If I own a Volkswagen, do I have to go to a certified/dealer for maintenence?

I am looking into buying a volkswagen jetta, passat or GTI years 02-05. Since Volkwagen is an entry-level premium brand, do I have to go to a certified repair shop or dealer for maintainence? Kinda like BMW and others? I want to purchase a car that I can get oil changes wherever I want to or other maintenence and repairs.





Thanks!|||As the purchaser of the vehicle, you can do whatever you'd like with it. You can drive it into a wall if you'd like. Finding someone who knows how to work on a Volkswagen properly is not always the easiest thing to do. Basic maintenance items such as an oil change, air filter, pollen filter, tire rotation, spark plugs, etc. should be able to be performed properly by any certified technician.





The problem comes with parts.Volkswages are engineered with very exacting tolerances. For instance, if you do not use the EXACT right spark plugs, the car will lose performance and possibly pick up a misfire. Volkswagen also has oil requirements, which make it difficult to get a proper oil change at a quick oil change shop. As it's not specified in the owner's manual, the years you're looking at should use synthetic oil, VW spec 502 (came from the factory with Castrol Syntec). If you're buying a turbo motor, this is VERY important for the life of your engine. Purchasing quality and proper parts is going to be your biggest thing. The proper spark plugs for my 2004 VW are about $17 each and there's 6 of them. But I know if I run $5 plugs from Auto Zone, my car's not going to run right.





When you find the car you end up purchasing, if you're lucky enough to get the owner's manual, there is an insert of volkswagen's recommended maintenance schedule. This is very broad and does not always fit the living conditions of the car. If you live in a large city with a lot of stop and go traffic, I recommend doing your oil changes sooner than volkswagen's recommended increment of 5000 miles. In dusty areas, your air and pollen filters will have to be replaced more often (aftermarket filters can cause problems too). Just use logic.|||Our current VWs are a 2005 Jetta and a 2006 GTI. Combined mileage is 120,000 on them.


I agree with others that you can take VWs to a shop of choice. Many are competant. But then some are just bad news.


We have tried other shops with our past VWs with mixed success.


Now we take our new cars to the Dealer only. Reason is we have found them to be trustworthy , quick, and do the job right the 1st time. True , it does cost a bit more, but quality costs $. Like the saying goes "you get what you pay for".


However, our experience has been that VWs [properly maintained] will not need costly repairs .


Our VWs just keep running and running.....|||No you do not. Anyplace like Goodyear, Firestone etc... can handle maintenance items on the car just fine.