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Comments
The fact is that I can afford to pay the $92 for the service. But should I have to pay that much just because I can? Furthermore, I have to drive 80 miles to get to the VW dealer.
I guess what really ticks me off about the whole issue is that if I'm not mistaken Volkswagen means "The People's Car." However, it seems that they've forgotten the people - the real people, the people who make up the majority of car buyers.
Don't get me wrong, I love my car and I plan to take care of it. But it's ridiculous that a company that was started so that the average Joe could own a car has given Joe the shaft. If VW wants to move ahead that's what they need to do - get back to their roots.
"Peoples' car" no more. Drivers wanted, indeed, but only those with thick wallets - others need not apply.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Regarding DIY oil changes or having an independent do the work, I believe that there is substantial legal precedence to suggest that manufacturers must accept proofs from third party maintainers regarding what maintenance has been performed and what parts and fluids were used. Said another way, if your local mechanic changes the oil in your Passat and uses Mobil-1 0W-40 and a VW (or compatible) filter and your engine fails, your warranty will still be fully in effect. On the other hand if VW looks at the receipt from your mechanic (or your local AutoZone) and it says "Quaker State 3W-50" oil, then you are most likely on the hook for any and all internal engine damage.
Best Regards,
Shipo
2018 430i Gran Coupe
To me it seems as if they switched the specs with the configuration, meaning 6.2 for the FWD and 6.6 for the AWD.
BTW C&D achieved 5.9 for the FWD.
I don't own a VW but I find it hard to see the differnce between 2x$49 per year for two oil changes at 5000 miles each on a "peoples truck" the RAV4 and one $92 oil change on the Passat every 10k miles
. Regarding all the other stuff about legal and receipts etc. ....remember you have to collect.
Maybe someone should have thought about this before they bought a modern car with lots of high tech (expensive) stuff that maybe they really cannot afford with a dealer 90 miles away.
Maybe I am less trusting of the independent's documentation being acceptable to the mfgr if they are, shall we say, in a "bad mood."
I was "suggesting" -- hinting really -- that the mfgr may want to play hardball if, for instance, the cars serviced by the dealers had low warranty claim issues "if" the ones not so serviced had higher issues.
I come from a long line of DIY's in terms of oil and filter changes, anti-freeze and flushes, wiper blades, even fuel filters (back in the day when they were not inside the fuel tank, etc.
I actually found great enjoyment and relaxation from this DIY stuff.
For all I know, if I were able to do this stuff myself, I still might find these activities satisfying.
My only mission, so to speak, was perhaps to alert you to the reputation that seems to have befallen some mfgs, VW included -- no "acceptable" proof, no warranty.
Your technician may well be better than a VW dealer employee -- perhaps he is.
I've heard click and clack too many times, also.
These modern cars are wonders of technology AND I think they are more reliable than any of the sheens I grew up with in the 60's and 70's -- by far.
Of course they are breathtakingly expensive to repair without the benevolence of the mfgr's warranty.
With a competent technician and an 80 mile one way trip, I would probably be tempted to have the routine mntce carried out as you have suggested.
On the other hand, if I could arrange my schedule to use the dealer whenever possible, I might also consider that as a viable risk adverse tactic.
My sense is -- and this is totally an opinion -- that using the dealer is the offense that is the best defense.
Tough call with that distance, tho, I understand.
Anyway, I am on a more even keel today so let me clarify about the 80 miles and my situation.
We bought the Passat over the CamCord for several reasons.
1. My brother sells VW's. Ford and Chevy can't even beat that family plan.
2. After much research, the VW seemed to me to be a superior automobile to the CamCord.
3. My wife was not particularly impressed with other vehicles. She pays attention to details like the kids' booster seats not "fitting" in the back seat of other cars we looked at.
4. Distance to dealership is something you just have to deal with where we live. The closest Honda Dealer is 40 miles away and the nearest Toyota dealer is just as far as VW. We have a Nissan dealer and a Kia dealer here in town, but I've just never been a Nissan fan and I would like for my car to be worth a little more than half of what I paid for it in a year.
The only other options were offerings from the "big 3". Nothing GM or Chrysler offers impresses me, Ford 500 is too bland, and Fusion was not available at the time (and if it had been I don't think I could live with that front end).
