Autopartswarehouse.com | Volkswagen Announces Maintenance Program for 2009

Volkswagen (VW) America recently announced that they will be launching a free Carefree Maintenance Program for all 2009 models. This program assures that there will be no charges for scheduled maintenance checks. This is part of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty, which guarantees free maintenance checks for up to three years or 36,000 miles. The Carefree Maintenance Program will be launched, side-by-side, with the VW’s Tiguan in 2009.

According to VW’s spokesperson, the VW Carefree Maintenance Program intends to improve brand loyalty and consumer consideration. The upcoming program will also differentiate the brand from its competitors. VW boasts that they will be the only company that will offer a no-charge maintenance program.

The maintenance intervals that are covered in this program are detailed in each vehicle’s maintenance booklet. Since all new Volkswagens use synthetic oil, a 5 kilometer oil change is no longer necessary. Owners can drive further between oil changes.

This program covers the upcoming Routan (A seven seat minivan) which arrives in show rooms later this year. Maintenance intervals for the Routan are for every 6k, 12k, 18k, 24k, 30k and 36k.

The Carefree Maintenance Program also includes a courtesy vehicle check. This entitles owners to a free full review of vehicle benefits and features and a free check-up at no extra charge.

This is a good offer from VW, if they manage to launch it. In the car industry, brands are always in stiff competition. Manufacturers are coming up with more and more perks to ensure that their name stands above the rest. The precepts of economics dictate that competition breeds efficiency. This is exactly what is happening right now.

Who benefits from this? The winner in this equation is the consumer. Consumers are enticed with better deals, financing schemes and other stuff. Manufacturers will take any advantage they can get and this Carefree Maintenance Program from VW is no different.

You can expect that the other brands will soon step to the plate and match this program. In any case, the consumers win and some manufacturers will lose money – be it small or large.

My only concern with the program is that it does not specify what the check-ups include. If an owner can avail of some parts or specs. If it’s a matter of free check-ups then I can get that from some mechanics. Although, it is still best to bring the car to its original manufacturer, VW should reassert its advantages – by giving the consumer more.

I like the idea; I just need it to sound more reassuring. In any case, this is good news for VW owners. We’ll see how it all pans out within the next year.

Sources: TopSpeed

- Dave Collins