I hate dealership service departments.

[BeetleMyHeart]

So our back window in our meticulously maintained and cared for NBC recently began to come ungluded from the top. The car has 64k miles with original tires and it garaged for 90% of it's life. This still began to happen and it happened quick! The car is out of warranty but the dealer said VWoA has acknowledged this is a problem and has stepped up to the plate to make it right. They said to bring the car by and they will replace the faulty top free of charge. I thought this was great and that it's really the first time I've seen VW go above and beyong what is expected. Boy was I wrong.

I dropped the car off and signed the estimate of $0 before I left. They call back the next day telling me the VWoA rep offered to pay for the part but we would have to pay the $400 for 4 hrs of labor for the replacement. I was aggrivated at first because they said it would be on them at first and now they tell me I owe them labor because of the lack of service records at the dealer.

I do my own maintenance on the car religiously with only OEM VW parts. I use Mobil 1 0W40 or Castrol 5W40 with the VW oil filter every 5k miles. I did the 40k service with all original VW parts as well. I never take my vehicles to the dealer, or anywhere else for that matter, for oil changes and service items as car repairs and work is a hobby of mine. I don't do it for 3 reasons. The first being that I save alot of money when I just have to buy the parts and don't have to pay inflated labor costs. The second, and most important to me, is because nobody cares for my vehicles like I do and I'm alway's afraid of someone mistreating or damaging the car.

Well I finally agree to pay the labor costs as it's still a good deal for a new top and because I'm still way ahead money wise doing all of the service myself. The dealer calls today and say's the car is ready. I go up to the dealer and immediatly start inspecting the car. The top looks pretty good except for a weather seal around the top of the a-pillar is mushed out a bit. Them I find a ding in the top polished trim and a 3" long DEEP scratch just below the trim on the drivers side. I was livid, neither of these were there before. The car has come out damaged, from several different VW dealers, after it was returned to me from past warranty repairs. Once the car was delivered to me without the skid plate under the engine. I took it back and they installed someone elses bent up skid plate with less than half of the fansteners and bent up my mounting locations in the mean time! There are a few broken pieces of plastic under the hood near the airbox and brake fluid resovoir that were both broken by a dealer at some point. Dealerships slowly destroy your car for you, I'm sure of it. Now this deep scratch may require painting and the factory finish will be very hard to accomplish but I will accept nothing less. I'm so frustrated and am positive doing your own service is crucial to keeping your VW in great shape as ours is. Dealers use air tools to remove tiny screws from tiny clips and they strip them everytime. They jump in your car and peel out around the corner to move it 10 feet. They don't cover up parts to protect them as they should during repairs, leaving scratches like I have now.

I'm sure I'm not the only once with these issues, does anyone have a dealer that treats your vehicle with care and you alway's get it back just as you left it?

[Abbie2007Beetle]

the dealership i take abbie to always takes good care of her...they even wash her and vacuum for me...sorry to hear that they treated ur beetle so badly

[peanutsmom]

When I had my eclipse it went to the shop once because lance had been sick and could change the water pump.. Well he was on his way to bring me my baby for a surprise and the motor went!! The timing was off!! Then the shop said it was not their fault.. So she never went back except one more time but I paid good money and she went to the dealership where I had a friend who worked there and all they did was tell me why she was running so rough.. (good luck on a 90 GST fwd 2.0T) buthe did finally find out what was going on.. But that is why my vechicles do not go to shops and I agree with you 100%!! sry about ur baby being hurt while there

[BeetleMyHeart]

Here is a thread with pics of the car.My 2005 Aquarius NBC Turbo How dare the dealer claim they're not paying for the repair in full because there is no service history with any dealers, as if the car is mistreated!! The car is in the same condition as it was in the pics in the thread. I even washed it and detailed it before I took it to the dealer to show how well cared for it is. I'm sure they won't pay for it completely because I havn't spent money with them to "maintain" (damage) our car for us when I can do it all myself with "white gloves" and a delicate touch.

When we get a little extra money I'm going to try and restore the car back to factory and replace some of the stuff that's broken under the hood from dealers and also replace some wheel lug caps that have had the paint completely come off of. Now I just have to make sure the dealer repairs that scratch back to a factory finish... or ELSE!!!

