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My A5 was a custom order and arrived with 2 miles on the odometer. I did proper break-in for 1500 miles (which I realize is more than required). I just like to be gentle whilst we're getting to know each other.
I followed that same logic when I first started dating my wife. It did pay off!!!
Yes, if the finance office sells you an extended warranty of some sort, commissions are paid. Those funds aren't held in trust waiting for a repair in the future at the dealer. The dealer gets a percentage or a set spiff for selling the warranty.
There's a lot less profit than people think in the sale of a new car. So if they can get another few dollars out of you for warranty, tint, paint protection etc., it increases profit on the deal.
To quote the WSJ article,
Car shoppers headed to a dealership are in store for a hard sell on something other than a vehicle.
As dealers’ profit margins on new-car sales shrink, they are relying more on selling extended warranties, paint-protection plans and other add-on services pushed by salespeople in the finance office.
Dealers also earn a markup for arranging car loans, a piece of the business that is becoming a more reliable income generator as salespeople find it more difficult to upsell buyers on a car’s price. Most shoppers today do research online and walk into a dealership firm on a price, auto retailers say.
“Where dealers really keep their head up is boosting interest rates from the bank and throwing in products like extended warranties,” said Earl Stewart, owner of Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach, Fla.
Dealerships made an average of $908 per new vehicle last year on their finance and insurance business, far more than the $420 they earned off the actual vehicle sale, according to research firm J.D. Power. More car buyers also are plunking down for such extras, which have mixed reviews from dealers and customers. Last year, 46% of new-car buyers purchased an extended warranty from the dealer, for example, up from 40% in 2013, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Auto makers have reduced dealers’ cut of new-vehicle sales, partly because the internet has made car prices more transparent and given customers the ability to shop around, analysts say. Dealerships earned an average profit margin on new-vehicle sales of 1.2% last year, down from 2.1% in 2014, according to J.D. Power.
Dealers have to make profit somewhere and it’s traditionally been the Service side that keeps the power on and the roof repaired.
And back to our original discussion — I was not alluding to an immediate engine failure, I was thinking more “down the road,” in years 2, 3 or 4, when the warranty is still in force but the damage done by an improper break-in period has created problems.
I'm not a big proponent of babying the car too much. I'm probably more gentle the first 1000 miles but i do vary the load on the motor and don't use cruise control. I used to spend a lot of time at the race track in my younger years and it was always interesting how they broke in motors. Basically warm them up and let them sit at redline for an extended period of time. I'm too impatient to do a slow break in.
Nope. I drove it like I stole it. Getting oil changed at 5k km, so soon.
I was thinking of getting an oil change at 5000 miles as well. Any benefit you know of for sure? I'm thinking all the metal shaving and stuff from the oil running through the system can be flushed out as a benefit. Not sure of this though.
Last edited by evanseric21; 04-10-2019 at 08:04 PM.
I was thinking of getting an oil change at 5000 miles as well. Any benefit you no of for sure? I'm thinking all the metal shaving and stuff from the oil running through the system can be flushed out as a benefit. Not sure of this though.
That's what I'm wondering too. Audi doesn't say you should do it. The guys who tell me I should do it also happen to sell oil changes, so...
Audi use to offer a free oil change at 1000 miles, after the break in period, now it is 10000 miles. I believe they use to use a break in oil and had to change it out. With new machining technologies, there are very little metal shavings after break in. 5000 mile oil changes are for dino oil only, people do it with synthetic because it is cheap insurance. I remember reading one study that modern day synthetic oil also has a break in period, changing it too often might actually do more harm than good.
i just hit 1k miles on my two week old RS5, was thinking of doing the oil change anyways.
Look at it this way, your transmission and differentials goes thru the same break in as your engine and may or may not have metal shavings in them, should you change your engine oil, transmission fluid and diff. fluid at 1000 miles?
04-09-2019, 12:59 PM
