VW Launches Free Program

Volkswagen of America Inc. is offering a no-charge maintenance program for its '09 model lineup.

There are no charges for the scheduled maintenance described in each vehicle's maintenance booklet for the length of the new-vehicle limited warranty of three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.

The program launches with the introduction of the Tiguan all-new crossover utility vehicle.

“Volkswagen's Carefree Maintenance Program is a great way to improve our owner loyalty for our brand, as well as increase consumer consideration” said Mark Barnes, VW of America's chief operating officer. “This program also differentiates us from our competition by allowing us to be the only auto maker among our key competitors to offer a no-charge maintenance program.”

The maintenance intervals covered under this program are 10,000 miles, 20,000 miles, and 30,000 miles. All current VWs use synthetic oil, making oil changes every 5,000 mile no longer necessary.

The Carefree Maintenance Program also includes a courtesy vehicle check. This allows owners to return to the dealership from which they purchased their '09 VW within 90 days or 6,000 miles, whichever occurs first, for a full review of the vehicles benefits and features, and to have their vehicle checked at no charge.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group of America has launched an industry-leading service retention program named Volkswagen TRAC (Target and Retain Aftersales Customers).

It is exclusively designed by Volkswagen to increase customer retention and brand loyalty through targeted customer segmentation for one-to-one marketing.

The program is offered to all dealers and subsidized 100% by Volkswagen as part of a service retention and parts marketing strategy to increase service traffic and part sales.

It has retained PEAK PERFORMANCE to launch the program this year. The customer-relationship management firm has existing relationships with more than 200 VW dealers. Its services include data collection and mining, marketing, print production and call center services.

“We are excited that PEAK PERFORMANCE will be helping us turn our vision into reality with this world-class service retention program,” says TJ Dolliver, VW's parts and service marketing manager.