changing first oil sooner?
 

I have always done the first oil change on my (new) vehicles sooner than the regular interval suggested (due to residues from the the break in, or left overs from factory, etc).
Our 2018 Q7 has 4600km (around 3000 miles) on it and I am going to take it for the first oil change. I have Audi care but they won't do it unless it has at least 12000km or I pay for it.
Looks like I am going to pay for the first one and then after than go with regular intervals. Anyone other suggestion/recommendations?

Cant hurt. I never have, change 10k miles or each year, whichever comes first on all my vehicles. I've never changed after break-in as thats only for performance cars. But it cant hurt for your piece of mind

There was a different process with non-synthetic oils back in the day, and some of the recommendations were a throw back to the day when oil had no or few additives. Nowadays there is no reason to change the synthetic oil more often than recommended interval. There have been some studies to suggest that changing too often is detrimental, others show the opposite. Honestly, who cares. My suggestion, if you plan to keep your car for more than 100K miles, change it more often, if not, stick with manufacture's recommendation, this way you won't void warranty. Frankly, with the oil burn-off, if you ever reach the limit outlined in the manual - 1/2 quart every 600 miles - you won't need to change the oil, just keep on topping it off :D

My understanding for the first one sooner that others is due to break in period you might have little debris created by the break in (rings, cylinders, etc) that get into the oil. There might be also some left from manufacturing that you want to get ridof sooner as they act like a sandpaper inside engine.

That's what the oil filter is for.

Again, "experts" are divided on that one, with the understanding that modern engines come broken in, there is no need for brake-in period, and there should be no debris in the oil. On the other hand, we should still follow the brake-in procedure for the first 500 miles, go figure.

I did mine after 1,000 miles for the reasons you point out. Now I do it every 5,000 miles myself and let the dealer do the 10,000 mile service.

Like the smart man said, it never hurts to change the oil more often.

Only in the pocketbook, if that factors into the equation. Otherwise, unless you plan to keep your vehicle for like forever, you'll be perfectly fine adhering to the manufacturers's recommended servicing intervals.