For a long time, Volkswagen customers in India have complained of poor quality service and an overall ownership experience that left them wanting for more. But that could soon change as VW India today announced a few measures to enhance the aftersales experience of its customers.

Effective January 1, 2019, VW has improved its standard vehicle warranty from 2 years/unlimited km to 4 years/1,00,000km and is offering a four-year free road side assistance package, instead of the two-year package offered earlier. Moreover, customers can now avail three free services in one year or up to 15,000km, whichever comes earlier. Previously, the carmaker had offered one free service within six months or up to 7,500km, whichever came earlier. 

Besides, over the last year and a half, the company says it has introduced various initiatives that address customer concerns related to aftersales and spare parts availability.

Interestingly, in our 2018 spare parts survey, we discovered that VW's efforts to lower ownership costs seem to have paid off. At Rs 70,353, the overall basket price of spares reduced by around Rs 8,000 for the Polo 1.2 GT TSI and by around Rs 8,700 for the Polo diesel (Rs 72,541), compared with our last survey in 2016. However, the cost of accident repair parts for the Polo continues to remain high.

The Vento sedans also showed a reduction of about Rs 20,000 in their basket price of spares, with the 1.6 petrol’s now costing Rs 73,255, the 1.2 TSI petrol’s costing Rs 72,876, and the 1.5 diesel’s costing Rs 75,612. 

Volkswagen says increasing its localisation has played an important role in making parts more affordable. To maintain transparency between the brand and its customers, the company has now placed a standard menu pricing across its dealer workshops in India. The menu pricing comprises all the costs that a customer could potentially incur, depending on the service required on the respective vehicle.