1.8T Oil issue -- cost
 

I'm posting to both groups because I own two cars: a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T
Avant and a 2003 VW Passat 1.8T. I haven't seen much discussion on the
*cost* of the synthic oil issue.

I got both notices regarding the synthetic engine oil issue (one for
each auto) on the same day. However, it wasn't until my VW dealer did
the change over on the Passat that I began to realize the cost issues.
The oil changes using synthetic are going to be at least twice as much
as for a regular oil change. So, the oil maintenance costs have
effictively DOUBLED for the life of each vehicle.

Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm
now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is
this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their
mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs?

Can anyone enlighten me? Or offer suggestions or remedies??

Thanks for any help,
Libby

Libby wrote:
>
> Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm
> now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is
> this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their
> mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs?

Why does the fact that the problem is being addressed *now* mean that
you shouldn't pay for it? Suppose the current oil requirements had been
in place when you bought the car. Would you have expected not to pay
for your oil changes then?

--
Mike Smith

It's my understanding that synthetic oil doesn't need to be changed as
often.
When did the dealer tell you to come back for the next oil change?


"Libby" > wrote in message
om...
> I'm posting to both groups because I own two cars: a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T
> Avant and a 2003 VW Passat 1.8T. I haven't seen much discussion on the
> *cost* of the synthic oil issue.
>
> I got both notices regarding the synthetic engine oil issue (one for
> each auto) on the same day. However, it wasn't until my VW dealer did
> the change over on the Passat that I began to realize the cost issues.
> The oil changes using synthetic are going to be at least twice as much
> as for a regular oil change. So, the oil maintenance costs have
> effictively DOUBLED for the life of each vehicle.
>
> Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm
> now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is
> this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their
> mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs?
>
> Can anyone enlighten me? Or offer suggestions or remedies??
>
> Thanks for any help,
> Libby

I have used synthetic oil in my cars since about 1985 or so. Having a
turbo means no additional oil expense to me. I have to do 3.5 oil
changes in the car and 1 oil change on the truck every year. I just
consider it a cost of driving. A lot of cars come from the factory
with synthetic oil so you know right off the bat the oil might be
more. It appears that VW has discovered that some folks have problems
with regular oil. The solution is syntheic oil which will probably
reduce the likelyhood of a few thousand dollars in engine repairs. I
guess some would consider that $17 additional synthetic oil per change
over 300,000 miles is an additional $1,000 which is cheaper than a
turbo or other parts that might suffer from regular oil.

(Libby) wrote:

>I'm posting to both groups because I own two cars: a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T
>Avant and a 2003 VW Passat 1.8T. I haven't seen much discussion on the
>*cost* of the synthic oil issue.
>
>I got both notices regarding the synthetic engine oil issue (one for
>each auto) on the same day. However, it wasn't until my VW dealer did
>the change over on the Passat that I began to realize the cost issues.
>The oil changes using synthetic are going to be at least twice as much
>as for a regular oil change. So, the oil maintenance costs have
>effictively DOUBLED for the life of each vehicle.
>
>Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm
>now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is
>this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their
>mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs?
>
>Can anyone enlighten me? Or offer suggestions or remedies??
>
>Thanks for any help,
>Libby


Jim B.

Mike Smith wrote:
> Libby wrote:
>
>>
>> Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm
>> now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is
>> this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their
>> mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs?
>
>
> Why does the fact that the problem is being addressed *now* mean that
> you shouldn't pay for it? Suppose the current oil requirements had been
> in place when you bought the car. Would you have expected not to pay
> for your oil changes then?
>
> --
> Mike Smith

Is this a new notice that VW recently issued?? Our New Beetle is a 1.8T
and I haven't gotten a notice from VW regarding synthetic oil...granted,
I've used Mobil 1 since the 8K service...but I'm just being nosy.

Let's see at our shop the 1.8t oil change with regular oil is $35 and with
VW's synthetic it's $50. The VW oil has a list price of $5 per quart so your
dealer shouldn't be charging any more than that, if they are bring your own
oil in or shop elsewhere. I bet most of us waste more money on beer each
year.


"Libby" > wrote in message
om...
> I'm posting to both groups because I own two cars: a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T
> Avant and a 2003 VW Passat 1.8T. I haven't seen much discussion on the
> *cost* of the synthic oil issue.
>
> I got both notices regarding the synthetic engine oil issue (one for
> each auto) on the same day. However, it wasn't until my VW dealer did
> the change over on the Passat that I began to realize the cost issues.
> The oil changes using synthetic are going to be at least twice as much
> as for a regular oil change. So, the oil maintenance costs have
> effictively DOUBLED for the life of each vehicle.
>
> Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm
> now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is
> this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their
> mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs?
>
> Can anyone enlighten me? Or offer suggestions or remedies??
>
> Thanks for any help,
> Libby

Mike Smith > wrote in message >...
> Why does the fact that the problem is being addressed *now* mean that
> you shouldn't pay for it? Suppose the current oil requirements had been
> in place when you bought the car. Would you have expected not to pay
> for your oil changes then?

