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Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Billsboy

Like HJ, I have always changed engine oil and filter annually but why don't dealers encourage this?

For a 19 plate 2.lt petrol A3 with only 8k miles (due to lockdown) I shall give it a miss on this occasion, £229 was the price quoted!! and another dealer slightly further away quoted a similar amount.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Ethan Edwards

You know less than 50quid and very basic tools and mechanical knowledge. Its really simple to do it yourself. How have we arrived at such blatant main s****** gouging?

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Metropolis.
You have just opened a can of worms and scattered them across the forum lol. I would get it serviced for that money, by not doing so you risk the warranty unless it is on a longer manufacturer service interval.
Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Falkirk Bairn

Audi website

When should I service my
Audi?

There are two types of service schedule available: Fixed (serviced every 9,300 miles/1 year) and Flexible (up to 18,600 miles/2 years). We recommend a Flexible schedule for people who drive longer distances, typically on motorways and main roads, while a Fixed schedule is right for lower-mileage drivers who do more city and town centre driving. Speak to your Audi Centre to find out more.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Andrew-T

By all means defer the service, but check your T&Cs first if the warranty means anything to you. If you need to call on it and there is a get-out based on miles or years you may live to regret it.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - daveyjp

Both our vehicles do 8,000 or less a year, both get an annual service.

19 plate, missed service, goodbye warranty. Remember it could be £150 an hour labour at Audi dealers, so the oil change could be very good value if you get a major fault in the next 2 years.

If its on a PCP it also means more charges should you wish to hand it back at the end of the term.

Edited by daveyjp on 20/11/2020 at 17:20

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - misar

No matter what schedule the manufacturer quotes, to my mind you still need to have an annual oil and filter change. I do that as part of an annual service and (once necessary) MoT. My mileage is low so I soon get out of step with the "official" schedule but agree unnecessary items in advance. The big issue these days is what invalidates the warranty so at least until that expires it makes sense to use a dealer and confirm that each service complies even if the extra cost is annoying.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Avant

Both our Audis have asked for an oil change at about 15 months from new: the Q2 after 18,000 miles and the A3 convertible after 6,000. The sensor must be able to tell the proportion of short / long journeys the car is doing.

As Misar says, while a car is under warranty, do as the manufacturer recommends, to avoid invalidating same. Thereafter I'd say it's a personal choice depending on mileage and type of driving.

Let's hope this thread doesn't develop into yet another argument on this well-worn topic.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Falkirk Bairn

>>The sensor must be able to tell the proportion of short / long journeys the car is doing.

Many brains were wracked trying to work out change of oil timescales - driving style, outside temperatures, journey lengths, cold starts .................

In the end many manufacturers fell back to basically a system based on mileage & number of times a car was started.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - paul 1963

No argument from me Avant, the op has already stated he intends to give the service a miss, seems a bit of a pointless thread tbh.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - mcb100

I've just paid £119 for an oil & filter change on my 13 years out of warranty Jaguar, so £229 for an Audi at a main dealer seems reasonable. They would also have done a health check on the car, looking at all the things you can't see without getting underneath it.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - John F

I've just paid £119 for an oil & filter change on my 13 years out of warranty Jaguar, so £229 for an Audi at a main dealer seems reasonable. They would also have done a health check on the car, looking at all the things you can't see without getting underneath it.

The 'health check' is superfluous on a 3+ yr old car, as the MoT does this. No point in paying twice. I shudder to think what an Audi dealer charges for an oil change for my W12 engine, needing 12.5 litres of oil. At under 3,000 miles a year it most certainly doesn't get changed annually! I've just paid nearly £200 for a 'first service' for SWMBO's Pug 2008 for basically 3.5 litres of oil and filter plus a few checks. (It would have been over £200 had I not brimmed the screen-wash). Oh, and they (needlessly) washed it. Thankfully the warranty is only for two years, so that's the last time it gets such extravagant attention.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Andrew-T

I've just paid £119 for an oil & filter change on my 13 years out of warranty Jaguar, so £229 for an Audi at a main dealer seems reasonable.

If 'oil and filter change' is all that is involved, £119 is pretty ridiculous, and £229 is insane. They must charge for draining time - if that is done properly, not suction - while the technician has his lunch break.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - mcb100

7 litres of synthetic oil, a filter, 1 hour labour and VAT. I've no problem with it. It's a once a year operation that's equivalent to about a tank and a half of diesel on a (usually) hard-working car.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Andrew-T

7 litres of synthetic oil, a filter, 1 hour labour and VAT. I've no problem with it. It's a once a year operation

Point taken. But even I can change oil and filter under an hour without any 'professional' equipment. Maybe there is a lot of peripheral stuff to remove and replace ....

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - RT

I've just paid £119 for an oil & filter change on my 13 years out of warranty Jaguar, so £229 for an Audi at a main dealer seems reasonable.

If 'oil and filter change' is all that is involved, £119 is pretty ridiculous, and £229 is insane. They must charge for draining time - if that is done properly, not suction - while the technician has his lunch break.

Large-engined cars have big sumps - using the correct spec of oil isn't cheap even DIY - for my VW Touareg's 3.0 TDi the oil is over £80 at discount prices and the filter another £12 - I'd jump at the chance of someone else getting cold and dirty for £119.

I'm sure there are those who don't check all the specifications that engine oil needs - viscosity, eg 0W-30, grade, eg ACEA-C3 and manufacturer approval, eg VW 507.00 - it's easy to "save" money by just using any old 5W-40 that's lying around.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - John F

If 'oil and filter change' is all that is involved, £119 is pretty ridiculous, and £229 is insane. They must charge for draining time - if that is done properly, not suction - while the technician has his lunch break.

Large-engined cars have big sumps - using the correct spec of oil isn't cheap even DIY.

It certainly isn't. Miillers delivered a 'kit' comprising 12 litres of expensive long life oil, a filter, a small paper funnel and a pair of flimsy gloves for around £90. Unlike the easy under body access of mundane cars there is a hefty plastic undertray the size of a dinner table secured by about ten fasteners which is almost a two person job to remove and replace.

Audi A3 Saloon - oil and filter change - Jonathan Sykes

I managed to find a good kit on this website:
mycar.repair/uk/product-category/oil-change-sets/

Bit of a limited choice of models but they had my 2014 A3 TDI. The oil they shipped was from Germany and seemed to have the right approvals. Might be useful to others.