A Superb purchase experience

[blueSup]

Hi Karl,

I thought about test driving the Passat R-Line Wagon (140kw diesel) but the cockpit felt cramped and off centre. Once I saw the lightness, space, and clean design of the Superb I didn't look back. And with 4x4 only available with the 206 TSI that's the way I went.

[2009fsi]

bluesup.
Thanks for putting the work into gathering the info & your analysis. Your breakdown is worth retaining, bluesup.
Practically each service does little more than changes fluids & filters, lubricate the hinges. What you get is basically a hedge contract on prices of labour, the filters & oil. A lot of the checking is where they'll sting you. The parts deemed to be 'wear & tear' which will empty your wallet. That's what all the checking is about. "Find stuff we can bill them for."

What I'd like to see is the really service instruction which says "Change brake pads at XXkms, (no matter whether they need it, or not)" This was certainly the case in the past.

Service plans also lock owners into propriety servicing where the conflict of interest between what is needed & parts sales add to the bottom line for the dealer & VAG/Skoda. They also allows VAG/Skoda the opportunity to bury updates which might otherwise demand recalls. As my mechanic mate said, "They're going the same way as Merc & BMW, strangling service information to make independent servicing near impossible." Basic information like the capacity of the sump is no longer provided. Nor does the service book tell you anything about the details of service, as they did for the 3T series.

I have real problems with 15,000kms / 1 year servicing intervals. I don't believe this is anything more than the minimum they can get away with while the car is under warranty. It feeds planned obsolescence.

I will add to that, State Roads departments which deem it unnecessary to have cars to be inspected for roadworthiness for the first five years. Some people/businesses will just drive cars into the ground. By the time they need to be inspected for road worthiness, they're already death traps best consigned to the wreckers yard. My son-in-law is a classic example. He runs 60,000kms a year onto his Lexus, travelling to & from work & business needs. He gets it serviced every 6 months. The car is mechanically clapped out, but it won't need a road worthiness inspection, until next year! By then, it'll probably have close to 300,000ks on the clock. Would you buy a car with 300,000ks on the clock? Me neither.
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