How many of you are happy with...

[PilotGirl]

the customer service, sales, etc that you receive from Canadian VW dealerships? VW of Canada? Etc?
I live in a city where we have 1 dealership that is beyond horrific and the next closest is 45 minutes away and is on a downward spiral of being just as bad. The next group of dealerships are 3+ hours away and most of them don't seem to be much more competent than the ones in our Valley.
When I lived in Ontario it wasn't so bad. I didn't like a dealership, I would go to another and even another until I actually found one that I felt was competent and willing to do the things that I asked without Royally screwing me over, unfortunately the same can't be said here for the dealerships in the B.C. interior.
So share your experiences, good or bad and let's try to continue to support the dealerships that are still worth supporting...

[IceDog]

I've dealt with three different dealerships in Ontario:

Oakville VW - can't complain, they did a great job on my extended warranty issues I had.

Bramgate VW in Brampton - Can't complain about, I only had them put on my front license plate bracket. Price was fair and they were timely. Looking at having them change my oilpan for $400.

Queensway VW - I'd rather not rate them. I took the car in for an oilchange, I watched them take it in and bring it back out. Just to test them, I sat and waited to see how long it would be before they had me pay and leave. It was an hour. My ticket had been stamped somehow to let them know I was waiting in the lobby and not just dropping it off.

So, I will take me car back to either Oakville or Bramgate without worrying. Queensway... well...

[PilotGirl]

IceDog...I am not sure where you are exactly located but have you thought about going to Georgetown?
The owner actually posts over on Vortex and is a VW enthusiast.
After having issues with the dealership in Waterloo, then an even bigger issue with Crosby in Kitchener, I opted to drive the hour to Georgetown for any work done on my car.
They were exceptionally nice(at the time...however this could have changed) and they were one of the few mod-friendly dealerships that I knew of at the time so many people traveled from all over the GTA to get their service done there.

Now with that being said I should probably share some of my experiences...Waterloo VW...I paid a lot of money for a product that they opted to substitute, not tell me and refused to give me back my money. 2nd time around they were going to over charge me for a vehicle I didn't want.
Crosby...I have never met more inept sales people (Till moving to B.C. of course) They lied about availability of cars. They were unknowledgeable with their product line. They lied about things that they said they would do to my car, and my car was damaged in the meanwhile, and through the years there were many more issues that I would be happy to share if anyone is interested.
Guelph VW always seemed to want me to pay more for the exact same vehicle, service, etc.
Cambridge...well the sales person talked me out of buying the vehicle in their showroom and they were such a great salesperson that I never went there for service maintenance...however with that being said, they could be a great dealership as I only interacted with 1 person there...but often that one person is a great example of what a dealership has to offer.
We bought our Audi A3 from Owasco in Whitby and we had a pretty pleasant sales experience but unfortunately never had the opportunity to deal with their service department.
The gentleman...scratch that...the jerk at the parts counter in Oakville was an ignorant imbecile that spoke down to me. Grrr!
I have dealt with many more in the GTA as well and none really stick out in my mind as being exceptionally good or bad.

[Benderbeetle Rodrigues]

