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-   -   VW Polo - Maintenance and Service cost and dos/don'ts (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/101925-vw-polo-maintenance-service-cost-dos-donts-88.html)

Not a Polo owner but a Jetta one, so I can answer your query. The bitter truth is no matter how hard I try to monitor the service bill of my car it touches 15k however, it shouldnt overshoot that mark at all, especially for a Polo.

It's especially important to ask the S.A for the job card and personally tick off things on a paper so that you atleast have proof and can ask them to waive extra charges off. Coming to the extra things added, here are a few money making tactics I have come across at service centres:

- Lock cylinder lubrication: (Rs. 990)Nothing more than spraying a bottle of lubricant into the door locks. Not required at all until the system works.

- A/C disinfectant: (Rs. 1,000) Again a money making tactic. Spraying a bottle of disinfection spray into the A/C vents. The worst part is that they broke the rear A/C vent while doing this.

There are a few other things such as suspension lubrication which are needed and may cost Rs. 1,000 or whereabouts. But do watch out for other unnecessary expenses and report them here. Keep us updated.

Regards,
Vishy :)

As I am about to take my 1.6TDI for third service, it looks downright scary! I think we may have spent about 12k last year, but this year I was intending to get wheels done at a local place and refuse all the other "extras" and hoping to be within 10K. Probably not to be.

When I have money for extras, I want a ding-free replacement windscreen!

As its your third service, all you need to do is change the oil, diesel and air filter and the engine oil. The only additional piece of work you need to do is to replace the brake fluid as it's your third year. Also ask for the windscreen washer fluid.

This should have the bill within 10k.

That's all you need to do and you can flatly refuse anything else they stipulate. Have the wheel alignment done some place else as you've mentioned.

Of course, this is assuming that the coolant liquid still retains its original colour and you don't have any other problem with the car.

Second service update (2year/30,000kms):

Got the second service done for my Polo TDI at KTC Volkswagen. I was really worried this time (dieselgate), but it turned out to be a great experience. I reached the place by around 9:45am and handed over a list of dos & donts and asked the SA to stick to those. I didn't want my car to be updated with the dieselgate fix and hence that was mentioned too. SA agreed to all those, but mentioned that the car will need 4.8 litres of engine oil and that anything less will be a little too less. He took me to the shop floor to check this. After filling 4.3 litres, it was somewhere near the halfway mark on the dipstick. But since this was on a hot engine, I told them to not bother filling more. I took this opportunity to be with the car right from the start till the end when the service interval was reset. Was so glad to see all things getting changed right in front of my eyes, which I believe is a tough thing for most European brands. The SA did ask me to keep an eye on the oil levels and top up if necessary (which I regularly do). I was offered a free wash, but I declined since they usually wash the engine bay as well and I was out by 11:45am. Had a refund of 500 bucks from previous service, which was adjusted in the bill without any issues. Overall, a great experience at KTC Volkswagen. :thumbs up

Was so happy to drive my punchy TDI back home.clap: Checked the oil level next day morning and it was at the halfway mark on the dipstick.

The bill:

Thanks

Ignite Garage tested my battery for me, before delivering after a paint job. It is down to 8v when cranking. He says this is ok for six months, but I'll probably change soon. That will be a non-VW job too.

Sir, with due respect, 8V is too low. I'd change the battery tomorrow itself.

I changed the stock battery in my Swift when the cranking voltage reached 9.8V. Can't think of having it in my car till it drops to 8V. Puts unnecessary load on the starter motor.

First Service Update - 1 yr/15k K

Just got the 1st service done for my Polo TDI 1.5L and the invoice stood at 15,756/-:Shockked:. Yep, you read it right

Dropped off the car on 16th June and picked it up the next day Morning. SA checked all the standard things Like ODO/Blinkers/spare Tyre before Checking-in the car for service.

I reported about rattling sound from the front left door or Dashboard(wasn't sure from where where) and told him to follow the Standard service.

Add-ons : Low-Tone Horn and a spate 1L Engine Oil

Now, Instead of checking the rattling from the inside of the car, the SA noted it down as rattling from Front LH. The Invoice says what was done :Frustrati, Breakpads and linigs were removed and put back in.

AC disinfectant and cleaning foam is a rip-off, didn't ask for it but was done anyway.

All in all, what could have been 10K+ the additional accessories I asked, it came down to 12k+4k on accessories

I guess I need to work on my "Gentle but Firm" skills as I did complain about over billing but didn't argue more.

Attaching the invoice for reference
Joke : Items replaced as part of Warranty - Sticker,tie wrap,tape.

Only silver lining was the New Horn, sounds Blissful

Did you replace your horn, or go for the two-tone that VW used to have?

When I asked for additional low-tone horn, to restore that great VW sound, they they told me it wasn't allowed by law :eek:

[quote=they told me it wasn't allowed by law :eek:[/quote]

Its the low tone that makes it sound like a VW :)
I will try to upload the audio file and edit this post sometime today

Here is the new sound after adding a low tone horn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLEO...ature=youtu.be

I verified this in 3 different vw ASS's and was never denied

The battery testing done with these meters can be highly misleading. Depending on your driving cycle, the battery can last a lot longer than 6 months - even upto 2 years and more.

If you're predominantly into start/stop/switch off/start/ along with a lot of night drives your battery would go sooner than that of someone who predominantly does long distance drives where the battery can recoup a lot without discharging.

You could take a test after 5-6 months and check whether the battery has deteriorated or is at the same level before deciding on a replacement as if you're mainly into city driving, you might not want to get caught in traffic with your battery down.

I've seen a lot of folks changing batteries because the meter said so (on this forum too) and I've also seen batteries last for more than 2 years after the battery tester indicated that it needs to be changed.

And yes, you don't need to go anywhere near VW for this one.

Yes, that sounds more like my old car and less like the peep from the current one. I'll try again.

It is mostly city driving, with most of my journeys being 8-10km there, and the same back home later. Twice, in the past month, I have noticed reluctance in cranking the engine when the car has been stopped after a shorter journey, half that or less. On this basis, I think it is time for a new one.

There was a discussion earlier, possibly on Gannu's ownership thread, about why nobody needs to "upgrade" to a higher capacity. My own contribution was, "It starts the engine: no "up"grade needed." But someone who turns the engine off at every signal might need higher capacity. Of course, they have to drive far enough to properly charge it in the end, however many amp hours they have.

Done today, at the local-guy shop. Amron Flo, 48Ahr. 5,900.

Yes, Batterybhai, online would have saved me at least a thousand.

If I get alignment and balancing done locally, I should ask them to rotate the wheels. What is the recommended order of rotation?

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/1...our-car-tires/
Pretty well explained. For front wheel driven vehicles, the rear tyres are shifted to the opposite front and the front tyres are shifted to the corresponding rears.