I called the local dealer to check on cost and other data for the 1st 5000
mile maintenance on my 2003 Passat - 1.8T engine.

I asked what oil the dealer uses. I was told 5-40. OK, so far. Then I
asked what 5-40. I was told Castrol. Then I asked whether it was dyno or
syn. I was told that it was what VW specifies. I then pointed out that VW
says dyno or syn is OK. I asked again which they used. I was told that it
was not syn. I then asked about getting syn instead. I was told that I
could use syn. Duh! I asked what was the dealer's charge for using syn. I
was told that the dealer uses what was specified by VW. I again pointed
out that VW specifies dyno or syn. The dealer's guy again repeated that it
uses what VW specifies. I asked again, can you (the dealer) use syn for my
oil change and, if so, what would be the charge. FINALLY, the guy said that
the dealer wouldn't do it.

I said thank you, and hung up. Made me glad that I didn't pay an extra
$1000 to buy my Passat from this dealer.

I guess my 5000 mile service will be done by the mechanic who serviced my
RX7 for 20 years. Any reason to stick with the dealer? My "old" mechanic
works on high end cars Ferrarris, Maseratis, Diablos, Shelby Cobras,
Mercedes, Volvos, Jags, etc. and his own race cars.

Sounds like you got talkin' to an advisor with who wasn't informed! It
should of came as this:

We charge $xx.xx for using regular oil and $xx.xx for synthetic oil. At our
place the price for synthetic oil is about $25 more. BTW our 5000 miles
service is about $35.


"tf" <vvv-no-ccc-spam-xxxzzz (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Rondo wrote:
Cold start wise, yes. But on the other regardless of the higher number
being the same, 0W40 _is_ thinner than 5W40 at operating temperature.


Ingo

5w40 is only available in full syn.
usually the dealer uses dino 5w30.
for the turbo and extra protection use @ least full syn 5w40.
mobil 0w40 protects even better.
hth.

"tf" <vvv-no-ccc-spam-xxxzzz (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

tf wrote:

If your mechanic is trust worthy I would go with him.. I've had
Bad experiences with dealer oil changes. ( Not saying all dealers
are bad, just the one in my area. ) I have a mechanic friend do
mine for me. I furnish him with four quarts of 0w40 Mobil-1 &
a OE Oil filter.. He charges me $20 bucks to change the oil.
The only problem is I have stand there for a half hour while he
changes the oil and listen to complain about his x-wife.

02 1.8T Passat


--
Go out and make it a good day! "DH"

Why not do your own oil changes, if possible? I've taken my '98 Passat 1.8T to three different oil
changers and each of them has screwed up in one way or another. When you are draining the oil you
can also inspect the car for leaks, bad boots, impending disasters, battery, etc. Plus, you can be
confident that the change was done correctly and not rushed. One guy I know had his belly pan fall
off on the Bay Bridge after having a garage change his car's oil.

I've used Chevron Supreme 10w-40 for almost 60,000 miles with no problems. Oil and filter every
5,000 miles. You can get it at Costco for around $.75/quart. BTW, in the Bay Area Castrol dyno
oils use Chevron base stocks. Also, I believe that Syntec uses ChevronPhillips PAO base.

tf wrote:

"Ingo Braune" <ingo.braune (AT) web (DOT) de> wrote

Stan Dupp wrote:


Hmmm, I'd bet after the fun and games of the oil filter he stops
complaining about his x-wife and starts up on the VW logic of oil filter
placement. @#c3r$%@!

All fun and games aside, whenever you take a Passat to have the oil
changed, make sure whoever does it understands the super complexe system
of hardware used to secure the belly pan. VW techs go though years of
advance training and testing before being allowed to work on a Passat
belly pan. The unskilled tech (Jiff Boob) will jam hardware in the
wrong holes, or just toss it in the trash. This results in bigger bonus
checks for the people who staff your local VW dealer parts counter due
to high volume sales of belly pans and fender liners.

Pencilneck blah blah blah

Pencilneck wrote:

You are absolutely right. After the Dealer Screed me on my first
oil change & pretended to change the filter... I took the car to
Jiffy Boob twice, once to change the oil and a second time to
replace the screws they left off after the oil change. They had a
bucket full of VW belly pan screws.. It's unfortunate these days
but you can't hardly trust anyone unless you stand there and
watch them. Heck, I use to have faith in Dealers till I bought a
Volkswagen..


--
Go out and make it a good day! "DH"

In article <1E8Za.153459$XV.8110048 (AT) twister (DOT) austin.rr.com> "tf" <vvv-no-ccc-spam-xxxzzz (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> writes:
$I called the local dealer to check on cost and other data for the 1st 5000
$mile maintenance on my 2003 Passat - 1.8T engine.
[...dealer evaded question about synth oil...]

The Audi dealer where I've been having my 2001 A4 1.8t serviced
was quite up-front about this, both with me when I asked and with another
customer I overheard asking a similar question on another occasion
(the other customer overheard the service advisor discussing my
synthetic oil with me, and asked the service advisor at the next
desk for which cars they used synthetic oil).

When they said they used conventional oil, I asked what it would
cost for synthetic. They wanted about twice what the oil costs
in most stores, so I pointed that out and said I'd just bring
some in with me for them to use. This didn't seem to be a problem
for them.

I guess it's like so many other things - some people, and
some businesses, are more interested in customer service than
others. When you find a good one, stick with them; when you find
a bad one, take your business elsewhere. And let them know why;
if they can't figure out why they lost your business, they won't
be able to get better.
--
..--------------------------------------. silver (AT) stevedunn (DOT) ca