New maintenance concept at VW: inspection intervals doubled

In the future, VW models in Europe will only have to be inspected every two years. Most recently, after the initial inspection (after 24 months), the owners had to come to the workshop for a check every twelve months. The format is also changing: in future there will only be one standard inspection instead of the "large" and "small" variants.

"The high quality of our vehicles allows us to double the inspection interval to 24 months," said Achim Schaible, Head of After Sales & Dealer Network for the Volkswagen brand. The aim is to make maintenance easier and more transparent for customers and workshops. The uniform maintenance content and the new intervals would enable more reliable price information. According to Schaible, this has a major impact on the perceived service quality and thus on customer satisfaction.

Compared to many competitors, VW now offers significantly longer intervals; most volume manufacturers require an annual inspection, exceptions include the Korean brands with their 24-month rhythms. VW will introduce the new maintenance concept later this year with the Golf 8. It will be extended to all models in 2020. An exception is the e-car ID.3, for which there will be a separate maintenance concept.

For the small inspection, vehicle manufacturers stipulate, among other things, the inspection of tyres, lighting, filling levels and lines. The major inspection, which usually takes place alternately, also includes checks of the chassis and body. Depending on the scope, vehicle class and manufacturer, the costs are between 100 and almost 1,000 euros. (SP-X/hh/rp)