Servicing questions..

[Sincs]

Hi all,

I'm on the verge of buying an R but just wanted a definite answer on servicing.

On a 2 year old, March 2011 registered 31,000 mile roc R what/how many service stamps would you expect to see in the book???

According to the salesman's memory (he didn't have the book to hand as on a test drive, but will get a proper answer tomorrow) it has had one service which was carried out almost exactly one year ago at 10k and that's it.

It's an independent dealer and as a service is now due (its one year and 20k miles since last service) he has said they'll put it through a service now, but it'll be a vag specialist not a vw main dealer.

The car has one years manufacturer warranty left on it... Will it being serviced by a non vw dealer affect the warranty in anyway??

[Cuprabob]

It depends on what service regime it is on

Time and distance is every 10k miles or 12 months.

Longlife is variable up to a maximum of 19k miles or 24 months.

So if on T&D, 3 services and if on longlife it could just be 1.

As long as genuine VAG parts and oil that meets VW spec. is used then warranty is not affected.

[Sincs]

Thanks. I'm guessing it's on longlife then.

How strict are vw warranty on cars being serviced within the mileage milestones? This car is 2k miles late for its service, being done at 31k instead of about 29k max... I guess they could void the warranty because of this??

[Mark V]

I would be more worried about a performance car that has been driven by the previous owner without a care for ensuring its serviced properly, I get my cars serviced on the exact day they are due... Ok maybe I am a bit over the top but this smacks of carelesness IMO...

PS - Regardless of wat VW says I would not be comfort ble with a Longlife regime on an R.

[maisbitt]

I would expect a service to be done no later than 1000 miles after the car says it is due. The dealer will be able to tell you if it is on time and distance or longlife regime. If it's on time and distance it is 10k miles late for 4 service 2! If it is on longlife I would find it odd that the first service was due at 10k miles and the second due at 29/30k miles unless it was driven very hard for its first 10k miles. I would personally be looking elsewhere knowing that one of those 2 scenarios is the reason it has only had 1 service.

I would not risk it on a car with only a years worth of warranty left.

[Sincs]

I would be more worried about a performance car that has been driven by the previous owner without a care for ensuring its serviced properly, I get my cars serviced on the exact day they are due... Ok maybe I am a bit over the top but this smacks of carelesness IMO...

PS - Regardless of wat VW says I would not be comfort ble with a Longlife regime on an R.

Thinking about it more... my guess is the previous owner knew they were getting rid of it so instead of servicing it just before they sold/part ex'd it, they just let it run for another month without a service to save money.
Probably what I'd do too, if I'm honest.

I would expect a service to be done no later than 1000 miles after the car says it is due. The dealer will be able to tell you if it is on time and distance or longlife regime. If it's on time and distance it is 10k miles late for 4 service 2! If it is on longlife I would find it odd that the first service was due at 10k miles and the second due at 29/30k miles unless it was driven very hard for its first 10k miles. I would personally be looking elsewhere knowing that one of those 2 scenarios is the reason it has only had 1 service.

I would not risk it on a car with only a years worth of warranty left.

Been up for hours reading about servicing etc on the rocs and read that all of them come out of the factory on longlife. A lot of people report that their car only manages 8-10k until the car says first service due, which fits in with the car I am considering. Then second, third, etc services can be up to every 18-20k. This also fits in with the one I'm looking at.

I'm not going to lie, I really want this car and, like a lot of people, I can be guilty of convincing myself all is well with the thing I want. But what I don't want to do is be overly cautious and miss out on something good.

The condition of the car is mint, it's got all the options I wanted (leathers, electric lumbar, 19s, dynaudio) and is in the colour I want.
It's priced very competitively too.

So as it stands the service history is not ideal for my peace of mind but it is very believable/logical, according to other's experiences.

Arrrggghh decisions!

[phil4]

Unless its been driven like the accelerator was made of egg shells I'd be amazed if an R could go 20,000 miles without a service. I didn't even manage 10k before I needed tyres and I don't consider myself to be too hard on it (no track work etc).