With all that said, I stick with my guns on $92 being a lot of money for an oil change. The argument that you should expect to pay more for maintenence on a higher priced automobile is bogus. Six quarts and a filter costs you the same money whether you're driving a $15,000 Ranger or a $40,000 F150 Lariat. If you buy a Jetta, Beetle, or Golf it's still going to be around $92.
I suppose I look at it like my friend Philip. He won't order tea or coke at a restaurant if it's more than $.99. His argument is that just because it's a fancier restaurant doesn't make the drink worth more.
If Wal-Mart can change your oil with full synthetic and a filter for under $50 (and still make a good profit), then the dealer should be able to as well.
The good news is that the system does work.
Cool. I believe it was the Joker who said of Batman, "Where does he get all those neat toys?"
I'm not much of a Nissan fan, but that is really nice.
I also recently took my car in for its second oil change (10K) and they asked if I wanted to take care of the 7 recalls...I said I was completely unaware there were any recalls...I read over the service report when I picked up the car and they were all pretty minor things.
Any information would greatly be appreciated.
However,there're some minor flaws. I find the two layered dash looks busy, that makes the interior forgettable except for the gauge cluster. A lot of hard plastics on the passenger side--looks cheap. A useless "phone" button on the steering wheel. Probably reserved for future bluetooth? This small detail makes it appear to be an unfinished product. But the seat is much much more comfortable than CamCords.
The most attractive small features are tilting to VW badge to open to rear door, auto-close button for the rear door and auto-hold.
I'll wait for a while to see what others say about its reliability.
Thanks,
Jim D
Does any one know when the New Passat Wagons will be available in Massachusetts? I do not see any of them on the dealer parking lots.
Thanks
TS
Minuteman in Bedford had quite a few on their lot last week.
And you no jepordize your warranthy for a few bucks.
A $34 oil change? No thanks! Ten to one odds that your dealer is using non-synthetic oil that doesn't even come close to meeting the VW 502.00/505.00/503.01 oil specifications. Ugh, not in my new car!
Best Regards,
Shipo
Drove a 3.64motion last week, very nice ride, but in the end I opted for the sedan.
Good luck, they are great cars!
My current dealer, Norm Wagner in Fitchburg, MA, used proper Castrol oil when I left my case of Mobil 1 0W40 at home.
Krzys
PS "Not a chance!" - I wish it is true. Some people cut corners without looking for consequences.
Personally I don't really care if you buy my story or not. The fact remains that Audi-USA and Audi-YourLocalDealership are not one in the same. What does your local dealer care if an engine or two gets sludged to death, it's Audi-USA that would need to pony up to get them fixed. The flip side is that they get no end of grief from owners when presented with a bill for $100 for an oil change. Path of least resistance? Do a cut rate special with cheap bulk oil that doesn't even come close to the VW oil specs.
Think about it, the retail price of fully synthetic oil that meets VW's oil specs (and to the best of my knowledge, ONLY a few fully synthetic oils meet the specs and NONE of the mineral based or hydro-cracked oils even come close) along with the retail price of the filter will easily meet or exceed the price they are charging for the oil change. The last time I checked, dealerships were not in the business of providing free labor, free shop time and discount prices on anything.
For my part, logic dictates that any dealer that charges $34 for an oil change is in fact using cheap oil and maybe not even replacing the filter.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I am a owner of a new 2006 3.6 Passat. It was purchased on Feb. 23, 2006.
I have the nappa leather in beige. This morning when I was about to get into my vehicle I noticed that the leather seat on the driver side appeared worn down. It looked as if someone had rubbed it down with a dark cleaner and then wiped it off. The seat appears worn and dirty.
Just wondering if anyone has had this issue and what my recourse should be.
Thanks. Stormy
Nothing else you could tell me would be of interest to me here.
ROTFLMAO!
Sorry dude, gotta call your bluff here.
