Hey, I'm new here and wanted to share my experience with my local "stealership." (Love that term!)
I took my 2000 New Beetle GLX to my local Boardwalk VW in Richardson because the cable running from the fuse box/block on top of the battery to the battery was horribly corroded at its connection to the battery. The stealership said they couldn't replace just that cable, they had to replace it and the fuse block, for a cost of $493 -- $300 for the part plus 2 hrs labor.
I ended up letting them flush the brake system thinking that would get me off the hook for their $105 diagnostic charge, but they still tried to stick me with that. I sweetly asked why I should pay it when I told them what the problem was and that anybody could see it by lifting the little lid. After thinking hard about it, the service advisor waived the fee.
Today my wonderful hubby fixed the problem by purchasing a cable from Napa, attaching new connectors, and hooking it up to the fuse block thingy. Cost? $9.59 plus his time. Oh the satisfaction!
