Volkswagen Dealership Pricing

8th March 2015

My car needed its 3rd timing belt & tensioner fitting. I also wanted the water pump to be changed at the same time.

The last time I had a new timing belt fit about 4 years ago the going rate was £316 without replacing the water pump. So I was a little disappointed (but not surprised) when the reminder postcard from my local Volkswagen dealership informed me that the cost this time would be £399.

So I did what I usually do when I need work doing on my car which is to send the same email to 3 different Volkswagen dealerships, one being my local dealership, telling them exactly what I wanted (timing belt + tensioner, water pump & courtesy car) and asking for their best quote. They all replied by email over the next 24 hours.

My local dealership’s quote was £365 + £10 for the courtesy car insurance. Another was £325 all inc. and the third was £449! So it’s no surprise I didn’t go with the last dealership. The second/cheapest dealership was not somewhere I had been to before so before I went there I asked my local dealership if they would be prepared to match the cheaper quote to secure my custom. After requesting to see the cheapest quote, they agreed. Perfect!

I continue to be amazed at the flexibility and range of Volkswagen dealer pricing. I don’t know of any other profession where the price of the same work can vary so much.