DSG Oil change

[iainalpine]

Hi top cat, about 15 miles outside glasgow


Iain

[Top Cat]

I can understand your fear of mechanics making a mess of the service, as the DSG is a very expensive part and it could easily be messed up by someone just not taking the care you would like them too. 
The only real way for you to get peace is to go to someone whom has been recommended to you personally by someone you trust.
I got my first service done by a small garage called Votex in Congleton. There is a old fella in their polishing cars for customers who are even older than he is. It doesn't look anything special but they are rushed off their feet every time i go, and i can just tell by looking the guy in the eye that i can trust him to treat my car the way i expect him too.
The first time i went their it was to get my coilover's fitted, my car had just been detailed and was looking better than new. When i went to pick the car up the first thing he did was take me to a tiny scratch on the rear wheel and he said, i would like to point this out to you we did not do this. I knew about the scratch before hand it was just a graze from a twig or something, but this showed me that he has very high standards and could tell just by looking at the car what it meant to me.
I will be taking my car to them for the DSG service when it is ready, and i wont worry about it one bit.
Sorry for the waffle but go to someone highly recommended or take a leap of faith. 

[iainalpine]

Wise and very true words there Top Cat.

Iain

[Top Cat]

I understand your after different experiences of getting this service done, but i cant see that much info at this stage in The dsg's life.
And even then, if the mechanic fooks it up all they will do is clear the codes and fix the problem and you would never know.
I think if you went to a recommended garage you would have to be pretty unlucky to then get them make a hash of it.
Get the Stage 2 and turbo back Zorst and think happy thoughts.   

[iainalpine]

Would love the stage 2.... your a bad man 

[RedRobin]

Wheres your spanner Robin, look like you know what your doing there

....You've not realised what BIALI stands for, Phil - I don't have a clue about working on cars.

[RedRobin]

Hey RR, what tune do your Air Horns play??

....Those are my old cheap Korean horns which packed up! I now have Italian 3-trumpet one chord horns - Loud (very, apparently) and rich sound but no tune. Very useful if having to overtake more than one car at a time etc.

[Caz]

If your a ex master tech, lecturer etc etc etc.. then should you not know the ins and outs of this service?
and also, apart from causing a debate, what was your thinking in just asking for ppls views on how its been done and experiences?

[iainalpine]

Caz, covering all the things i have done in my career does not mean that you should no all the "in's" and "out's". I no the technical side of this box and most of the details for the service side but im not the type of person the thinks he knows everything and by asking you may learn something along the way.
That was the idea by asking the original question and seeking the experience people have had when getting this done. Simple really.

Iain

[RedRobin]

I have seen very good garages and top class mechanics. But in this day and age the quality found in the workshop has dropped due to tighter budgets, guys on the workshop floor not getting the training or time to follow procedure and due to all this not having pride in there work. This is not the case for everyone in the workshop as i said before but you are seeing it more often than not.

....It's far too easy to think that quality has dropped "in this day and age" but I don't accept such a generalisation. There are good and bad garages in every era of time, both past and present. Similarly, there are those who currently take great pride in their work just as in the past, and neither fewer nor more.

Regarding DSG Service (oil and filter change), doesn't it either work or it doesn't? We know it follows a very specific set procedure. Do you know of any cases where a DSG Service has been catastrophic?

[iainalpine]

Redrobin, Im not generalising, im giving fact. Without going down the lines of posting the amount of return jobs VW gargaes are getting due to corners being cut and the job not finished to the correct standard along with customer complaint numbers to VW Uk, standards have dropped. Im involved with manufacturer training. I consult on new technology and training packages, and the thing that keeps coming out top of the list when discussing failures is"corners being cut".

I here what you guys are saying about garages and mechanics that you no and have dealt with and on that note happy with. You are lucky to come into contact with this situation, but you are in the minority along with myself and not the majority.

As far as DSG services and failures, yes i have came across problems here. Either to much oil put in or to little put in. Gearbox not heated to correct temp and procedure not being followed. All this with this style of box will and does cause failures due to the very tight build tolerance.

Guys can i thank you for such a good online chat. I dont often get to involved in the forums or quote work related things but its good to see so many respected members taking an active part in this forum and in my eyes its one of the better ones on the net.

cheers

Iain

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Many thanks for bothering to fully explain, Iain - It's appreciated and contributes a good balance to the forum as a reliable resource of helpful information.

It's also appreciated that we can challenge each other's views without it being taken personally or a verbal war breaking out.

Thank You!

[iainalpine]

No prob's Robin 

[tony_danza]

Standards may well have always been poor, but the internet makes finding which dealers/garages are poor a million times easier.

Time was you only knew of x-dealer nearby that was good/bad or a handful of garages that were basically getting by on word of mouth. Now we can find out anything about anyone with the click of a search engine...and for the most part people generally like to rant, rather than praise.

I don't use dealers and wherever possible I won't. If anything is done under warranty, I'm very cautious and have it double checked. I'll also add I've never had an issue claiming on warranty so far on 4 cars in the last 5-6 years by using a specialist.... if anything it has been easier, as my local dealer knows the specialist and knows how good they are, so wouldn't question workmanship.

[animal]

For what it's worth I support your concerns Iain, I and my family, and friends, have numerous stories of very poor service from main dealers, including VW. I would be inclinded to suggest that poor service is more the norm than good service as cost cutting reigns and that anyone who has never had issue with a main dealer should count themselves lucky. I wont go into every single incident or this will become a very long thread, but you are not alone in your concerns and first hand experiences.