A few questions

[MattyGTI8.5]

I’m set to pick up an 8.5 GTI, totally standard with dolphin grey the only option picked. I’ve seen a few things about a breaking in period, do you have to be strict to this or can you be a bit more lenient after the first set few hundred miles? Also I’ve been informed the service schedule is set to long term, how do you go about changing it to yearly intervals?

[fredgroves]

Its always a good idea to follow the manufacturers instructions about running in if you want long term reliability.

If you are leasing it for 12 months, well.... its not your car at the end of the day :-P

The service schedule has to be changed by the dealership.

[sipj]

I left mine reach 1000 miles before opening it up properly.  No idea what is recommended, but I think a 1000 miles used to be a things back in the day!

Mine was set to long service, which I had the dealer change.  A simple visit to the service centre where they plug it in and change it.  I own my car and have the service package for 2 years, so didn't want to leave it longer that 1 year between services.

[MattyGTI8.5]

Its always a good idea to follow the manufacturers instructions about running in if you want long term reliability.

If you are leasing it for 12 months, well.... its not your car at the end of the day :-P

The service schedule has to be changed by the dealership.

It is a lease but 4 years, maintenance package included though so not sure they’d cover boy racer antics 😂 will take it to the dealer and get them to change it

[MattyGTI8.5]

I left mine reach 1000 miles before opening it up properly.  No idea what is recommended, but I think a 1000 miles used to be a things back in the day!

Mine was set to long service, which I had the dealer change.  A simple visit to the service centre where they plug it in and change it.  I own my car and have the service package for 2 years, so didn't want to leave it longer that 1 year between services.

That’s the figure I had in my head too, I know they come “ran in” out the box but for my own peace of mind definitely needs a few hundred before kicking its head in.

[Carlosfandango]

I ran mine in as per the cars owners manual.

[SRGTD]

With modern cars it’s not necessary to be ultra-cautious during first 1,000 miles or so; just take a few sensible precautions;

• avoid using excessive engine rpm’s
• avoid labouring the engine, change gear frequently to vary the engine speed (I used the steering wheel paddles in my car to change gear and manually override the DSG)
• avoid driving at the same speed for prolonged periods in the same gear
• always wait for the engine to get up to the optimum operating temperature before driving a little more enthusiastically - not just during any running in period, but always
• keep an eye on the engine oil level - some engines can use a little oil during their early life before settling down (only one of the VW’s I’ve owned did this, but after a few thousand miles it never used a drop between services). It might be worth considering getting a 1 litre top up bottle of oil of the correct VW spec and keeping it in the car, rather than wait for the low engine oil warning light to illuminate and you’re miles from anywhere with nowhere to buy any of the correct oil to top up

Additionally;

• tyre treads might need scrubbing in during the first few miles of driving if there’s any residue of the tyre release agent remaining on the treads from the manufacturing process. Therefore, avoid hard, enthusiastic sudden manoeuvres unless necessary in an emergency avoidance situation
• bedding in the brakes during their early life first 200-300 miles of driving should prolong the life and efficiency of the car’s brakes

Some who lease their cars adopt a very different approach, and just drive a new car like they stole it from the outset!

[MattyGTI8.5]

With modern cars it’s not necessary to be ultra-cautious during first 1,000 miles or so; just take a few sensible precautions;

• avoid using excessive engine rpm’s
• avoid labouring the engine, change gear frequently to vary the engine speed (I used the steering wheel paddles in my car to change gear and manually override the DSG)
• avoid driving at the same speed for prolonged periods in the same gear
• always wait for the engine to get up to the optimum operating temperature before driving a little more enthusiastically - not just during any running in period, but always
• keep an eye on the engine oil level - some engines can use a little oil during their early life before settling down (only one of the VW’s I’ve owned did this, but after a few thousand miles it never used a drop between services). It might be worth considering getting a 1 litre top up bottle of oil of the correct VW spec and keeping it in the car, rather than wait for the low engine oil warning light to illuminate and you’re miles from anywhere with nowhere to buy any of the correct oil to top up

Additionally;

• tyre treads might need scrubbing in during the first few miles of driving if there’s any residue of the tyre release agent remaining on the treads from the manufacturing process. Therefore, avoid hard, enthusiastic sudden manoeuvres unless necessary in an emergency avoidance situation
• bedding in the brakes during their early life first 200-300 miles of driving should prolong the life and efficiency of the car’s brakes

Some who lease their cars adopt a very different approach, and just drive a new car like they stole it from the outset!

