Oil change at 29,000 miles

[Audi Alun]

1.9 turbo diesel, 21 plate Black Edition A6.

Message on dash says change oil. Car coming up to almost 29,00 and the car is 2.5 yrs old.

So, questions.

1. Do I have to take my car to a main dealer to change the oil to keep any warranty.

2. Can I take it to a garage of my choice and get the oil changed (at a much cheaper cost) whilst still retaining the warranty?

3. Once the oil is changed, does the dashboard message automatically reset (turn off), ........or does this have to be done by a main dealer garage (at I assume a silly cost)?

[Magnet]

Hello Alan,

Could you let us know when the oil was last changed? 

In terms of getting this done away from the main dealer:-

You can, if the garage is VAT registered, genuine, or acceptable  parts are used, and ideally, the garage is capable of recording this service information onto the VAG computerised service system. 
It is unlikely that an ‘ordinary’ garage would have access to this system, but a VAG independent probably would - so that maybe an alternative.

Most garages should be able to reset the ‘Service due’ alert. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Audi Alun]

Gareth,

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated.

Last oil change was in June 2023 at 19,000 miles.

I have taken your comments onboard and will do a bit more research with my 'non main dealer' to see if he is capable of accessing the VAG system.

Regards

Alun 

[Stevey Y]

5 hours ago, Audi Alun said:

Gareth,

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated.

Last oil change was in June 2023 at 19,000 miles.

I have taken your comments onboard and will do a bit more research with my 'non main dealer' to see if he is capable of accessing the VAG system.

Regards

Alun 

Hi you can reset the oil service interval on the MMI its simple enough and most small indie garages can do the oil change.

Steve.

[Optimus]

As an ex main dealer senior manager. 

There are many factors with warranty/extended warranty you should consider.

whilst it is possible to maintain warranty outside of the dealer network by using 3rd parties with genuine parts. You will loose out on what is called good will. Good will is an extension to warranty that is often contributed by the manufacturer and dealership network franchisee.

a car coming to the end of warranty your extend your good will cover into a 4th year when outside of warranty. Whilst you may pay for parts or labour good will is a measure of brand loyalty and can often be 100% of the cost.

an example of how this works;

customer services their car for the first 3 years at the same dealer franchise.

within the 4th year of ownership (prior to the next due service) the engine throws a warning light. This is diagnosed at the main dealer as a fault with the oil pump. The cost of repair and diagnosis is £890.67 at the cost of the customer. 
 

The customer requests support (discount) this is raised as a goodwill claim. The manufacturer approves the claim, based on brand loyalty or other factors such as frequent servicing or customer has bought into the franchise prior (good history). The main dealer with the car on the ramp is supplied the oil pump free or charge. The customer is required to pay the labour only (£235). 
 

A lot of customers are not aware that there often are historical campaigns that are hidden with known faults or failures. These often never get issued as a recall, unless safety related or faults likely to happen within warranty periods. As a result there ste goodwill campaigns that dealers have access to which could save you a lot of money.

DSG control unit for dual clutch transmission have always been an issue since day dot. Lots of campaigns. I’ve seen plenty of these replaced at 0 cost on 3-6 year old (VW, Seat, Skoda) vehicles. 
 

this is by no means saying stay with main dealers but consider whether you can carry out servicing in a format that may entitle your vehicle some goodwill outside of warranty by doing so.

[Audi Alun]

Hi,

Thank you for your 'insider information', much appreciated.

I will consider this when it is the right time to see what the main dealer has to offer.

My first MOT is in July 2023, so at that point I will be with a warranty.

However, I am considering the renewing of the warranty for another year (or possibly longer) along with a pre-payment service option.

This will (hopefully) provide a continuous 'main dealer' service history so that when I come to sell my car, I hopefully will get a slightly higher resale value for the vehicle.

And as you rightly state, it will allow me to obtain a reasonable standard of goodwill from the main dealer when dealing with both servicing and resale of the car.

Once again, thank you for your observations and insight.