40,000 Miles..Fluid Change?

[n0ftInc]

Looking at picking up an '00 with the 01M Transmission. The car has just over 40,000 miles and just had the service for that interval completed. I am wondering if I should go ahead and do a fluid/filter change as well. The car runs good and seems to shift well. I have read DIYs where they're is a VAG-COM involved. Should this be a shop-only service? How much are people paying to have this done vs doing it themselves?

[DZLBUG]

I would reconsider buying an automatic, even with fluid changes there are no guarantees with that POS transmission. If you are stuck on having an auto, then yes, change the fluid and have it done every 40k from now on.

VCDS or other scan tool that can monitor transmission fluid temperature is required. I wouldn't take it to just any shop, make sure they work on VW's and know how to do the job right.

I don't know what people are paying, but most shops will probably tack on 20-30% markup on parts, plus a couple hours labor ($60-100/hr depending on area) plus shop fees and any applicable taxes.

[ECS Tuning]

I would certainly suggest having the fluid / filter changed out based on the updated service intervals for the newer transmissions. We do have service kits avialble that can be found here on the website:

Volkswagen New Beetle 1.8T > Maintenance > Transmission > Service Kit - ECS Tuning Inc