Thanks mate! I’m picking it up from Stockport on Monday and driving it back to Sunderland, so the first 150ish miles will be mundane motorway anyways 

[SRGTD]

With modern cars it’s not necessary to be ultra-cautious during first 1,000 miles or so; just take a few sensible precautions;

• avoid using excessive engine rpm’s
• avoid labouring the engine, change gear frequently to vary the engine speed (I used the steering wheel paddles in my car to change gear and manually override the DSG)
• avoid driving at the same speed for prolonged periods in the same gear
• always wait for the engine to get up to the optimum operating temperature before driving a little more enthusiastically - not just during any running in period, but always
• keep an eye on the engine oil level - some engines can use a little oil during their early life before settling down (only one of the VW’s I’ve owned did this, but after a few thousand miles it never used a drop between services). It might be worth considering getting a 1 litre top up bottle of oil of the correct VW spec and keeping it in the car, rather than wait for the low engine oil warning light to illuminate and you’re miles from anywhere with nowhere to buy any of the correct oil to top up

Additionally;

• tyre treads might need scrubbing in during the first few miles of driving if there’s any residue of the tyre release agent remaining on the treads from the manufacturing process. Therefore, avoid hard, enthusiastic sudden manoeuvres unless necessary in an emergency avoidance situation
• bedding in the brakes during their early life first 200-300 miles of driving should prolong the life and efficiency of the car’s brakes

Some who lease their cars adopt a very different approach, and just drive a new car like they stole it from the outset!

Thanks mate! I’m picking it up from Stockport on Monday and driving it back to Sunderland, so the first 150ish miles will be mundane motorway anyways 

Enjoy the drive home! As per my previous post, avoid sticking to the same speed in the same gear for the whole 150 mile motorway leg of your journey.

Also, I should have made it clear in the fourth bullet point in my previous post - getting the engine up to optimum temperature before driving a little more enthusiastically refers to the oil temperature, not the coolant temperature, although I’ve always avoided anything approaching enthusiastic driving for first circa 1,000 miles of any new car ownership .

[Carlosfandango]

With modern cars it’s not necessary to be ultra-cautious during first 1,000 miles or so; just take a few sensible precautions;

• avoid using excessive engine rpm’s
• avoid labouring the engine, change gear frequently to vary the engine speed (I used the steering wheel paddles in my car to change gear and manually override the DSG)
• avoid driving at the same speed for prolonged periods in the same gear
• always wait for the engine to get up to the optimum operating temperature before driving a little more enthusiastically - not just during any running in period, but always
• keep an eye on the engine oil level - some engines can use a little oil during their early life before settling down (only one of the VW’s I’ve owned did this, but after a few thousand miles it never used a drop between services). It might be worth considering getting a 1 litre top up bottle of oil of the correct VW spec and keeping it in the car, rather than wait for the low engine oil warning light to illuminate and you’re miles from anywhere with nowhere to buy any of the correct oil to top up

Additionally;

• tyre treads might need scrubbing in during the first few miles of driving if there’s any residue of the tyre release agent remaining on the treads from the manufacturing process. Therefore, avoid hard, enthusiastic sudden manoeuvres unless necessary in an emergency avoidance situation
• bedding in the brakes during their early life first 200-300 miles of driving should prolong the life and efficiency of the car’s brakes

Some who lease their cars adopt a very different approach, and just drive a new car like they stole it from the outset!

Thanks mate! I’m picking it up from Stockport on Monday and driving it back to Sunderland, so the first 150ish miles will be mundane motorway anyways 

Follow the directions in the user manual and you’ll be golden. as SRGTD says, try and avoid sitting at the same speed in the same gear for too long whilst on the motorway trip home.