New vehicle - no block heater?

[Dean2]

Lots of good info, but also so much wrong stuff. Having no block heater is NOT a German thing, most Mercedes have a block heater option and ALL of their diesels, along with quite a few of their gas motors come with one already installed, may or may not have the cord on it but that is a $35 part the dealer will install for you.

VW, Audi and Porsche are all owned by the same people. Their attitude to block heaters is partly corporate arrogance/stupidity but is also a dealer issue. Some of their models are built with block heater capable blocks, others have pan heaters as an option and for others an inline coolant heater is the solution. No matter what the local dealer says, them being too lazy to order them with block/pan heaters or to offer an inline coolant heater as a dealer installed option is a sign you should find a different dealer.

Anyone that believes a motor is not harmed by cold starts is just plain wrong. Many cars will do it but it doesn't make it good for them. If I park outdoors, vehicle gets plugged in anytime temp is below zero, and the in-car warmer is running too so I don't have to scrape windows. Vehicle starts easier, warms up way faster and it is much easier on all the components.