Volkswagen Maintenance plan

[Franklinavfc888]

Hi guys. Looking into getting service an maintenance plan for my car. The question I want to ask is is it worth it? You can only get it up to 4 years and costs £1400 with tyres included or £1000 without. I've specced the 5 year warranty anyway so not sure if it would be wise to buy it. Without sounding silly, what parts on the car could go wrong where I couldn't get it fixed under warranty?
Thanks guys

[Franklinavfc888]

Forgot to add, it's the new polo gti.

[alexperkins]

You need to work out how many services youll have over a five year period, then work it out on minor and major costs (159/299) and tot it up.

[Franklinavfc888]

You need to work out how many services youll have over a five year period, then work it out on minor and major costs (159/299) and tot it up.

I'd have it serviced every year to be honest. Just wondered if it was worth paying the extra for the maintenance side. £578 for 4 services isn't that bad I don't think. Going to ring vwcs up later to see if the maintenance covers having the cambelt and watwrpump done along with having new discs and pads.

[lancslad1985]

I could well be wrong, but I think the maintenance plans only cover servicing. Don't think they include wear and tear, eg discs and pads, but I could (and usually am) wrong!

[Guy]

I'm interested in this. I've also taken the factory 5 year warranty. My dealership were very keen to sell me a service and maintenance plan and I got close to buying one but each time they "finally" calculated the cost it seemed to go up by quite a bit! In the event the car arrived unexpectedly early and they were very keen for me to take delivery before June 1 to get the sale in the previous month (they offered a couple of sweeteners) and the maintenance plan got left on the shelf. I think the service plan just covers routine servicing and the maintenance plan covers replacement of wearable parts and also MOTs were relevant. Although ISTR it mentioned the Alternator and I thought that was strange as I would have expected an alternator failure to be a warranty item.

I only do a very low mileage and I drive quite gently most of the time with just the odd burst of strong acceleration for safe overtaking, so things like discs and pads and tyres last me a very long time. On the other hand I don't want to sign up for a low mileage plan where my circumstances might change in the future and I'd land up exceeding the mileage limits.

The dealership were selling this as a sort of "gift from VW" but in reality I suspect that there is a profit margin for them on the deal and although one could be unlucky, a low mileage customer probably won't benefit much if at all.

But I could easily be persuaded otherwise and I'm still well within the 90 day window to sign up for a plan!

[RUM4MO]

I might be interested in this as well, correct me if I am wrong, but I think that the current servicing schedule for current new delivery VW cars is service every 12 months as long as mileage is below maybe 10,000 miles, this means small service then big service etc with maybe a few other items added a bit later. The maintenance plan if it covers brake fluid and MOTs and belt might be worth something. Remember if it is a four year service plan, it might in worst case only cover a small service(at end of year 1) + big service(at end of year 2) + small service(at end of year 3), service plan, with low/average mileage will stop the day before second big service??

My mistake, the four year cover does include 4 services and a single brake fluid change.

[Franklinavfc888]

Well I have spoken to my local dealership. I was told that the cambelt is every 5 years or 60,000 miles so that would not be included in the price unless I stated that I did 60,000 miles within the 4 years in which case the price nearly goes up an extra £1000! I was told brakes normally get done at 40,000 but if they need doing after 1,2,3 years then they will do them as it's part or the plan. Also it includes 2 mot's. One at the end of the third year and one at the end of the 4th year. Also 2 air con service's even though the website says one. One thing I did forget to ask is if the price includes labour when it comes to the maintenance side of things? I know that sounds silly but you never know with volkswagen! Hope this helps somebody else out

[Dink]

i'm 99% sure the 1.8 tsi is a cam chain and not a belt.

[blackertracker]

i'm 99% sure the 1.8 tsi is a cam chain and not a belt.

100%.

[RUM4MO]

I've found the four year service plan, prices and models, but have not spotted the maintenance plan yet. For anyone's information, as far as Seat is concerned, brakes - or at least routine cleaning, is not covered during services, comments tend to get made with the suggestion that the car is booked back in for extra cost brake cleaning work. This is just a comment to maybe think about when considering maintenance plans, as it could be excluded from that as well. It does not worry me as I tend to do all my own brake servicing, though at one time, wheels off brake look/check/clean was part of servicing - it does not seem to be now!

[Dink]

I've found the four year service plan, prices and models, but have not spotted the maintenance plan yet. For anyone's information, as far as Seat is concerned, brakes - or at least routine cleaning, is not covered during services, comments tend to get made with the suggestion that the car is booked back in for extra cost brake cleaning work. This is just a comment to maybe think about when considering maintenance plans, as it could be excluded from that as well. It does not worry me as I tend to do all my own brake servicing, though at one time, wheels off brake look/check/clean was part of servicing - it does not seem to be now!

as i found out on my 9n3. it's more a problem with the piston seizing in the caliper due to not changing brake fluid change rather than them not being cleaned

[hornmeister]

Depends on your mileage and how good your dealer is.

With my recent VW service experiences they'd be the last place I take the car to if I had any choice. If you're running high miles and want to keep the car for a short time then it's probably cost efficient as a fdsh is better than a fsh in for sale adds.

Otherwise use a local independent VW specialist who needs to trade on good service and prices to keep business rather than a dealer who can rely on guaranteed trade to keep them afloat. They don't have the incentive to do a good job.

[Penarth Blues]

Depends on your mileage and how good your dealer is.

With my recent VW service experiences they'd be the last place I take the car to if I had any choice. If you're running high miles and want to keep the car for a short time then it's probably cost efficient as a fdsh is better than a fsh in for sale adds.

Otherwise use a local independent VW specialist who needs to trade on good service and prices to keep business rather than a dealer who can rely on guaranteed trade to keep them afloat. They don't have the incentive to do a good job.

In contrast to that experience, I had an independent garage service and do the cambelt change on my Polo 9N3 1.4SE and it became clear after a while that they'd used the wrong oil filter or not changed it at all. As others have said, each garage is different and you should take them as you find them. I'll try and use the main dealer now as there is a far better chance of them using the right parts at least...

[RUM4MO]

as i found out on my 9n3. it's more a problem with the piston seizing in the caliper due to not changing brake fluid change rather than them not being cleaned

I've looked after my wife's Polo late 2002 9N for about 13 years and 106K miles and always cleaned the brakes every year and replaced the brake fluid every three years and have not any sticking calliper pistons - front or rear, but on daughter's Ibiza S/C late 2009 6J the rear drum brakes seem to need regular attention/cleaning.