The issue is that the *new* requirements were *not* in place when I
bought the car. I *expected* to maintain the car as it was delivered
to me by the manufacturer -- synthetic oils were not part of the
maintenance standard at the time of purchase. I now have the first
*additional* cost of changing over to synthetic -- $78 for the Passat,
likely a bit more for the Audi -- plus additional costs for synthetic
oil changes. The cheapest approved oil is $12.75 per quart. You've
made up a scenario different than what's actually happening *now* --
it would be silly to waste time discussing suppositions.

Peter Cressman > wrote in message .rogers.com>...
> Is this a new notice that VW recently issued?? Our New Beetle is a 1.8T
> and I haven't gotten a notice from VW regarding synthetic oil...granted,
> I've used Mobil 1 since the 8K service...but I'm just being nosy.

The notices were sent in early August. FYI -- Mobil 1 0W-40 does not
meet the new requirements. It meets VW505.00, not the new 505.01
requirements.


"Will" > wrote in message news:<OY9%c.321231$M95.75857@pd7tw1no>...
> It's my understanding that synthetic oil doesn't need to be changed as
> often.
> When did the dealer tell you to come back for the next oil change?

To meet warranty requirements, a qualified synthetic must be used and
changed every at least every 5k miles or 6 mos. The notice states that
failing to do so voids the engine warranty.

Hi,

Libby wrote:

>The issue is that the *new* requirements were *not* in place when I
>bought the car. I *expected* to maintain the car as it was delivered
>to me by the manufacturer

The car was delivered to you by the dealer I presume. Not by the
manufacturer. So you have a case with the dealer in the first place,
no?

>-- synthetic oils were not part of the
>maintenance standard at the time of purchase. I now have the first
>*additional* cost of changing over to synthetic -- $78 for the Passat,
>likely a bit more for the Audi -- plus additional costs for synthetic
>oil changes. The cheapest approved oil is $12.75 per quart.

Ok. Your maintenance cost increased.

>To meet warranty requirements, a qualified synthetic must be used and
>changed every at least every 5k miles or 6 mos. The notice states that
>failing to do so voids the engine warranty.

Do you have Audi warranty or a third party warranty? 5k miles and 6
mos does not at all sound like VW/Audi's service plan. There have been
numerous threads in the recent past asking the famous oil question and
if it would be ok to go as far as 30.000 km between oil changes. That
is what VW/Audi recommends in many cars now.

Who issued these notices? VW, Audi or the dealer?

Did you ask Audi or VW about their opinion? You could just sell the
car if it's too expensive for you now.

Regards

Wolfgang

--
1999 Audi A6 Avant TDI

In article >,
Libby > wrote:
>I got both notices regarding the synthetic engine oil issue (one for
>each auto) on the same day. However, it wasn't until my VW dealer did
>the change over on the Passat that I began to realize the cost issues.
>The oil changes using synthetic are going to be at least twice as much
>as for a regular oil change. So, the oil maintenance costs have
>effictively DOUBLED for the life of each vehicle.

Didn't the owner's manual originally specify 5W-40 oil, which only
comes in synthetic in the US? If so, shouldn't oil changes have been
done with 5W-40 synthetic before? Granted, non-VW 502.00 rated
Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 at Wal Mart may be about $7 cheaper
for an oil change worth of oil than a VW 502.00 rated 5W-40, but that
isn't a doubling of cost.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

We have a 2000 NB Turbo and have received no such notice.
Can anyone elaborate on this?

On 6 Sep 2004 19:44:16 -0700, (Libby) wrote:

||I'm posting to both groups because I own two cars: a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T
||Avant and a 2003 VW Passat 1.8T. I haven't seen much discussion on the
||*cost* of the synthic oil issue.
||
||I got both notices regarding the synthetic engine oil issue (one for
||each auto) on the same day. However, it wasn't until my VW dealer did
||the change over on the Passat that I began to realize the cost issues.
||The oil changes using synthetic are going to be at least twice as much
||as for a regular oil change. So, the oil maintenance costs have
||effictively DOUBLED for the life of each vehicle.
||
||Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm
||now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is
||this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their
||mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs?
||
||Can anyone enlighten me? Or offer suggestions or remedies??
||
||Thanks for any help,
||Libby

Texas Parts Guy