Three years ago, when I decided to bite the bullet and go for a Volkswagen despite its bad reputation on reliability, I thought I was ready for anything down the road. Because, since I can do car repair myself, I can take care of it without resorting to the expensive mechanics.
Now, three years down the road, it’s like a blessing other than a couple of trips to the dealership for some small warranty repairs, my little Jetta TDI has served me quite well. However, with the belated 40,000 mile service finally put on the table, I began to feel the pin of German cars high maintenance cost.
The big ticket item comes from the transmission fluid change. My car is equipped with a non-conventional
DSG Gearbox , it’s a technology marvel, but a nightmare for maintenance. Because it’s so special, it needs to use special transmission fluid, special filter, even more eye opening is changing the tranny fluid requires a special filling tool ($160 street price), and the whole process has to be computer monitored. Because it’s so special, not even every Volkswagen dealer can do it, which also imply they can dedicate the price — $480.
Here is the parts quote details (also attached same item for ordinary cars):
Item Price Price for ordinary cars
Transmission fluid $32 x 6 $5 x 4
Filter $82 $10 (or no filter needed at all)
Total $274 $30 (or $20)
I am a poor guy, such a price tag just throws my lazy heart out of the window and I have to DIY again. Gone are the days when I changed automatic transmission fluid on my Honda Accord, changed manual gear oil for my Nissan Altima, neither job took more than 30 minutes, and this one is expected to be half day job.
Internet is a great thing. After some search, found a website that sells the oil and filter for $170 total. Also found instructions on how to make a DIY fill tool with stuff from Lowes and Home Depot— with total cost of $20. With $200 total for a fluid change, it’s already considered a steal —– for a European car.
Shawshank's 岁月点滴 