service my cars never a problem and I did make sure that they showed me the correct oil that they used. When they were done I checked the oil level myself no big deal and it was always spot on. So if you like to purchase the oil and filter and spend the time & effort and disposal of used oil,(time is money too) Hate the dealer.

MichaelB said:

Just more of this forums hate the dealer mentality. Propaganda to make you fear them. I like the trust but verify philosophy. I have purchased three TDIs from my dealer and utilized the free service and the nifty $500.00 VW dealer only card there. From the waiting room window, I watched them service my cars never a problem and I did make sure that they showed me the correct oil that they used. When they were done I checked the oil level myself no big deal and it was always spot on. So if you like to purchase the oil and filter and spend the time & effort and disposal of used oil,(time is money too) Hate the dealer.

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Whatever floats your boat. That's the beauty of living in a free country. It's so much faster to do it myself vice driving to and from a dealer and waiting around on them, plus I know it's done right, so it's a no-brainer for me. I also pull samples for oil analysis, so again, doing it myself for peace of mind is the right way.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

Whatever floats your boat. That's the beauty of living in a free country. It's so much faster to do it myself vice driving to and from a dealer and waiting around on them, plus I know it's done right, so it's a no-brainer for me. I also pull samples for oil analysis, so again, doing it myself for peace of mind is the right way.

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Granted it is a free country just don't tell others if they don't do it your way that they will get screwed as the dealer will surely do it wrong. Also, my dealer is only ten minutes from my house and I am retired so anytime they can get it in is easy for me. If what ever service they are going to perform takes over an hour they will drive me home and come pick me up when they are done. I know that is not the case for everybody else here. When it is not free or recall or warranty I go see one of our own. That is two hour drive for me.He even tells his customers if it's just an oil change go to the dealer.
Jason's Turbo Diesel Repair, LLC.
4200 Schneider Dr
Oregon, WI 53575

Oil analysis is just a totally unnecessary expense. When did the money you spent on that ever yield a result that made you feel like there was something wrong with your car?

MichaelB said:

Granted it is a free country just don't tell others if they don't do it your way that they will get screwed as the dealer will surely do it wrong. Also, my dealer is only ten minutes from my house and I am retired so anytime they can get it in is easy for me. If what ever service they are going to perform takes over an hour they will drive me home and come pick me up when they are done. I know that is not the case for everybody else here. When it is not free or recall or warranty I go see one of our own. That is two hour drive for me.He even tells his customers if it's just an oil change go to the dealer.
Jason's Turbo Diesel Repair, LLC.
4200 Schneider Dr
Oregon, WI 53575

Oil analysis is just a totally unnecessary expense. When did the money you spent on that ever yield a result that made you feel like there was something wrong with your car?

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I traded a car at 40k due to very elevated wear metals that were trending even higher, so I felt it paid off. I'd have never known it without oil analysis.

Also, you really seem to want to put words in my mouth. I never said I "hate" dealers. That's your own creation. I also never said anybody had to do anything. That's another creation in your mind. I was just explaining what I do and don't really care what others do.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

I traded a car at 40k due to very elevated wear metals that were trending even higher, so I felt it paid off. I'd have never known it without oil analysis.

Also, you really seem to want to put words in my mouth. I never said I "hate" dealers. That's your own creation. I also never said anybody had to do anything. That's another creation in your mind. I was just explaining what I do and don't really care what others do.

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Wow, how do you know that car would not have lasted? How much did you spend on analysis and how much did you lose when you dumped the car?You pawned it off on some one else. Did they see early engine failure? You also read into my words to justify your statements I really don't care but, others are reading this too not just you and me bantering and you wanting to justify your anti dealership feelings. Peace of mind........give me a break do you know how many times I have read that here! Blue Hen, I say chicken little.

I do most things myself, but won't do my own dental work.

I do all my own oil changes and other required maintenance on all our family's cars. That way I can do an underside inspection and see if anything (like cv joint boots) may need attention soon. It's really not difficult as are other normal auto maintenance tasks. Plus, being a bit self sufficient builds character and gets you off your butt.

aja8888 said:

I do most things myself, but won't do my own dental work.

I do all my own oil changes and other required maintenance on all our family's cars. That way I can do an underside inspection and see if anything (like cv joint boots) may need attention soon. It's really not difficult as are other normal auto maintenance tasks. Plus, being a bit self sufficient builds character and gets you off your butt.

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In theory I will stress "in theory" when a dealer does service work they are supposed to do all the underside inspections and then some including measuring brake pad wear & checking alignment when rotating tires. I also agree some do and some don't. Hence trust but verify. I use to do all that stuff myself to but now I have many other things to get me off my butt aside from crawing around on my back under my car.

