Had my 57 plate octy vrs tdi nearly 6 months now, and its first mot is due at the beginning of dec, so i am thinking of having a oil and filter change at the same time.

I rang my skoda dealer up and they said it doesn’t need a oil and filter change because it has longlife oil in it, and it will come up on the dashboard when its done 20k or 2 years since its last service.

I did top up the oil {3/4 of a litre} 7 weeks ago, and it was the proper shell 5w/30 from skoda, i have done nearly 2.5k in that time and hardly used any oil.

The car was serviced last march when it was on 57k it is now on 66100 miles, does it really need a oil and filter change or should i wait until the service light comes on next year sometime ?

Edited 23 November, 201015 yr by studmuffin

Hi

Fixed servicing would mean a oil/filter change at 10,000 miles or 12 months. If your car is on variable (as your dealer says) then your service light will tell you when you need a service. It may come on any time between 12 months and 24 months, and any mileage between 9,000 and 18,000 miles.

There is a big debate on this forum about whether 2 years is too long but if you take the advice of your dealer then you don't need a serivce just yet. You should discuss with your dealer whether variable is good for you or not. Do a search on WWW.Volkswagen.co.uk where there is advice on which is best for you. I think you will find that anyone with a lead foot, who tows much, or who does short stop-start journeys is advised by VW to go fixed.

HTH

edit. Here is a link to VWs FAQ page with a link to a .pdf with info on variable servicing with long-life oil http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/volkswagen-world/faq/servicing

Edited 23 November, 201015 yr by FriendlyFire

Hi

Fixed servicing would mean a oil/filter change at 10,000 miles or 12 months. If your car is on variable (as your dealer says) then your service light will tell you when you need a service. It may come on any time between 12 months and 24 months, and any mileage between 9,000 and 18,000 miles.

There is a big debate on this forum about whether 2 years is too long but if you take the advice of your dealer then you don't need a serivce just yet. You should discuss with your dealer whether variable is good for you or not. Do a search on WWW.Volkswagen.co.uk where there is advice on which is best for you. I think you will find that anyone with a lead foot, who tows much, or who does short stop-start journeys is advised by VW to go fixed.

HTH

edit. Here is a link to VWs FAQ page with a link to a .pdf with info on variable servicing with long-life oil http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/volkswagen-world/faq/servicing

About 75% of my driving is on a roads 50-70mph. the milage i do, i should hit the 20k mark next july/august.

I have always had a oil and filter changes every 6 months regardless of mileage on my previous cars because i think fresh oil and a filter makes your engine last longer.

This is the first car, i have had that 'tells me' when it wants servicing. i know oil has vastly improved over the years, it just seems a bit 'scary' to leave it 20k or nearly 2 years before you have to change your oil and filter !

I agree with you - two years is scary. Plus the lack of inspection worries me, a lot can go wrong over a hard winter and if there is any point at all in a dealer service then I would be happier if he/she had a look at the car on a yearly basis.

It's your choice of course and any search on this board will throw up any number of opinions for and against.

I was having a look at Volkswagen's fixed price servicing VW which they will only do on fixed intervals. It seems the only difference between a one year service and the major service at 2 years is the addition of air/pollen/fuel filters.

For my own car, I had tought to go with variable, or perhaps variable and do an oil change between. Now I think I will just get a standard 1 year/10,000 mile service every year and do the additional filters myself every other year. These are a piece of cake to do one's self and cost about 40 quid.

Since a variable service is dearer than a fixed service service, I am wondering why I should wait the two years?

I agree with you - two years is scary. Plus the lack of inspection worries me, a lot can go wrong over a hard winter and if there is any point at all in a dealer service then I would be happier if he/she had a look at the car on a yearly basis.

It's your choice of course and any search on this board will throw up any number of opinions for and against.

I was having a look at Volkswagen's fixed price servicing VW which they will only do on fixed intervals. It seems the only difference between a one year service and the major service at 2 years is the addition of air/pollen/fuel filters.

For my own car, I had tought to go with variable, or perhaps variable and do an oil change between. Now I think I will just get a standard 1 year/10,000 mile service every year and do the additional filters myself every other year. These are a piece of cake to do one's self and cost about 40 quid.

Since a variable service is dearer than a fixed service service, I am wondering why I should wait the two years?

As i my annual mileage is about 18k, fixed servicing at 10k would work out more exspensive than varible.

What i normally do is, have a full service yearly and if possible have your mot {and oil and filter change} in the middle of your 12months, i.e after 6months, that way your car is not being left a full year before someone has a look at it.

As i my annual mileage is about 18k, fixed servicing at 10k would work out more exspensive than varible.

What i normally do is, have a full service yearly and if possible have your mot {and oil and filter change} in the middle of your 12months, i.e after 6months, that way your car is not being left a full year before someone has a look at it.

booked my car in for its first mot, and they say because its long life oil, it should be ok for 20k or 2years, so no need to change it untill service light comes on

Edited 24 November, 201015 yr by studmuffin

This is the first car, i have had that 'tells me' when it wants servicing. i know oil has vastly improved over the years, it just seems a bit 'scary' to leave it 20k or nearly 2 years before you have to change your oil and filter !

But you aren't leaving it two years. You are relying on the car to tell you when it needs servicing which could be anywhere between 9000 miles/12 months and 20000 miles/24 months dependant on driving style and conditions.

So if you mostly drive at 70mph on the motorway every day it may extend to 20000 miles, but most probably you'd be running up those miles before 2 years were up.

If you're a city bound boy racer who tows a caravan and carries around lots of fat mates and their gear you'd probably need to get a service a lot sooner and maybe as frequently as every 9000 miles

For those of us that do mixed fairly average normal driving there's probably not much in it cost wise in the long run. Personally I just don't like taking my car to the garage .