First service miles

[adw555]

Hi...my GTI is 16months old and got 16k miles on the clock...according to the service interval display it's not due it's first service for another 5200 miles!..that will take it to over 21k miles before a service...seems very long (compared to my last car, an Impreaza turbo that needed one ever 6k  ) ..

What mileage had you done before your first service

[The Doc]

Your car has what is know as "variable servicing".

This means that the vehicle monitors various factors such as throttle, speed , length of journeys etc then calculates when it will need to be serviced!

The car KNOWS when it needs to be serviced basically!

Where did you buy your car from BTW?

Hope this helps!

[adw555]

Thanks Doc...yea, I was aware of the long life oil used, but didnt expect it to go so long until the first  service..oh well...volkswagen (and the car) know best...guess I was just used to being up at the scooby garage for oil changes so often with the last car...

Car came new from a Volkswagen dealer here in N Ireland last March....apart from a few rattles it's been great ...it was a toss up between a Focus RS and the GTI ...think I made the right decision....mind you the RS still looks the business when I see one out on the road 

[Ranter]

Hi Adw555,
I'm from Norn Iron too!
Was the dealer "IA" perchance? If so, how'd you find them?
Cheers

[The Doc]

they drive  unless your going mad    the GTI is way better 

[mrv]

i had a test drive in an ST and it was an awful car. Great sounding engine but what a cr@p place to be. Apart from that the driving position is way too high. Golf is far better despite the rattles.

[adw555]

Hi Ranter,

Yea...that was the dealer I got it from (belfast)...have to say they've been fine. The sales guy I dealt with was superb and even rang the other day (after 16months) to check how I was getting on with the car..thought that was a nice touch....

It's been back for a recall on some sort of heat shield and had a door trim replaced under warranty...all very simple and no hassles..

Mind you once it's service time they'll be like every other main dealer and charge silly prices for things..that was the one good thing about my subaru dealer..very, very good on the prices front..much cheaper that VW are going to be :-(

How have you found the experience ?

[Ranter]

Thanks for the reply adw555,
So far so good. I was able to wangle a bit of a deal out of them and the sales guy seemed ok. It's early days though, I've paid my deposit a few weeks ago, but don't know really when I'll get the car. mid/end september is the estimate....  Even though a broker was a bit cheaper, I thought the peace of mind and aftersales care when buying from a main dealer would justify the slight extra cost.

How'd you find they'd prepared the car for when you picked it up? Any swirl marks from a poor car wash or anything?

[The Doc]

Maybe prices are dearer but you would have had 4 services by now 

[adw555]

hey ranter...yea, there were a couple of little things that were not 100% when I came to collect the car:

    1. tiny pin head stone chip on passenger door (touched up while i was there)
    2. neither number plate on totally straight (most people might not notice..but I did  )
    3. some light scratches on the bonnet...but was almost like under the clearcoat...only visible under florescent light and  at a certain angle...they said to bring it back and they'd polish it again..but it wasnt worth the hassle and I didnt want swirl marks....

Mine is the metallic black (black magic i think it's called)...which shows up every mark  ..but does look  great when all polished up....I'd get lots of coats of wax on it ...cos the paint is soo soft and you'll get stone chips galore...I thought the subaru paint wasnt great until I got this car!

It probably sounds bad..but it's been 16 months of joy really...bar a few rattles!

Hope you get it soon...I ordered Jan 05 and picked it up middle of march.. so was better than they forcast originally