Engine flush for a car that new doesn't sound worthwhile, Algae might be a problem in a fuel tank that sits unfilled for a long time, just keep the tank topped up, the fuel filters job is to catch all this before hand so if you start getting performance decreases, then you might look into fuel filter blockages.

last edited by scuzzy at 15:36:13 09/Feb/12

water in diesel can be a problem, (then again, there are filters for that anyway!)

engine flush can be good for diesels (old oils not good, petrol engines are more tolerant of these things)

a mate of mine was a book rep, he had a few (read two) non-VW services which resulted in it stalling (and then losing all electrical power, which in a car that has electric steer, brake, etc is not good)

when it got towed to VW they replaced two injectors, engine flush (an oil channel was blocked due in part to sludge and poor oil) all on a car that had 48,000k's

for run of the mill cars, midas and other like services are great,

for diesels or modern (or old) euros specialist are the better choice, sure it in some cases it cost more (but then often more labour is involved) but it is a better bet, and nicer on the wallet long term


also, never every every use the service guys on butterfield st near the royal brisbane, they are shit!

Yeah mission exactly, that is what I thought - and hence why I declined.

Log book just says oil and filter

I got the quote about 2 weeks ago, something like $180 for VW oil and filter (apparently they need to use VW parts)

I think I'll get our car serviced there next then. We have diesel i30 and the service costs are ridiculous at Hyundai. It's convenient though, just down the road.

Last service for ours was ~$400 for 45,000km, the 30,000km was something like $600, fucking joke for a new car.

last edited by mission at 15:55:28 09/Feb/12

thats not so bad, I just serviced my diesel over the weekend and the parts alone to do it myself were $170~

thats 10L of oil though, I doubt your 2L takes quite so much (mines a 4.2L 6 banger), also I changed the fuel filter and air filter but still, they're pretty cheap
also I use premo oil because my engines a bit long in the tooth (399,100ks)

the flush they're talking about is kinda bullshit for a new car, they'll probably sell a few people on them though, whats $200 when you paid $30-50k for a car they figure
it'd be more useful on an old engine like mine where its had years to build up gunk and shit

dont worry about water in your fuel, you've got a filter and an alarm for that

that is what you get for taking your car to a place like midas/ultra tune etc

they are a bunch of shit cunts that just get cars in and out as quickly as possible and charge gimps a lot of money and dodgey shit ie. 'oh by the way we did this, this and this that you didn't ask for - you now owe us' that is their bread and butter

i can't recommend you anywhere to go that would be better because i don't hang around in diesel golf circles but i'm sure you could find some advice on the golf forum http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/

last edited by paveway at 09:21:28 10/Feb/12

last edited by paveway at 09:22:15 10/Feb/12

My dash thingie has a "reset service" option in the menu. Also reminds me of when I took my VE SSV for a service at a local car mechanic and the costs just kept going up. First off he said the quote was ex-GST so they whacked on 10%, then they tried to charge me $50 for resetting the service reminder, I punched up the instructions on my phone in 3 seconds and told him to go get fucked (after I had the keys back).

so as i said, for basic run of the mill cars, go to these type of places

the rest it is worth seeing a specialist servicer

so you can get ripped off each time...

i'm not saying go to a specialized place like i'd take my car to east coast customs or mercury motorsport (jokes i'd never got to mercury)

but if you trawl through that forum you'd be able to find good recommended mechanics

i will try get the name of the mechanic my mate uses that has had 2 golfs now

the indro one used to be good, I used them for my patrol a couple of times when it was still under factory warranty
then 2-3 years ago they changed hands and went to shit, so I never went back there

I hate that, you find a great place to take your car. A guy that will do only what you ask, won't change the quote, etc. Then not long after they change.

I used to take my Monaro to PowerTorque at Brendale and they were the best mechanics and guys ever! They'd actually do the service while you waited (so you don't have to drop the car off at 8am and pickup at 5pm), if you wanted to leave it with them they'd run you down to the train station, actually knew the ins and outs of the engines (they only dealt with the LSx motors), etc.

bad luck, did they give you a breakdown of the costs at least? post them up and we'll critique how blatant they are
also complain to the midas head office in Brisbane - they will do something about it, especially if they've had other complaints

the service light thing is a joke, I would have refused to pay until they finished what they started
like i said though $180 did seem cheap considering just my oil and filters were $170

oh right I just remembered Wayne Park auto are a good mob in Milton
I used to get my ute serviced there, top quality

they do a lot of the fiberglass work for the brute ute series, they know what they're doing

http://www.waynepark.com.au/

107 Castlmain St. Milton

shit no, while golfs are becoming more common, the nuts and bolts is most def not run of the mill

and newer diesels require so pretty good know how,

+1 for prestige at coorparoo

use to take my audi there, mike is a really nice dude and knows his shit.

I've got my 2008 2.0 TDI Golf due for it's 120,000km service in the next few weeks. Can say I'm yet to have a service over $1000 although this next one is a biggie. I take it to a specialist VW/Audi guy in Canberra though and seeing as it's a family business the last thing he wants to do is screw his customers. My oil filter and stuff is usually around $180 then you add labour and it's a between $250 - 300 for a normal service.

I had a friend who worked for Midas recently. He told me his boss was constantly telling his mechanics to rip people off, so he quit.

pretty fucked up really.

yeah i wouldnt take it to an actual dealer mechanic either, ive had many mates work for places like holden/ford etc that come in for a service, oil change etc and get nothing at all done to them.

big difference between a holden/ford dealer and a VW dealer

if you had a volvo jmr, I would be sending you to chaplins at brendale, he was the greatest,

but his forte was old cars in general, and volvos, (neither is what you drive)

if you didn't have a diesel i'd be sending you to east coast customs, but i don't think they do them

the name sounds fancy but they aren't that expensive and do anything from basic services right up to well whatever you want

rob and the boys there are really good and won't dick you around

not sure about diesel though

last edited by paveway at 08:28:25 11/Feb/12

I can suggest a fantastic guy, in Toogoom (halfway between Hervey Bay and Burrum Heads, where Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll live/have houses).

