Suprised no-one has mentioned checking the oil level in case they really did put 7 litres in...

Normally it's about 5 litres on most cars to get to the maximum mark on the dipstick but it is possible to fill it much more.

Wow that is poor customer service - I think it makes it even worse that you still needed to return the oil to them!

Forgot to add, dont mention in your letter to VW UK you are writing to VW HQ.

They get upset about things like that!

Except there is another way of looking at this perhaps, nothing from any commercial (value) transaction is ever 'free'.

To be deliberately contrarian: I suspect that many customers do not check their oil and do not obtain the correct grade of oil for top-up purposes. This seems to me to be in the same 'category' as the service charge for topping up the washer fluid perhaps ?

So, maybe the dealer does these customers 'a favour' by providing the means to do this? The amount of money over which the OP became so concerned is paltry compared ot the other costs of running a car surely. Even at 40K miles I'll bet it's losing 20x or 30x that amount in depreciation each month for a start. The dealer's 'gain' will be whatever their margin was on the oil, hardly core-business and possibly (normally) a boon for customer satisfaction.

I've found UK VW dealers to be reasonably fair, e.g. changing wiper blades 'for free' (without the actual blades being overpriced versus the high street auto parts retailers either). To be clear, I didn't request they changed them, they offered when I purchased them.

Depends on your perspective I guess, cars aren't cheap, nice new or newish cars definitely aren't cheap, why 'nickel and dime' ?

Edited by idle_chatterer on 30/12/2013 at 00:07

"I've found UK VW dealers to be reasonably fair, e.g. changing wiper blades 'for free' (without the actual blades being overpriced versus the high street www.shopzilla.co.uk%2Frd2%3Ft%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252...0" class="skimwords-link" target="_blank">auto parts retailers either). To be clear, I didn't request they changed them, they offered when I purchased them"

I suggest a trip into the real world sometime.

Perhaps an inconvenient fact when convicing oneself that running a newish car can be done cheaply ?

Yes, its something that people forget too easily and has to be put in perspective.

The drivers window regulator recently started 'jumping' on my pillarless W124 MB, so off to my indy who had to replace the motor as well as the regulator due to both parts showing wear at the usual points, he reckons there won't be much change from £400 when he eventually bills me, obviously no pattern parts available.

On the face of it was it worth it?, well to me yes because i intend to run this car indefinately and if i bought a new car of similar standard it would lose more than £400 every month in depreciation alone where mine has bottomed out, hopefully, but needs investment to maintain its condition and value.

Thing with this thread is that the oil bottle was supposed to be a free gift yet it was underhandedly (IMO) charged for, and our OP took umbrage at that misleading little rip off, quite right too, it doesn't matter that it pales into 0.05% of a years costs, even if it was a 5p washer its the principle involved....works the other way too, seeing as the dealer extracts many hundreds of pounds for servicing they could easily put a bottle of genuinly free oil in as appreciation of custom and say nothing.

A MB i owned before had the most comprehensive MDSH i've ever seen, every bill inc the cars invoice was there, he put £19k's worth of extras on the car yet the supplying dealer never once failed to charge for every single little item at service time, right down to washer fluid, clips and washers @ pence each, not one visit came in under £500 and £2000 bills were not uncommon, you'd think when sundries came to less than £5 they would have waived them on such bills, would have cost them only pence but bought huge amounts of customer goodwill.

Can't get that link to work but I presume it means that you can obtain wiper blades much more cheaply than from high street retailers or franchised dealers ?

A local motor factor I have used for the last 50 years will supply a full set of genuine Bosch wipers for well under £20. There are also internet suppliers who undercut dealers and "high street" retailers. The same applies to brake pads, discs, alternators etc, savings can be quite substantial.

Halfords? My last wiper blades were purchased online from a UK based e-tailer - much cheaper than Halfords (who were out of stock, I checked there first) or any dealer price. They are the right ones - a straight like for like replacement, they are of German origin, not the cheap ones.

Mine too - excellent delivery even over Xmas.

Very true - TPS (the VW trade parts specialists for VAG) are always cheapest on oil for my 2003 passat. I cannot get this oil anywhere except on ebay, where it is still more expensive. Any equivalently priced oil from euro car pars, gsf etc would still be more and might be dubious in its quality.

I bought some Castrol Edge 5W-30 from Costco at £24.99 + VAT for 4 litres. This oil will be excellent for your car.