Dealer Maintenance Only?

beegled

My wife and I want to buy a wagon. We have been looking around and neither of use has ever had a new car. We finally have the money and so we would like to get something nice. We have been looking at Volkswagen, Audi and Volvo over all of the others although we have seen others that we liked as well. First of all, are there some wagon owners out there that think we should change our minds about getting a wagon or which ones we are looking at? And my real question, we have heard that some luxury vehicles are required to be serviced at dealers only for things as small as an oil change. We like being able to go to our local Oil Can Henry's because it's quick, convenient and doesn't cost a fortune plus we can find one almost anywhere we go. We are concerned with this and really would probably vote against getting a car where the oilk could only be changed by the dealership or one of thos indepedent mechanics that spcializes say in Volvo or Audi. It's too inconveneint and too costly. So, my question I guess is, can you take a Volvo or an Audi or whatever to an Oil Can Henry's or Minit Tune or Midas or can they only be taken to the dealership or specialized mechanic? Don't get me wrong about other services, I like using the authorized shops for that stuff because their so familiar with the cars but when it comes to an oil change, something we have to do about every three weeks because of our commute, we need convenience.

dhanley

They can't legally require you to have service only at the dealer. Some of these cars have free service for some initial period, so you ought to, though. The audi is 4 years free service for everything but tires.

A lot of dealers will do it for, say, $30 vs $20 at jiffy lube, they know the cars intimately, they have the exact right filter and oil, they put the right amount in, etc.

You don't want to buy a really nice car, and try to pinch a couple bucks on an oil change.

I didn't even take my old saturn to jiffy lube.

dave

0patience

Well,
As long as you keep accurate records and make sure that the service is performed to the manufacturer's specifications and at the correct intervals, there is nothing the dealer can do.

Dhanley,
Just because a person doesn't go to a dealer, doesn't necessarily mean Jiffy lube is doing the work. There are many independant shops that do alot of oil changes. I know of quite a few independant shops in my area that the folks take their vehicels there for servicing because they are thorough and check for things oil change places don't.

But I do agree that oil change places are not where you should be taking a newer vehicle. Remember, most of those places employ young kids who know very little about vehicles or have very little training. Plus the fact that if it isn't a young kid, then they are getting about $8/hour.
Personally, I don't care who they are, if they are only getting $8/hour to work on a car, I don't want them near my vehicle.

beegled

After reading my question, my wife says that she is ashamed of my spelling and of how clear I was with what I was asking. I guess what I was trying to say is, I know if you take a Mercedes for example to an Oil Can Henry's, they will refuse to service it because of what it is. Will they do the same thing if we drove an Audi or a Volvo? Thanks for the input guys. You have given me a lot to think about. BTW, how do you like your Saturn dhanley? We were just looking at that one and thought it seemed kind of nice. Thanks again guys.

mbbenz

you can even change the oil yourself if you are mechanically incline to do so. Just buy the appropriate filters and oil and you will know you are doing the job correctly. High end luxury cars require nothing more than the ordinary cars to change the oil and filters although most of the European models have a plastic pan underneath the engine that require removal to acess the oil pan. Nowadays oil can go way beyond 3000 miles so unless you drive a lot lot you shouldn't need to change it every 3 weeks.

beegled

We do drive a lot actually. Our daily commute to and from work each day is 150 miles round trip. You can see why we want to buy a car this time that we are comfortable in. And that's why we wanted to know if we could take a Volvo to have the oil replaced at one of those chains.

dhanley

You're right, there are good independant mechanics. I thought he wanted to take the cars to some independant place, and i'd never bring a mercedes or audi to jiffy lube.

The saturn was a good car, it was cheap to own, but it was not really a comfortable highway car. This was an SL, the LS might be better--not sure. I used to drive 120 miles per day for work, and i went from the saturn to a bmw328i--BIG DIFFERENCE!

For that kind of driving, i'd get a certified used car, not a new one. I'd also avoid the quick change places even more. With all highway miles, the mercedes would probably go 15,000-20,000 miles between changes. That'd still only be 2-3 changes per year. Do it on the weekend at they'll give you a loaner car, and they'll do it right.

dave