Oil 1.8T

Sounds like you got talkin' to an advisor with who wasn't informed! It should of came as this:

We charge $xx.xx for using regular oil and $xx.xx for synthetic oil. At our place the price for synthetic oil is about $25 more. BTW our 5000 miles service is about $35.

Cold start wise, yes. But on the other regardless of the higher number being the same, 0W40 _is_ thinner than 5W40 at operating temperature.

Ingo

5w40 is only available in full syn. usually the dealer uses dino 5w30. for the turbo and extra protection use @ least full syn 5w40. mobil 0w40 protects even better. hth.

If your mechanic is trust worthy I would go with him.. I've had Bad experiences with dealer oil changes. ( Not saying all dealers are bad, just the one in my area. ) I have a mechanic friend do mine for me. I furnish him with four quarts of 0w40 Mobil-1 & a OE Oil filter.. He charges me $20 bucks to change the oil. The only problem is I have stand there for a half hour while he changes the oil and listen to complain about his x-wife.

02 1.8T Passat

-- Go out and make it a good day! "DH"

Why not do your own oil changes, if possible? I've taken my '98 Passat 1.8T to three different oil changers and each of them has screwed up in one way or another. When you are draining the oil you can also inspect the car for leaks, bad boots, impending disasters, battery, etc. Plus, you can be confident that the change was done correctly and not rushed. One guy I know had his belly pan fall off on the Bay Bridge after having a garage change his car's oil.

I've used Chevron Supreme 10w-40 for almost 60,000 miles with no problems. Oil and filter every

5,000 miles. You can get it at Costco for around $.75/quart. BTW, > I called the local dealer to check on cost and other data for the 1st 5000

true, but the 0w40 meets the latest vw specs on 5k oil changes.

Hmmm, I'd bet after the fun and games of the oil filter he stops complaining about his x-wife and starts up on the VW logic of oil filter placement. @#c3r$%@!

All fun and games aside, whenever you take a Passat to have the oil changed, make sure whoever does it understands the super complexe system of hardware used to secure the belly pan. VW techs go though years of advance training and testing before being allowed to work on a Passat belly pan. The unskilled tech (Jiff Boob) will jam hardware in the wrong holes, or just toss it in the trash. This results in bigger bonus checks for the people who staff your local VW dealer parts counter due to high volume sales of belly pans and fender liners.

Pencilneck blah blah blah

You are absolutely right. After the Dealer Screed me on my first oil change & pretended to change the filter... I took the car to Jiffy Boob twice, once to change the oil and a second time to replace the screws they left off after the oil change. They had a bucket full of VW belly pan screws.. It's unfortunate these days but you can't hardly trust anyone unless you stand there and watch them. Heck, I use to have faith in Dealers till I bought a Volkswagen..

-- Go out and make it a good day! "DH"

In article "tf" writes: $I called the local dealer to check on cost and other data for the 1st 5000 $mile maintenance on my 2003 Passat - 1.8T engine. [...dealer evaded question about synth oil...]

The Audi dealer where I've been having my 2001 A4 1.8t serviced was quite up-front about this, both with me when I asked and with another customer I overheard asking a similar question on another occasion (the other customer overheard the service advisor discussing my synthetic oil with me, and asked the service advisor at the next desk for which cars they used synthetic oil).

When they said they used conventional oil, I asked what it would cost for synthetic. They wanted about twice what the oil costs in most stores, so I pointed that out and said I'd just bring some in with me for them to use. This didn't seem to be a problem for them.

I guess it's like so many other things - some people, and some businesses, are more interested in customer service than others. When you find a good one, stick with them; when you find a bad one, take your business elsewhere. And let them know why; if they can't figure out why they lost your business, they won't be able to get better.

I've got a simpler solution than driving across town to look at the dealer's oil -- I'll just not use his services.

The plot thickens. Here's a message that I emailed to VW-USA this morning.

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Is the local VW dealer (Coastal Motors in Corpus Christi, Texas) incompetent, a liar, or what?

They told me that they use 5-40 non-synthetic Castrol for a 2003 1.8T Passat. I asked about using synthetic. They said they didn't use it.

I checked Castrol's web site. There is no non-synthetic 5-40 Castrol.

I called the local dealer again. I was told again that they use non-synthetic 5-40 Castrol. I told them there was no such Castrol oil. The service manager said he would check. He then said that they use non-synthetic Castrol 5-30 on the recommendation of VW USA due to local climate conditions (it's hot in Corpus). My owner's manual says nothing about using 5-30 in a hot climate.

Which is correct 5-40 (per the manual) or 5-30 (per the local dealer)?

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IIRC, the manual specifically calls for Delvac or comparable synthetic (e.g. Rotella), not just any ol' 5W-40.

-- Mike Smith

This dealer apparently does not have it, or, if he has it, doesn't offer it to his customers.

You can get good syn from lots of sources -- that's not an issue.

If this dealer is unsatisfactory, why not use a different dealer if you need any dealer service?

The nearest other dealer is 2.5 hours away. That's a bit far for an oil change don't you think?

It wasn't for buying though, and I saved $1000 by going out of town.