Scirocco Central

My car is - 2009 2.0 ltr GT TDi 140

So i've just picked my car back up from my local VW dealership after its Service & MOT and was hit with some bad news

This is what the dealership wants to charge me:

1. Alarm Horn Required - £371.65
2. Air Conditioning service due - £73.56
3. New cambelt and tensioner due to age and mileage - £349
4. Brake fluid change required - £59
5. New rear brake pads - £139

Total - £992.21

Basically i nearly fainted when they told me this!

So i need your help people.

Surely the alarm siren can be bought on eBay?
My air conditioning seems fine!
My car has only done 63000 miles.
Brakes seem fine to me!
Maybe these will need doing?

Any suggestions PLEASE comment.

Cheers.

I think the aircon service is usually optional. Most of the rest just look like general wear and tear items that just happened to all come up at the same time.

I had a big one too back in March

(all prices ex-VAT)
MOT – £39
60,000 mile/6 year service – £165
Then they found out my brakes were down to the last 15% so obviously I needed disks AND pads – £197
I asked for wipers – £33
Coolant change – £49
DSG oil change was due – £149
They found an oil leak in the turbo actuator – £92
Brake fluid change – £49

£925!

Cambelt is due at 4 years or 5 years depending on whether car was registered before or after Sep 2009. Also worth getting the water pump changed too.

Air con is a recommendation.

Brake fluid is at 3 years and then every 2 years thereafter.

They tend to he very conservative with hrake pads and recommend getting them changed early based on the fact they may not see the car for a year, so probably OK for a while.

Nearly £400 for an alarm horn? Is this the same thing for £25 on eBay?

Fifer wrote:Nearly £400 for an alarm horn? Is this the same thing for £25 on eBay?

YES!!! And i told them the exact same thing. Crazy!!!

Cuprabob wrote:Cambelt is due at 4 years or 5 years depending on whether car was registered before or after Sep 2009. Also worth getting the water pump changed too.

Air con is a recommendation.

Brake fluid is at 3 years and then every 2 years thereafter.

They tend to he very conservative with hrake pads and recommend getting them changed early based on the fact they may not see the car for a year, so probably OK for a while.

I'm sure i've read somewhere that the cambelt is every 120,000 or 140,000 miles? I only do around 5000 miles a year so that would add up to 20,000 for 4 years. Big difference between 20,000 and 140,000 don't you think?

Take it to an indie and you will pay at least half. Buy and fit your own wipers, Bosch aerotwins are £16 a pair on the bay.

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The service booklet supplied with the car states 140,000 miles with no age reference.

VW UK state 5 years or 140k miles, whichever occurs first.
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/serv ... elt-change" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You pays your money, you takes you chance.

You'll get a set or rear pad (Mintex or Ferodo etc) from your local auto parts place for about £30 probably less actually and an hour labour max, did mine on my Scooby last week in about 25 mins . Main dealer prices are madness usually though the price for the belt doesn't sound too bad actually. It will be the main dealer labour charges that are boosting those prices up. I know my local VW dealers rates are exactly 3 times what my local mechanic charges and my local mechanic is better and more knowledgeable than 99% of the guys in main dealers. For your Air con the likes of Kwik Fit do deals now and again which will save you a few quid.

Paddy_R wrote:You'll get a set or rear pad (Mintex or Ferodo etc) from your local auto parts place for about £30 probably less actually and an hour labour max, did mine on my Scooby last week in about 25 mins . Main dealer prices are madness usually though the price for the belt doesn't sound too bad actually. It will be the main dealer labour charges that are boosting those prices up. I know my local VW dealers rates are exactly 3 times what my local mechanic charges and my local mechanic is better and more knowledgeable than 99% of the guys in main dealers. For your Air con the likes of Kwik Fit do deals now and again which will save you a few quid.

Thanks for your feedback mate.

I'm no mechanic so the likely hood of me being able to change my break pads myself are very slim.

I think the best thing I can do is shop around and get some prices and show VW and see what they say.

The main concern is the brake pads and alarm horn. The cambelt fingers crossed should be ok and it's VW that is only advising me just to save face.

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The alarm horn will most likely be a few screws/bolts and an electrical connector. The issue might be access to get it changed as i've no idea where it's at as I've never looked. If it's easy accessed then I'd be getting that ebay one and doing it myself.

Paddy_R wrote:The alarm horn will most likely be a few screws/bolts and an electrical connector. The issue might be access to get it changed as i've no idea where it's at as I've never looked. If it's easy accessed then I'd be getting that ebay one and doing it myself.

I too do not know where its situated so i will have to try and find out. Think i've read it's quite difficult to get to but i'll look into it.

Halfords re-charge the air-con for £30 and re-charge and clean out for £40 so i think i'll go there for that. Kwik-Fit was £45.

I've looked on Ebay. They all seem to be used ones. I would want a brand new one to install.

The cost is probably 70% labour. Info here on how to replace : http://www.sciroccocentral.co.uk/forum/ ... rn#p112468" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You should consider doing what you can DIY and take to an a reputable local garage for the rest of the work.

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***UPDATE***

I got back in touch with my local VW dealership and after a bit of persuasion they have reduced the prices

Air-con £73.56 to £35.76
Brake fluid £59 to £31
Rear brake pads £139 to £63.07

Saving myself £141.73

Plus i have just purchased a brand new Alarm horn off eBay for £32.80. VW said they would fit it for me as long as its a OEM part for £80. They originally wanted to charge me £371.65. So i'll make a saving of £258.85.

I will update this thread when all these have been sorted.

Cheers.

Just goes to show how they try to rip you off on a regular basis. Even at those prices they are still making a profit.

Great to hear mate, if in doubt haggle!

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Hmmm i don't like this at all. A vw dealer should have fixed and fair prices and no arguing about how high. Not very proffesional. Thats why i do almost al the maintainance myself. Don't trust that kind of people.

My MOT/Service findings came in over 1000£!!!

Some of which included: shock absorber misting (check in 6 months) they have been checking this every 6 months for 1.5 years
ALL brake discs and pads needing change (75% worn)... Not sure about this as I dont have the warning light yet
"slight" buckle in one of the rear wheels.
Cambelt needing changing <---- ????????? I called them to challenge this, saying my car is supposed to have a timing chain, and they apologised for their "admin error". 2 months later I get a call back asking if I want to book it in for a cambelt change *sigh*