I have a 2007 VW Passat wagon and am trying to follow the VW service guide. When I went to schedule an appointment with the dealer I bought the car from, I was quoted over $700 for what appears to be nothing much more than a glorified oil change and check up. Am I out of touch with reality or does this sound ridiculous to anyone else. My more specific quesition is if there’s any reason to go to a VW dealer for this sort of service versus finding a local mechanic, whom I would assume would be significantly less exepensive.
There is no reason to go to the dealer for the check up. Any mechanic can do the service. Most of them call pull down the service requirement, or you can tell them which parts of the service you want done. If you want to avoid certain checks, then let them know. I discuss all my services with my trusted mechanic and we collectively decide which ones need to get done.
What are you getting ? Shafted !
My '99 Passat cost around $400 years ago and that was the outrage that put me off dealers ! New plugs and filters and an oil change is what it amounts to and I can do that in two hours loafing !
Find a good indy shop that handles VW and have them document the service on your bill - that’s for warranty protection .
True, you are getting a glorified oil change and a checkup. There may be some additional recommended services as well but they should be optional.
I assume your VW is now off the warranty. There is no longer any need to go back to the dealer. What the knowledgeable owner does is to review the service guide and selects only those services he wants. Then he goes to an independent mechanic. That is my recommendation. If you are uncertain, you can post your list here for further advice.
Another day older and deeper in debt.
I suggest, as the other folks did, that you find someone else to do the planned maintenance for your car. Ask everyone you know where they get their cars worked on. Soon, you will see a few independent shops that provide good service to your friends and neighbors. Try them.
The maintenance guide I looked at showed the 40k service is far more than a glorified oil change. What does your owners manual state or what did the dealer tell you was involved with this service?
Maybe some miscommunciation involved?
When I went to schedule an appointment with the dealer…
That is part of your problem. Dealers are no better (or worse) than independent mechanics for almost anything you might need done on your car. They will almost always charge more per hour and often more for parts and supplies. They also tend to look at repairs a little different than the independent.
A dealer may well recommend work that strictly may not be needed, but could be connected to the problem or maybe replace a part when a little repair would fix it ALMOST as good a new.
There is no need to bring your car to the dealer for any service other than service that is going to be paid for by a recall or original warrantee. During the warranty period be sure to have all required (as listed in the owner’s manual) maintenance done and to document all maintenance work.
I suggest that most people would be better off finding a good independent (Not working for a chain) mechanic.
Note: Never ever use a quick oil change place. They are fast cheap and very very bad.
Maybe I’m spoiled, but a car with 40,000 miles on it should not require much work. An oil change, perhaps new plugs, and front brakes if they have never been done. My car just turned 40,000 last week and it needed new brake pads on the front, which I did myself for about $60 and a half hour of my time.
I think the cost of routine dealer maintenance is ridiculous on a lot of new cars. $700 is a hell of a lot of money to me, and there are a lot of things that I want and need that cost that much that I can’t afford to buy. It really boggles me that dealer service departments, without batting an eyelash, can quote that kind of charge for service on a vehicle that shouldn’t need much more than an occasional tank of gas!
You didn’t list the actual items being done, so I don’t know how you expect us to answer your question.
I would not own a car that required $700 worth of maintenance at 40,000 miles…
Many times, the dealers themselves put together a high-profit service package at various mileage points that are not supported by the FACTORY service requirements…
It's lengthy, and little attention should be paid to the actual prices quoted for parts and labor. I have no idea where Edmunds comes up with that but it's not real world at all. The chart does who the process though.