The only oil that Amsoil makes that meets the VW 502.00, 505.00, 505.01 standards is their European Car Formula Synthetic 5W-40 Motor Oil (AFL). That oil retails for $6.85 per quart in single unit quantities, $81 for 12 quarts ($6.75 per quart), $640 for a 30 gallon drum ($5.33 per quart), or $1,084 for a 55 gallon drum ($4.93 per quart). Even if they were passing that stuff through to you at cost you're still talking nearly as much for the oil alone as what you are claiming that the whole oil change costs. It seems, your story has a few holes in it.
As for the oil filter, I wasn't suggesting that they didn't replace it, I was suggesting that they are cutting corners somewhere, meaning either they are using cheap oil and/or not replacing the filter.
Regarding your claims that "the oil would be dirty looking in a day", hmmm, not in my experience, especially if they suck the oil out of it and put it back on. Think about it, the dirtier an oil filter gets, the better it filters, right up to the point where the bypass opens up. An argument can easily be made that suggests that changing your oil filter every oil change can do more harm to your engine than if you change it every other time. That having been said, please don't think that I subscribe to said argument because I don't.
So, to take this full circle, I'll go back to my earlier statement, "Ten to one odds that your dealer is using non-synthetic oil that doesn't even come close to meeting the VW 502.00/505.00/503.01 oil specifications."
Best Regards,
Shipo
Of course this will not help much if you have a $500 deductible or such. Good luck!
I thought for NHTSA to get involved you would have to prove a defect in design.
Perhaps there is a design flaw but I would imaging the gas tank was thoroughly tested. Either way I would still expect the dealership to be compassionate with the situation.
I have $250 deduct.
This was not Audis fault.
I am certainly no expert, but your situation would seem on first blush NOT to be a mfgr's issue. I'll cop to a 50 50 chance knowing what can be posted here makes this difficult for all of us.
In my case, I found an interesting differentiation in the way policies are paid:
If I hit the muffler, it was my responsibility.
If, however, the muffler fell off of a vehicle and continued in motion (airborne, perhaps) and hit me, my deduct went away.
I didn't know the answer and tho these years later I keep playing it over in my mind, I went with the $250 deduct "on the collision" insurance, since I honestly could not prove it was a "comprehensive" claim.
I hit a pot hole in KY once and filed the required paperwork with the state and they, on the other hand, did pay $250 which considering the wheel was on a new Audi A8 was way over $1,000 for the wheel, tire, all wheel alignment and the second tire required to keep the tires at the same newness.
There may be many reasons to NOT BUY A PASSAT -- I just don't think this is one of them. Sorry. :sick:
Overall the 2006 was disappointing.
My 2000 Passat seems to have a much "smoother" ride. Over bumps and cracks it glides with maybe a hollow thumping sound. The 2006 Passat over cracks and bumps rattled through me and had much sharper "clangs".
My 2000 Passat was not as fast -- especially on the low end. The 2006 was fast off the line and through the range. I would estimate my 2000 Passat to travel 0-60 in the upper 7s while the 2006 would be in the mid 6s.
However, my 2000 Passat is very smooth in acceleration and shifting. The engine has a nice "purr" sound. The 2006 had a "whine" at low speeds and when the throttle was pressed, it growled loudly. It was a little disconcerting and not nearly as smooth.
In the 2000 Passat, I feel more "connected" to the road. I can "feel" the steering and know where the edges of the car are. In the 2006 Passat, I felt I was "in" it but not really connected. The steering felt aloof and when I looked out the windshield, I couldn't really tell where the car began or ended.
The 2000 Passat is not nearly as technologically advanced, but it actually feels more "solid". The 2006 Passat inside felt. . . cheap. I couldn't ever get really comfortable in the seats in the 2006. I tried for several minutes, but it just didn't "feel" right. It was so much better when I sat back down in my 2000 Passat.
The styling is a toss up -- which is a huge negative for the 2006 which is about 7 years newer. The new styling just doesn't appeal to me much. I cringed when I walked around the 2006 and looked at if from all angles. Sure, my 2000 Passat is very dated. But I have kept it well conditioned and added some attractive features. It actually looks more . . . "sporty."
I walked away from the test drive disappointed. It was lower on my list, but I felt a need to give it a chance since it has AWD which IS a selling point for me. Except for the BMW, the other cars on my list do not have AWD.