Different strokes. Some people like to eat donuts and burritos all day, and others don't mind getting their hands dirty. I actually enjoy doing the routine maintenance myself. But I realize it's not everyone's cup of tea.

MichaelB said:

In theory I will stress "in theory" when a dealer does service work they are supposed to do all the underside inspections and then some including measuring brake pad wear & checking alightment. I also agree some do and some don't. Hence trust but verify. I use to do all that stuff myself to but now I have many other things to get me off my butt aside from crawing around on my back under my car.

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I'm not down on dealers. There are good ones, you just have to find them.

I do this stuff because I am 73, have no kids at home, the yard is minimal and taken care of by the HOA, and just like working on my own stuff. Plus, a 45 year career as an engineer that took care of high horsepower machinery as big as a single family house, I feel working on these cars is pretty damn simple and gets me time away from my wife.

aja8888 said:

I'm not down on dealers. There are good ones, you just have to find them.

I do this stuff because I am 73, have no kids at home, the yard is minimal and taken care of by the HOA, and just like working on my own stuff. Plus, a 45-year career as an engineer that took care of high horsepower machinery as big as a single family house, I feel working on these cars is pretty damn simple and gets me time away from my wife.

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So let's blame the wife............mine died from early onset Alzheimers. I wish I had her back and not have to use car maintenance as an excuse to get away from her. I think that some day you will miss that companionship as opposed to changing the oil on your car to get away from her. And now we are way far away from the original intent of this thread. You all can continue to debate the merits of DIY vs some one else doing it for you but I have said my peace and I'm done. BTW I too worked as a mechanical engineer..big deal. The car is peanuts compared to that. Carry on.

Well...this all escalated quickly

I have done many of the oil changes in my Honda Fit and my S2000. This one was included as part of the 2015 sale run. I know the service manager. I trust the dealer.

I don't know that I will go back as its 45 mins from where I live and I have a local mechanic I trust to do all the stuff I don't want to try, am too lazy to bother, or to fix what i get half way through and need assistance.

Any who...I started the thread so I'll hopefully let it die being the last post. Thanks for all the replies

I'm not sure I'd call a dealer service department "good" just because they can successfully change oil and rotate tires. Where dealers fall down is on more complex repairs that require diagnostic work. All dealers (not just VW) are more inclined to replace parts than try to fix something.

Spend a few days talking to customers who've gotten repair quotes from dealers for items that we find rarely, if ever, break on VWs and you'll know what I mean.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I'm not sure I'd call a dealer service department "good" just because they can successfully change oil and rotate tires. Where dealers fall down is on more complex repairs that require diagnostic work. All dealers (not just VW) are more inclined to replace parts than try to fix something.

Spend a few days talking to customers who've gotten repair quotes from dealers for items that we find rarely, if ever, break on VWs and you'll know what I mean.

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I have a neighbor that works as a contract mechanic for a Mitsubishi dealer north of town. He has told me that virtually nothing is a "fix" anymore (no creative work). It's all R&R. I doubt that the vast majority of mechanics at dealers are capable of rebuilding a starter motor for example (nor would they want to). It's all read the codes and replace parts until the code goes away.

There's too much money in the service department billing rates and part markups to do otherwise.

So we think putting time towards determining an issue and putting it back together with bailing twine and duct tape (creative fix) makes them a better than a dealer that spends the same amount of time diagnosing it and replacing the part? Diagnosis is just part of the job. Its rarely good practice to take what the owner says is wrong as what to repair. "Well I read on line that the chuga chuga at 2750 rpms might be an out of alignment roto-girder so they said if you just replace that I'm good. So theres nothing to diagnose. " The time it takes to diagnose and the general repair costs for Euros in general has scared me away from these cars since Audi ate about $18K worth of warranty work on my S4.

I wholeheartedly agree that part of that is the loss of inventive and flexible mechanics in the stealerships but I don't see this as a valid argument that most are no good.

This was the first time I've been to a dealer with my car in years because I never liked taking my stuff to them for over priced oil changes. Like I had said. i trust the service department...and a free oil change was worth my time this time.

The incompetence at many, if not most, vw service departments is legendary. The dealership where I bought my tdi has been doing paint and pray tdi timing belt jobs for over a decade. The litany of various other screwups is far too long to list here.

kevkor2002 said:

Painless.

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Sure, until you walk into the shop and see Tyrone putting 505 in your engine.

But, hey, out of sight, out of mind? As long as the oil's black!