It just seems to be one of those industries that everyone has problems with - you never hear someone raving about their mechanic unless it is a quite close friend. Pretty sad that there is no-one decent, you would think that would be enough of a point of difference for someone to have a crack at utilising that gaping hole in the market

I don't think that is true.

I know a really good euro mechanic in Sydney, but I can't help you with Brisbane.

http://www.autohaus.com.au/

Call VW?

Then prepare lube. Man you never take your car to a dealer to get serviced unless its under warranty for free. If you can the best way to do things is to do it yourself, because you know the job is done right and your not paying some chump to do it. There is endless information about every car on the internet and how to do work to them.

I have been doing services on all the cars ive owned every 5000km for the last 7 years and have probably saved a buttload of cash over that time doing it myself.

edit: pave I havent heard anything but bad stories about ecc from guys on this side of town. Plus they are a performance workshop so they 'generally' charge more for the same work.

He needs a mechanic that has a VW diagnostic computer and just specialize in normal servicing and basic repairs.

last edited by Rdizz at 12:06:39 11/Feb/12

So who is a good mechanic on the southside to take a normal car to? It's a Getz.

reload speaks the truth

jmr in the time since your last service your car has probably depreciated by $2000 so why is a $200 difference in servicing costs so rage-inducing for you? Sounds like you need a bit of perspective.

http://www.waynepark.com.au/

Can definately back that up. Good guys.

doesnt really matter where you get it serviced. Its only a stamp on a log book. It all comes down to the road worthy you need to get when you sell it. Lots of mechanics can be licenced to do them now it justs costs them heaps to get there licence. Also km's, condition and age are all what matters. Not a log book so much.

Then prepare lube. Man you never take your car to a dealer to get serviced unless its under warranty for free. If you can the best way to do things is to do it yourself, because you know the job is done right and your not paying some chump to do it. There is endless information about every car on the internet and how to do work to them.

I have been doing services on all the cars ive owned every 5000km for the last 7 years and have probably saved a buttload of cash over that time doing it myself.

I really dont think servicing a new diesel is at all safe, shit the pressures they work at, backyarding it is asking to lose a hand,


as a said before, for the run of the mill shit, so to the cheap/run of the mill mech's or do the service at home (if you dont care about your warranty) when I had no electric brained cars I would do three services then the major ones to the mechs, but it is something that is harder to do on a newer car, (tools needed, and you kinda can't get under them like the old cars)

also, for all those hating on the dealer services, yeah, on the cheaper cars, that is correct. However higher in the brand scale the service from the dealers can be worth it, (go to lexus in brisbane, and get a service there, $50 more than say a ford dealer service (accounting for the price difference in parts), and for that extra money, loan car, or valet service to work, and back, coffee, paper, and your damn car is detailed after the service, and it smells great, (and you get a little baggy of the loose coins they found in the clean)
it is also done correctly, and they produce a list of things that will need to be done/looked at for the next service, and rough pricing so there are no surprises, now you'll not get that at your bread and butter dealer, however VW are a semi premium brand, so you would have been looked after, they are also striving for loyal new customer bases, and this is one area they can win them

Hyundai, holden, ford, et al, are not using this business model, but the quality of service between say, straithpine and north lakes, shows that some dealer are still going that extra mile in the lower brands, (s'pine is crap, roll them in, tick and flick, roll em' out, north lakes, take more time/care, and spots those little problems and corrects them under warranty where it can

I work in the auto industry and for the most part it is all about ripping the people with no idea off. Within 2 minutes of talking you know if they'll be an easy upsell, straight and narrow or just another time wasting tyre kicker.

Money saved from self service
vs.
Money lost on not having a log book (lol?)
vs.
Depreciation
vs.
modification (if applicable)

Either way you look at the whole situation with a car they are the ultimate cash magnet that you will never get your money back on.

Money lost on not having a log book (lol?)

have you ever had a 50k+ car? people wanna see log books when they hand over 40k+ at resale time
I got free 'genuine advantage' or whatever the Toyota program was where you get all your servicing done inside the warranty period for $150 a pop, without it I would have been out thousands over the first 3 years/100ks

If you sell in the warranty period and you haven't got factory warranty because your log books aren't filled in, you'll have to hope for a clueless buyer

under promise, and over deliver,

the old CBA customer service motto, (and pretty sound thinking, I dont think anyone who is quoted more time/cost would complain if it got done quicker/cheaper)

nar, that is taking it to the extreme,

if you quote 6 because you have a load of other cars to do first, and get it done in 5 bonus,

also, if you quote say, $180 for a filter, but find it a touch cheaper from a different supplier, and the customer saves $5, customer is going to think you care, and you do good work

i think you missed my point all together

how about if you order something and shipping is quoted at 3 weeks, are you sus if it take 2 weeks to get to you, or happy

now if that same object had a quoted shipping fee of $100, but it works out to be $90, are you happy, or pissed off

underpromise, over deliver

(there is nothing i had more that time/cost blow outs)

my point is regarding customer service,

as jmr was pissed off about the extra money above the quote, (no so much the money, but the service experiences related to not been told, and not having work done that clearly needed to be)

so you were replying to my point by addressing something completely unrelated?

how stupid of me