Opt Out of Factory Maintenance

My golf came with 3 years/36,000 free maintenance as is the norm currently in the U.S. I prefer not to have them service it. I don't trust dealers/shops (for very good reasons) and I am more than capable of doing the maintenance myself.

I pay very close attention to detail when I work on my cars. I did not think of trying to get a refund on the cost of maintenance...I do doubt that they would do that anyway, but I was thinking of trying to see if I could get parts like the fuel filter at no charge at the parts department.

I still highly doubt they would even do that, I guess its worth a try. I do document all of my maintenance/keep all receipts and have VW of America update their records on my VIN by having my local dealer enter that I performed my own maintenance with all of the pertinent information.

lol, I'll gladly respond to that...everyone I know, friends and family have been ripped off by dealers as well as local shops both private and franchised. Its a business and some of them know what they are doing and some don't and a lot of times they all try to squeeze an extra few (sometimes a few hundred) bucks out of you. I'm certain that you all have an idea what I am talking about, its very common. I have even seen (though rare) cars sabotaged by a shop (the loose oil filter trick etc), I have friends that have receipts for complete brake jobs including replaced rotors and wheel cylinders and when they have problems later on, I've dismantled them to find out that all the dealer did was replace the pads...trust me, it was very evident.

I feel more comfortable doing as much work myself as I can, due to the fact that I have the proper tools in most cases, the knowledge, the space to do it...I don't always have the time, but I'll arrange it if necessary. I also don't like being talked down to when I go to a dealer (blue moon). As a general rule I find that they don't like dealing with people that have a clue what they are talking about because it spoils their little game. Mind you, I am very cordial when I go and I don't have an attitude or anything, but once I politely question something, the knives come out. I also don't like being pressured to spend extra money on "recommended" services. I'd just prefer to stay away and know the job was done correctly. When you have your car serviced by someone else and then something happens there's a lot of guesswork that points to what the shop did when they had the car last. I eliminate all that paranoia by having first hand knowledge, and I have the satisfaction of doing it myself.

I have never owned a car that gave me significant trouble or an expensive repair bill, which I largely attribute to doing the maintenance myself and not paying for labor by catching a problem early and overting a crisis by doing repairs myself. And by keeping proper records, receipts and documentation, there is no way anyone is denying me warranty work. I go out of my way to create a papertrail that shows that my work is credible. I've had (minor) warranty claims before (not on the Golf) and I never had a problem. I really don't kill myself doing this stuff either. I enjoy it and to me it beats having to take time off or work to drop the car off and wait around only for them to tell me it needs this and that.