Lol this (and most all brand dealerships) remind me of this Tommy Boy clip: https://youtu.be/0slTBGBEf0g

I understand most people don't have the time nor the inconvenience of changing their own oil but I bought this car to buy a long term vehicle so I do all the work myself. I don't even trust anyone to remove the wheels for new tires. I'm spoiled having 2 lifts at my home garage but I'd still do the work myself. Only way I know it's done right.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

If you trust that they'll:

1. Actually change your oil.
2. Actually change your oil filter.
3. Use the correct oil.
4. Fill it to the correct level.
5. Replace washer and correctly torque drain bolt and filter housing.

Go for it!

I don't trust them and I value my time, so I do it myself.

Click to expand...

You forgot:

6. Actually top off the AdBlue.
7. Fill it without spilling any in the trunk.



I use an oil extractor from IDParts and can get my oil changes done in about 15-20 minutes (topside oil filters are AWESOME). That's way better than a 20-minute drive to the dealer, waiting around for an hour or more, and then debating why my one year old car is NOT due for a brake flush just because it has 30,000 miles on it (service manager cannot read his own literature, even the part that says "regardless of mileage").

I use the dealer if and when it's convenient AND cost effective (which isn't often).

jerrymander said:

Sure, until you walk into the shop and see Tyrone putting 505 in your engine.

But, hey, out of sight, out of mind? As long as the oil's black!

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I've never bought into the oil scare. 3k mile oil change intervals are a scam and just lead to higher costs over time imo. Its the life blood of the car fine. My first car (mitsu Mirage) I did the oil changes with dino oil every time...7k between oil changes and got 160k miles out of it before I had to trade it in on something bigger to accommodate 2 baby seats. I don't recall the oil change interval of the Ford Windstar we traded it for. My WRX was every 7K and either I did it or the Subaru dealer in Frederick MD. My Toyota Seq got 170K before we sold it and it was the same thing. My S4 was all dealer maint and it had 110K when I sold it cause its a euro and was out of warranty. My Fit has 287k miles and has been changed at either my garage or one of two small mechanics by my house. Always 1-2k miles over the maintenance reminders request. My S2000 has 144k and sees very frequesnt visits to the fuel cut at 9K rpms...either me or my local mechanic does the changes at around 7500 miles. In all of these cars I make sure it has oil periodically and I drive them hard. I've never had a significant issue with any of them related to oil starvation or oil filter or similar. (Someone find me some wood to knock on!)

Anyone whos had issues with a dealer or mechanic then that sucks and I feel for you. I don't pretend that dealerships are where I prefer to take my cars typically. I've also never had the super horror story that's triggered the paranoia that all dealerships cant change the oil or just pretend to or what have you. I honestly hope I don't ever. The key is to find one or 2 places you can trust to do the work and go there. Not everyone has a lift in their garage or the free time to do it or, honestly, the inclination. I like to get my hands dirty and learn the process when i have the time to do the maintenance in the garage at my house but not everyone's like me and its silly to assume they are.

Happy motoring

Stealth TDI said:

You forgot:
6. Actually top off the AdBlue.
7. Fill it without spilling any in the trunk.

I use an oil extractor from IDParts and can get my oil changes done in about 15-20 minutes (topside oil filters are AWESOME). That's way better than a 20-minute drive to the dealer, waiting around for an hour or more, and then debating why my one year old car is NOT due for a brake flush just because it has 30,000 miles on it (service manager cannot read his own literature, even the part that says "regardless of mileage").
I use the dealer if and when it's convenient AND cost effective (which isn't often).

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While you were busy with your GTI, you might not have gotten the memo that the AdBlue filler for the Mk7 TDIs was moved next to the fuel filler. The point about actually filling it stands though.
Speaking of GTIs, I have an IS38 sitting waiting until I can afford the tune and new clutch. 386hp/403ft-lbs will be fun.

We also don't have the luxury of topside oil filters on the '15 TDI's either... I see the plastic cover underneath needs to be removed to see and change the oil filter( and drain plug).....

kevkor2002 said:

So we think putting time towards determining an issue and putting it back together with bailing twine and duct tape (creative fix) makes them a better than a dealer that spends the same amount of time diagnosing it and replacing the part? Diagnosis is just part of the job. Its rarely good practice to take what the owner says is wrong as what to repair. "Well I read on line that the chuga chuga at 2750 rpms might be an out of alignment roto-girder so they said if you just replace that I'm good. So theres nothing to diagnose. " The time it takes to diagnose and the general repair costs for Euros in general has scared me away from these cars since Audi ate about $18K worth of warranty work on my S4.

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Case and point P2015, spend $68 for the Diesel Geek bracket, or spend $1500+ to have the dealer replace the intake manifold?

The replaced part fixed the code so why guess at whats actually wrong.