Here's a good story .
I've known my banker for a few years and she was excited when I went in and told her I was buying a Beetle a few months ago. She told me her story about the local dealership when I went in to get some RRSPs this spring.
I actually first talked to her 10 years ago when the bank she works for had an employee incentive. She managed to get the use of a New Beetle for 2 months for her sales performance. I saw her pull into the bank's lot (with the bank's logo on the side of the Beetle) and asked her how she liked it. We chatted for a bit and she said she loved it and she was actually thinking of buying one. Now that I think about it, she's probably the one responsible for me considering a Beetle.
So, a few months go by and she goes into the local dealership to BUY a Beetle. She was SOLD even before she walked into the dealership (she had money, hey, she's a bank manager ). It happened to be raining quite a bit that day (it rains a lot here from October to March) and it was after work, starting to get dark. She went into the dealership and asked the receptionist that she wanted to look at the Beetles in the back lot. The receptionist calls one of the sales people and basically gave her the key to go look at one (the cars are barricaded, so you can't drive off with one). None of the sales people had an umbrella (she had hers), so no one wanted to escort her to the car or give her any info on the models,options,pricing etc.
She gave the key back to the receptionist, said "thank-you very much" and left. Later that week she went to the Toyota dealer and bought a Toyota product.
I was when she told me that story. If she had employees (she's a manager now) giving service like that at her bank, heads would be rolling. That's probably why I've gone to that bank for 17 years, because of the people like her and service I get.
I've gone to that dealership a couple of times just to buy a few parts parts. I chuckle and shake my head every time I walk in.
Cheers.

[newbie]

Absofrigginlutley pissed at the dealer right now... Brought it in to get a turbo inspection today and now facing a $600 bill...
My TS has a hidden ignition switch, it was left on...somehow it switched offand the service guy couldnt start my car. They messed with it for about 30 minutes trying to start it then decided to jump it. Now they say my starter is done, the cables are corroded. I tell them about the hidden kill and they are surprised. I get to the dealer check if my car starts and it does on first try, so I send my ride home thinking all is well. Then after paying the car wont start. Nothing they can do because things like this happen. They then try to wiggle the wire to get contact so it will start with no success.. I suggest they did something while trying to start it, they say the only thing they can do now is fix it, which will cost $600......
AND to top it off, my spoiler malfunction light is now on........
Called VW canada and nothing they can do as long as the dealership can prove they didnt break it... so now Im stuck with a car that wont start (and a malfunctioning spoiler), when all I wanted to do was test the efficiency of my Turbo system....

BS, I am NEVER going there again.

[PilotGirl]

Originally Posted by Benderbeetle Rodrigues

Here's a good story .
I've known my banker for a few years and she was excited when I went in and told her I was buying a Beetle a few months ago. She told me her story about the local dealership when I went in to get some RRSPs this spring.
I actually first talked to her 10 years ago when the bank she works for had an employee incentive. She managed to get the use of a New Beetle for 2 months for her sales performance. I saw her pull into the bank's lot (with the bank's logo on the side of the Beetle) and asked her how she liked it. We chatted for a bit and she said she loved it and she was actually thinking of buying one. Now that I think about it, she's probably the one responsible for me considering a Beetle.
So, a few months go by and she goes into the local dealership to BUY a Beetle. She was SOLD even before she walked into the dealership (she had money, hey, she's a bank manager ). It happened to be raining quite a bit that day (it rains a lot here from October to March) and it was after work, starting to get dark. She went into the dealership and asked the receptionist that she wanted to look at the Beetles in the back lot. The receptionist calls one of the sales people and basically gave her the key to go look at one (the cars are barricaded, so you can't drive off with one). None of the sales people had an umbrella (she had hers), so no one wanted to escort her to the car or give her any info on the models,options,pricing etc.
She gave the key back to the receptionist, said "thank-you very much" and left. Later that week she went to the Toyota dealer and bought a Toyota product.
I was when she told me that story. If she had employees (she's a manager now) giving service like that at her bank, heads would be rolling. That's probably why I've gone to that bank for 17 years, because of the people like her and service I get.
I've gone to that dealership a couple of times just to buy a few parts parts. I chuckle and shake my head every time I walk in.
Cheers.

When we first moved to Kelowna we went to the dealership to buy a Rabbit. We fully intended to buy the car and sadly we sat on the lot wandering around for 45 minutes without a single sales person acknowledging us. One even sat smoking her cigarette and watched us walk around the lot.
So we drove north 45 minutes to the dealership in Vernon, back when the fantastic older gentleman was taking care of the finance department and bought the Rabbit on their lot.
It was an easy sale that the imbeciles here lost out on.
Also when we bought our Beetle, I watched the same smoking sales person lose a sale due to being an incompetent twit who refused to listen to what the guy sitting with her was saying he wanted. I am sure the commission on a new Passat CC would have paid for a nice summer getaway however her head was jammed so far up her own that she didn't even realize that she blew the sale. Screw the economy being the downfall in VW sales...it's the poor customer service and sales.