[Abbie2007Beetle]

Originally Posted by BeetleMyHeart

Here is a thread with pics of the car.My 2005 Aquarius NBC Turbo How dare the dealer claim they're not paying for the repair in full because there is no service history with any dealers, as if the car is mistreated!! The car is in the same condition as it was in the pics in the thread. I even washed it and detailed it before I took it to the dealer to show how well cared for it is. I'm sure they won't pay for it completely because I havn't spent money with them to "maintain" (damage) our car for us when I can do it all myself with "white gloves" and a delicate touch.

When we get a little extra money I'm going to try and restore the car back to factory and replace some of the stuff that's broken under the hood from dealers and also replace some wheel lug caps that have had the paint completely come off of. Now I just have to make sure the dealer repairs that scratch back to a factory finish... or ELSE!!!

did u ask to speak with the manager...i've only had one problem with the vw dealership...i took abbie to a different dealership than i usually and i had to leave her at the dealership (witch i rarely do) because i had to go to school and later that day i had my dad call them and they told him that they had no record of me even dropping her off... luckily my teacher let me call them and when i did they told me that they had put her in the original owners name...i was about to go off on them b4 they told me

[BeetleMyHeart]

The manager is my problem. Today he called to tell me he will cover the deep scratch but he will be claim responibility for the dinged trim around the top of the car that the tech damaged. His words were "I don't think I should take in a car with 70k miles on it to do a repair over a day then be expected to start replacing parts and other repairs." I couldn't believe it! We spend the past 4 years keeping this car in great shape and keeping things like dents and scratched to happen and we let the dealer have it for 2 day's and it comes back scratched and dinged! I have been on the phone several times during the past few days and I havn't been apologized to once, not even a hint of being sorry. They act like I'm inconveniencing them for requesting that they repair the damage they did. The manager said the metal polished trim has other scratches around the car in a couple of spots so he's not covering the ding, are you freaking kidding me! The guy is so short with me on the phone and act's like I'm being a problem. Well VW of America will be hearing from me about this guy and his dealership and his tech's and I hope they send me a survey so I can let them know how terrible the service is. I hope that VW looks at what VWoA collects so they can makes changes/cuts.

[CGK]

BeetleMyHeart,
I know exactly how you feel!! I also, for the last 40 years, have done all my own meticulous maintenance and service on all of my VW's. The only times I have ever taken my vert or other V-dubs to a dealer, reluctantly at that, was for recall work to be done. And, if I had access to the proprietary software for reprogramming the ECU, I would have done the recall work myself as well!!
The last time I took my vert in, for the front crash sensor recall, I made it explicitly clear what I wanted done and I personally walked arount the car and showed the service advisor that there were no marks of any kind or dirt and grease marks anywhere on the vehicle. He agreed and assured me that my car would be handled with kid gloves. Yeah right!!
I then released the car to them for the service to be done.
I waited until the work was done and when they brought the car out from the service bay, I proceeded to inspect every square inch of the car before I left.
While doing so, I was getting leering looks from the service guys hanging around the desk as if to say "What a jerk, how dare he inspect our work"
Well it did'nt take long for me discover that three screws were left missing from the front of the skid plate, the right hand fog light was not reconnected, several front fender bolts were still loose and there was a grease smudge on the driver seat leather. And, on top of it all, they had the audacity to tell me that they did't have the screws in stock and they would have to order them!! I LOL'd at that point.
I came unglued but did not show my anger with other customers hovering around the desk.
I went into the service office and demanded to see the service manager, and general manager of the dealership. They tried the "He's in a meeting" trick but that was not acceptable. I then made a phone call from my cell to the dealership and asked to speak to the service manager since I had an emergency.
He immediately answered and it was then that I laced into him.
After a minute or so I told him I was standing right outside his door and you could have heard a pin drop. He emerged like a puppy with a tail between his legs and I proceeded to show him all the stuff that was left undone and demanded it be remedied. He was all apologetic but I still wanted to see the general manager as well. He finally caved and we went together to see the general manager where I again read the two of them the riot act. Don't know if it made any difference to them, but it sure made me feel good.
I still don't go to the dealer for any service but now, when I need something done or need a part they all know who I am and I receive the service, courtesy and respect that I should have gotten from the getgo. They're almost afraid to see me walk in the door.
Sorry for the long diatribe but my point is, it looks like you are doing the same thing. Go straight to the top and if the general manager/owner doesn't satisfy you, go straight to VWoA in Herndon, VA. The management team at VW has completely changed. They are more focused on customer satisfaction than ever and I'm sure that if you make enough noise, you will be heard.
Good luck on getting your vert repairs done to your satisfaction. I hope the results are as good for you as they were for me.

