Replacement of the trans fluid is not part of normal maintenance for
your car.  Just checking the level is a royal PITA, and if I were you,
if I were not experiencing any transmission problems, I'd just let it
go.  If you are having troubles, then I'd let a shop do it, but I'd sure
as hell shop around a little more to find someone who'll do it for less
than $500 -- that's an outrageous price.

Get the Bentley manual for your car and read up on it.  Just reading the
procedure for checking auto trans fluid level will give you a headache.
 You should be happy it's intended to be permanent!

It's the price of the fluid that's a killer. About $16 per liter and figure
about 5 bottles. Plus the filter, and about 1.5 hours labor. Around here
$500 is overpriced so check around.

This is something you can do, and something that should be done at
around 80,000 miles, but it's tricky and you should get the Bentley to
show you how.

Assuming it's the same basic transmission as on my 96 VR6, you'll remove
the protective pan on the bottom of the transmission which will give you
access to a drain plug that has a sleeve that fits vertically up into
the transmission to about an inch or so and works as an overflow tube.
You pull both out and let the fluid drain. If you do it, you should also
replace the filter (kits are available from Adirondack). Then, you
replace the sleeve without the drain plug. Remove the cap from the fill
tube on the front of the transmission and using a clean funnel you pour
fluid into the transmission with the engine running until fluid begins
to drip out of the drain plug tube again. Then replace the plug and
cover and you're done. By doing this you get around half of the fluid
out. Ideally you want to do it more than once to get out as much of the
old fluid as possible.

The fluid costs a fortune, too. I've heard of people using some other
types of oil, but they knew EXACTLY what they were looking for in terms
of the properties of the transmission fluid. Don't use the wrong kind or
you'll wreck the transmission. They're very expensive and they're an
unbelievable PITA to take out.

Changing the fluid has to be done with the transmission at the right
temperature, which IIRC is around 100F. So you have to work fast before
the engine gets hot.

Again, don't do this unless you have the manual to guide you. I'm just
giving you an overview so you know what's involved, and I may have left
out a few things.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a normal transmission place that forces new
fluid in and out under pressure. That will stir up every bit of gunk in
the tranny and ruin it. The VW people hang a bag of fluid over the
engine and let it flow through slowly. It's the most efficient way to do
the job, and replaces the most fluid, but you need the right equipment
to do it.

You can probably find more info on the vwvortex site under the section
on auto transmissions. There used to be some very knowledgeable people
who posted there, too.

Good luck - Chris