[Mark V]

At the very, very minimum - if you really are struck on this car - for goodness sake make sure it get a proper VW main dealer service stamp as the extended period between services followed by a non franchised service just looks bad on such a new (ish) expensive high performance car and just says 'lack of care/scrimping' to a subsequent owner after you....

Good luck :-)

[Sincs]

Unless its been driven like the accelerator was made of egg shells I'd be amazed if an R could go 20,000 miles without a service. I didn't even manage 10k before I needed tyres and I don't consider myself to be too hard on it (no track work etc).

It does seem like a bit of a lottery when it comes to how many miles between services. I've read about as low as 6k, and some reaching 20k without the service indicator going off!

At the very, very minimum - if you really are struck on this car - for goodness sake make sure it get a proper VW main dealer service stamp as the extended period between services followed by a non franchised service just looks bad on such a new (ish) expensive high performance car and just says 'lack of care/scrimping' to a subsequent owner after you....

Good luck :-)

Thanks, and my thoughts exactly! Have already been on the phone to the dealer and requested that they put it through a vw main dealer service. They usually use an independent vag specialist but don't have a problem putting it through vw instead.

[Mark V]

Make sure you know where and when - its going to be your car - so speak to the VW dealer about it when its in with them. Better still be there in person!

[Sincs]

Make sure you know where and when - its going to be your car - so speak to the VW dealer about it when its in with them. Better still be there in person!

Good idea. I've only put a deposit down so far (subject to test drive) and won't be paying the balance until collection. Hopefully vw won't mind speaking to me about the service as the indie I'm buying it from will still be the owner at the time.

[Mark V]

Get the seller to sort this out - your the customer, TELL them what YOU want. You need an introduction to the servicing dealer and them requested to treat you as the owner in every respect apart from paying the bill - nothing less!

BTW - how many owner has this car had?

[Sincs]

Get the seller to sort this out - your the customer, TELL them what YOU want. You need an introduction to the servicing dealer and them requested to treat you as the owner in every respect apart from paying the bill - nothing less!

BTW - how many owner has this car had?

I'm going to the dealers today to test drive and chat so I'll explain what I want in terms of servicing and communication. Good advice on talking to vw, thanks, never thought of that.

Car has had one owner from new.

[maisbitt]

I would expect that if on longlife service, the first service would come in at more than 10k miles, otherwise what is the point of the longlife service? I haven't had a petrol Golf/Roc, but my last longlife car was a MK5 Golf GT TDI 170, which I drove quite hard and first service was at 17k miles.

Insist that the car you're buying is serviced at their cost - it is overdue after all and ensure that the service book is stamped up in such a way that it will have no warranty implications.

Most dealers change long life regimen set at factory to time and distance before they hand over to the first owner, unless they tell them not to - the dealers want you paying for a service every year, not every 2 years, if they can get away with it!

[Cuprabob]

Another reason for cars to be on T&D from new is to get the full benefit of the free / low cost service plan provided by VWFS.

Not that this is relevant to this paryicular car, but for future reference.

[salsajoe]

Worth asking the VW main dealer if the car is eligible at present for extended warranty in due course. That will answer all the servicing schedule questions that have been posed so far and provide a fall back position at the end of year three if there have been any problems.

[Mark V]

Another reason for cars to be on T&D from new is to get the full benefit of the free / low cost service plan provided by VWFS.

Its more pointed than that Bob - if the car is on a service plan it HAS to be on t & d regime.

Its worth anyone with a VW looking in to and understanding the reasons why the Longlife servicing regime was introduced - it has more to do with presenting a 'low maintenance' appeal to the valuable and hugely competetive fleet market than anything else. The criteria for its suitability are very narrow indeed if you read them carefully - not a regime that is really particularly appropriate to high performance 'specialist' cars such as an R - the old adage that oil is cheaper than engines still holds true!

[Cuprabob]

Totally agree.

Even although I do high miles, I still have mine on T&D for the very readon you describe.