[Nicefeet]

If you think VW dealers are bad try a shop that works on everything under the sun. It’s been my experience that a majority of the time they’re more interested in getting you to part with you money then do a quality repair.

[MichelleRoze]

Never taken Probie to the dealer for anything other than picking up parts. I have some recalls that I should probably get done (sunroof drains being one), but I don't want to. I've put too much love and car into this car. Blood, sweat, and tears into this car since the day I've owned it. Never has it seen a dealer and rarely has it even seen a mechanic shop. I've had issues with those guys too! I've seen a simple shop like Meineke PEEL OUT in my car to "test drive" it after removing my muffler?!?! I HEARD them REVVING the engine in the shop and Oooh-ing and Ahhh-ing over it. Had I not been in a hurry and on my lunch break and needed to get back to work, I would have spoke with the manager about their behavior. Not to mention they broke my spoon flower clean off the stem in my bud vase! Irritating. Now that Probie is a stick....no way. Never again. I don't care if I'll be late for anything, you mistreat my car....you better hope you can afford to make me happy again!

[BeetleMyHeart]

Oh I am far from done with this dealer. The service manager of the VW/BMW/Porsche dealer is from England is acts nothing but inconvenienced that he's having to repair the car his dealer damaged. I'll be taking high res pictures of the scratch before it's repaired and especially the big chip in the trim. I'll also make a copy of the inspection done on the car to document damage before it goes into the shop. All of that plus a letter is getting sent to VWoA. I'm going to make it very clear to him that I am doing that and make sure he understands why. If our car is damaged I expect an apology, regardless of it's used or new, bought at that dealer or not. Along with the apology I expect to be given the benifit of the doubt on damage that I am reporting. You simply can't look at a dent or scratch and tell if it was done at the dealer. I know every inch of the car and those 2 things may as well have had big red flag's taped next to them. The car has NEVER seen a dealer or independant shop for anything except warranty repairs or recalls. I've done every oil change at 5k mile intervals with Mobil 1 0W40 and a genuine VW filter. I've replaced the air filter with an OEM part several times. I've done the 40k service including another air filter, charcoal filter, plugs and the oil change. I'm doing the brake fluid change when I get the car back. The timing belt and water pump is getting done at 70k, not 105k. Because none of that was done at a dealer all of a sudden our car is a POS and the dealer doesn't think they should repair damage they caused because it goes along with a few other very minor typical wear. I'm so fired up and can't wait until Tuesday becaues I have lot's on my mind. We have an appointment Tuesday at the body shop over 45 minutes away and the dealer thought one of there drivers was going to drive the car up. YEA RIGHT!!! We're driving the car up ourselves, especially so I can inspect the repair before it leaves the shop including color match and orange peal. Going to be a bad bad bad near future for this dealer unless my simple demands are met.

[CGK]

WAY TO GO!!
It will be interesting to see what results you end up with after all of your efforts.
Hope everthing is handled to your complete satisfaction and that you get some relief after having to put up with such dealer nonsense.

[miffmole]

Originally Posted by BeetleMyHeart

The service manager of the VW/BMW/Porsche dealer is from England is acts nothing but inconvenienced that he's having to repair the car his dealer damaged.

This sounds like the English ex-service manager that I dealt with in Myrtle Beach, SC...do you know his name, or can you describe him? He's recently left here a few months ago or so.

His crew scratched my car deeply on the passenger door. He denied all responsibility because there was no yellow residue on the door. He said that any of their tools would leave yellow residue if they scratched a car. I didn't buy it.