Originally Posted by newbie

Absofrigginlutley pissed at the dealer right now... Brought it in to get a turbo inspection today and now facing a $600 bill...
My TS has a hidden ignition switch, it was left on...somehow it switched offand the service guy couldnt start my car. They messed with it for about 30 minutes trying to start it then decided to jump it. Now they say my starter is done, the cables are corroded. I tell them about the hidden kill and they are surprised. I get to the dealer check if my car starts and it does on first try, so I send my ride home thinking all is well. Then after paying the car wont start. Nothing they can do because things like this happen. They then try to wiggle the wire to get contact so it will start with no success.. I suggest they did something while trying to start it, they say the only thing they can do now is fix it, which will cost $600......
AND to top it off, my spoiler malfunction light is now on........
Called VW canada and nothing they can do as long as the dealership can prove they didnt break it... so now Im stuck with a car that wont start (and a malfunctioning spoiler), when all I wanted to do was test the efficiency of my Turbo system....

BS, I am NEVER going there again.

This is so typical.
We got an oil change done at a dealership and whoops....the idiot working on our car forgot to put in more oil. Thankfully we were smart enough not to trust the idiots working at the dealership and checked before we left the premises.
Another time after having my car worked on, in Ontario, I pulled out of the parking lot and step on the gas....and nothing. The car didn't move. It didn't do anything but coast. Thankfully the dealership accepted the responsibility of their mistake and rectified the situation.
There has to be a way to prove their responsibility in damaging your car. Try contacting another dealership(if possible) and see if they will back what you are saying.
Hopefully things will get resolved soon as it's not fair and the idiots should be held responsible for their mistakes.

[newbie]

you would think that the guy saying they messed with it for 30 minutes trying to get it to start and lying to me twice would be enough proof...
1st lie... my starter cable was broken....snapped....
2nd .... it (cable) was badly corroded....

3rd I need a whole new starter !

Make up our mind......

VW canada wont even do anything about it.. Its my word VS the dealers in their eyes. And the dealer said to me "well even if it is the first time this happened it will keep happening until you fix it".

my car has NEVER not started before...
the starter has NEVER made any noise or given any inidication of failure..
It has a VERY clean engine bay where NOT ONE wire or connection has any sign of corrosion.
AND my car has never seen winter... and to top that off, my spoiler has NEVER malfunctioned and now it just doesnt work....

[PilotGirl]

Wouldn't it be nice if someone at the VW Customer Care team actually took the time to do an online search of people's concerns and actually do something about them.
Too bad it won't ever happen.

[Downtown Turbo]

My old mechanic (it's really great to say "old") was out of town and I had a potential trip to the USA planned. My rad experienced a cracked end tank and was leaking coolant slowly but steadily (I used to build rads). I didn't trust anyone to work on my Bug, so I went to the local dealer to get it changed. They did a good job replacing it but didn't change the coolant and put the dirty crap back in among some other things they did/said to piss me off. I would have paid for and actually expected new coolant...

I didn't find out until I realized my mechanic needed to be terminated due to a series of events (long story) and went to Don Valley VW (an honest dealership that I would go back to and has a good paint shop I hear also) for a full inspection as I didn't feel safe driving OFU and needed peace of mind. They told me my coolant was filthy and hadn't been changed in years (the rad was replaced under a year prior to this). The work they wanted to do wasn't cheap but they didn't try to pull the wool over my eyes and were up front with everything. Later on I got my friend the Wig (a local legend) to help out knowing what the major ails were now.