I'm still considering:
Buick Lucerne
Hyundai Azera
Acura TL
BMW 325xi
Lincoln Zephyr
Front runner right now (yes, this will blow you away) is the . . . Azera. No kidding.
I still need to test drive the Lucerne and Zephyr.
Hmmm....Doesn't sound logical to me. Are you saying that if a somebody dropped a bowling ball off an overpass and it landed on the front hood of your new Passat and it smashed it in and caused irreversible engine and transmission damage that the damage should be covered under WARRANTY? Hmmm. . . .
Sounds to me like damage that should be dealt with by the insurance company.
If you are looking for luxury, then, why bother looking at the RAV4?!?
On the other hand if you aren't interested in a near Premium sedan like the 3 series, don't bother to test it, go straight for the RAV4.
And this has what to do with Passats?
Now, if you look at an AWD Passat and an AWD Bimmer 3 and spec them to comparable prices and/or comparable content and then compare the prices, well that seems to be a conversation we could have.
:confuse:
Did you, perhaps, mean to be suggesting to spec a BMW X3 SAV next to an RAV4? That makes a little more sense, but then, doesn't that still beg the question what the Passat connection is?
:surprise:
Hey if you want a meal, try a hamburger from McD's and save $22.95 over the steak from Morton's.
What? :confuse:
The new Passat is many things, but it is probably not a direct competitor with ANY SUV regardless of price any more than a banana is a competitor for bread other than the broad conclusion that one might reach, i.e., they are both food.
The new Passat all dooded up, might be called an Audi A5, might be an alternative to an Avalon or Camcord or perhaps the newest and nicest Korean from Hyundai (nicely equipped for UNDER $30K, but, as yet, no AWD.)
Some may cross shop an Audi A4 3.2 and a Passat 3.6 4Motion, beats me. You do get a larger car with the Passat, but perhaps you lose some performance over the A4, especially in the handling department. Then again the Passat has more guts and grunt at this moment than the 3.2 from the four-rings guys.
The VW dealers keep improving, and they need to, for the new VW's appear to be s-l-o-w-l-y moving upstream. Or so it seems -- the reports on the new Jetta are downright gushing, for instance. The Passat is, to my eye, a good looking car, too. Oh go on now. . . .
heh...
Then again, I may keep my 2002 since it looks like a new car, is holding up extremely well, has all the features I want, and still performs and looks better than most of the new cars out there.
And isn't the G35 getting a complete overhaul next year? I was going to wait to see what the 4-door replacement for the G35 was like, but decided the wait was a little long.
mike
What equipment did the Passat have? Sport 1 or 2?
And did you check the tire pressures? More than 1 dealer where I have test driven vehicles over inflated (as far as I can tell) every tire on every vehicle. Often way over inflated. And 2, 4 or 6 additional PSI can certainly affect the ride characteristics. I believe that all versions of the new Passat have a tire pressure monitoring system, but I am not sure if it will actually display the pressure in each tire – or simply tell you if 1 is significantly lower in pressure than the others . .
I now always bring my tire pressure gauge – and pull it out to check, if the vehicle cannot tell me what the pressures are.
C+D did single out the Passat’s ride for criticism (Sport Pkg #2) – “Lows: Road noise, granitic suspension bushings”
- Ray
Still not yet driven one . .
"The ride, while supple and controlled is not as well isolated as the last Passat" and also "Interior fit and finish is excellent, but less impressive as in the previous Passat".
Several states (including Montana and Colorado?) have three grades of gasoline only, 85 octane regular, 87 octane mid grade and 89 octane premium. Does this mean that Volkswagen doesn't recommend people in these states buy Volkswagens? Must be ok to burn 89 octane because they certainly sell them in states with maximum 89 octane.
What are your experiences with lower octanes, and what are the long term ramifications to the non performance/ daily drivers of Passats?
Which states only sell up to 89 octane? I've never heard that before.
I have a 2000 Passat V6 that requires 91 octane.
Also, remember that using an octane not designed for your engine will result in lower efficiency. If the engine requires 91 octane and you use 87 octane to save money, you will probably get worse gas mileage and, actually, end up spending more money on fuel. It is best to stick with the recommended octane.