Long Life or Yearly Oil Change

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Hi,

My car has just come upto 53k and is in need of an oil change in the next 1k.

The car is on long life and has been since new.

I am wondering wether to drop onto yearly changes.... Prices I have had are as follows:

£149 for yearly change
£224 for long life.....


What do you guys recon on a 3.2?


Cheers
 
In my opinion, if you are looking to keep her, i would drop into yearly services, the cost difference is nominal and the rewards are a happier and longer lasting vehicle
 
I moved my car from a long life to the yearly service scheme. As mentioned above, the price really wasnt an issue, i just wanted the assurance of more regular services to keep my car in better nick.
 
Would there be any benefit in using long life oil when doing yearly changes?
 
I pay for the longlife service (approx) every 21 months and do my own interim oil & filter change (using longlife oil) inbetween.

That way, I'm paying £199 for a proper stamed Audi service and stamp every 21 months and just £30 extra for an interim oil change - seems to be the best of both worlds.... (and less to service overall than my Yaris!)
 
I pay for the longlife service (approx) every 21 months and do my own interim oil & filter change (using longlife oil) inbetween.

That way, I'm paying £199 for a proper stamed Audi service and stamp every 21 months and just £30 extra for an interim oil change - seems to be the best of both worlds.... (and less to service overall than my Yaris!)

Thats what i did on my BMW and intend to do on my new A3.

How easy is it to change the oil and filter btw, any special tools needed?
 
I do this too, I use a specialist (Stattler) to change the oil every 6,000, I still use long life and then only have to buy one type of oil for top up. You can buy decent oil from companies like Opie Oils and then just pay a minimal labour charge for the change.

Longlife is ok for mega motorway mile cars but 'normal' short journey use puts a lot of stress on the car due to insufficient operating temperatures or at least thats what all the qualified people keep telling me.
 
I'd keep it on the long life as well but do my own interim oil changes. At least then you would know it had definately had an oil change!
 
Thats what i did on my BMW and intend to do on my new A3.

How easy is it to change the oil and filter btw, any special tools needed?

Oil change is just like any other car. Only hassle is removing the undertray which has loads of bolts and one of them is always a b1tch.

Filter is easy too - its a replaceable element under the engine cover on the 140 PD. Only hassle is getting a 32 or 36mm socket (can't remember which) to fit the top.

The first time I managed to remove the filter top with a pair opf water pump pliers, but the second time, they wouldn't grip enough and I ended up borrowing a socket...
 
Just to be totally different...I would stop the long life changes, get the engine flushed and move to a fully synthetic oil like Mobil1 on a yearly basis. Its just a far superior oil, it will not cost you £98 a can ( which is what Audi charge which defeats the whole object of long life changes)...Given the problems with 3.2 engines slugging up and the likely effect that has on the VVT cam units i would not risk stretching an oil change longer than 10k or a year what ever Audi might think.
I have used Mobil 1 in my bikes for years which is a much harder environment than a car engine, 12000 rpm wet clutch, often more heat etc and when i have stripped those engines they are like new and as clean as the day i built them...
Mobil 1 was developed by the French for Concorde where extremes of temperature meant normal oils were useless. Its the best in my opinion. DYOR