Minneapolis Mike

I believe the 5,000 mile service comes with the purchase of the car. This is maintenance is simply to change the oil after break in period and inspect to make sure all is well.

SCHALTHEBELKNAUF

So they charge $330.65 for an oil an pollen filter change and $187.70 for an oil change. I'm guessing it would be alot cheaper if you just wen there and said change he oil and pollen filter or just change the oil than getting these "services" which would make Audi Care actually a bad deal. I'm guessing 120 for an oil change and no more than 200 for oil change an pollen filter. Which is all the services ae up till 45k. So that two $200 services and two $120 service which equals $640. That's $100 less than what Audi Care costs. So how exactly is it a good deal?

redrocker55

I'm starting to agree with this thought process. Have you ever been to a dealership that doesn't do a 25 point (or multi point) inspection included in the service?? Most service departments will do these extra inspections for free because they are looking for something wrong that they can either charge Audi for (under warranty) or charge us for (out of warranty). Any software updates to engine/tranny should automatically be done at this time also as per Audi's dealership agreements...so you wouldn't be missing anything there either.

I have changed the pollen filters in the past 4 cars I've owned...it takes about 10-20 minutes depending on what is involved...they are always pretty easy to do...and I'm not a wrench like many people are.

So yes...as I start to add this up...the Audi care is something I might do without...for my situation it might not add up...for others this might be a real good deal.

I really don't know what Audi's motivation would be for charging $300-$400 less for all this service, if there wasn't a major profit already built into it. My dealership told me an oil change by itself would be $110. First 5 quarts of oil are free and then $8 per quart after that! $8 a quart!!! I couldn't believe it. I can buy a case of the same oil for $25-$30...depending if it's Castrol or Mobil 1...even AMSoil comes in near that price.

So now I'm not only saving time by doing much of my own work...but I'm saving money.

dman413

yes 5k service is included with price of car.

AlA4

First service is free even if you don't have AudiCare.

DarthRay

I believe it's been said before. Audi Care only makes sense when you compare it to taking your car to the dealer for all scheduled maintenance. If you do it yourself, or if you have a good non-dealer where you take your car, you almost certainly will do better than the dealer and probably better than Audi Care.

SCHALTHEBELKNAUF

I was estimating $120 for an oil change at the dealer and $200 for an oil change and pollen filter replacement at the dealer. I'm not talking about doing it myself or having an independent shop do it. They charge you nearly $190 for a glorified oil change. If you look at the list and see what they ACTUALLY change, it’s just the oil. Everything else is just visual inspections to try and find problems that they can then charge you more for. So how is paying for them to find ways of charging you extra a good deal or make sense?

redrocker55

i completely agree. its not a good deal. $120 for an oil change should probably also get you at least a six pack of good German beer!

Hobbes

The motivation would be to get owners into the habit of using the dealer for service, which would then hopefully continue past the warranty period. It generates revenue for their dealer network, which keeps them happy, and it fosters brand loyalty for when it's time to get another car.

DarthRay

Suppose that you are the kind of guy that takes your car to the dealer for regular service (which from previous replies I gather you are not). You have 2 options: either you pay out of pocket for the individual services (parts and labor), or you get Audi Care. I agree with you that the price for a simple oil change is high. If that's a problem, then you'll probably prefer taking your care elsewhere and the Audi Care discussion ends right there.

Here are some extra points to consider:

1. Every dealer, for every car manufacturer, perform these kinds of inspections on scheduled maintenance. Audi is no different than others. It probably became more apparent in this case because I asked my local dealer for the information and listed it here. Personally, I prefer to find out about problems sooner rather than later and I expect a good independent shops will do the same.
2. The car will be under warranty for the majority of the time covered by Audi Care. I expect problems encountered by those inspections will be convered under warranty.
3. The prices listed were provided by my local dealer. I'm not sure but I doubt they are applicable to all Audi dealers across the US. You might want to check with yours and perhaps that gap between your estimates and the values provided will be smaller.

To be clear, I'm not trying to defend the dealer service depto or Audi Care. I'm just trying to justify why some people would prefer to get Audi Care when their alternative would be to pay for the individual services at the dealer.