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Dealer damaged car

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
They weren’t. At least they shouldn’t have been since I left them the car Friday morning and was told I wouldn’t have it back until midday Monday. They also took it for a 9 mile test drive. That makes me leery too. 2-3 sure. 9? So were they just out beating on it?

yeah - 9 miles is a bit much. the writing is on the wall - this seems like a young tech who lacks caution or respect
 

SnailpowerMk7

Go Kart Champion
Location
NJ
Car(s)
MK7 GTI SE 6SPD MT
Wow.. They jack up GTIs and Rs all the time. Its like they had a newbie tech do it. I could see a tire place or jiffy lube do it but am really
stumped a Volkswagen dealer would do this... did not know they were so rushed and pressed for time.

Well, you still get newbie techs all the time fresh out of a trade school. They might have all the knowledge in the world but unfortunately lack of experience. Then you go to the guys with lots of experience (older mechanics), and they're more careless on how they handle cars because their so used to it and they just want to get the job done quick. It's always a frightening situation no matter where you take it.
 

gixxerfool

Autocross Champion
Location
New Jersey
Car(s)
2016 Golf R
I wanted to check in and update this. I shot off an email last night to VWOA essentially mirroring this thread.

I got a call this morning from the parts and service director. He seemed confused and was under the impression the writer had handled the situation. He asked that I bring it in so he can look at it. He was understanding and apologetic. He pointed it out as soon as he walked up to the car. He was confused because he was under the impression it was damage to the rocker panels, not realizing it was the side skirts, as I was corrected earlier in this thread. He said he will order them and then get them painted and then call me to get the car in. He insisted the body shop hang them, which I was ok with. He also said it was a dick move by the tech and he would Deal with it. At this point, I feel like they are going to take care of it correctly and make it right, which is all I ask.

I did inquire about the 9 mile test drive. He said that comes direct from him. The coolant systems can be hard to bleed and he wants them burped before they get released to the customer.
 

russiankid

Drag Race Newbie
Location
PA
I had a tire shop cause over $3,000 in rocker damage to my wife's Jetta. They owned up to it, but never a pleasant situation. Good on the dealer for owning up to it and taking care of it.
 

avenali312

Autocross Champion
Location
Mableton, GA
Car(s)
2015 GTI
I have similar damage on my GTI from a dealer. It had happened while the previous owner owned the car and they lifted it incorrectly. He worked for the dealership, and either never noticed or just decided not to get it taken care of. Luckily, on the GTI, the sideskirts aren't painted, so it's more of just a crease in the plastic that typically only I notice. Mine did go up far enough to dent the rocker panel as well though, but again, I'm one of the few that knows it's messed up. So, I'm trying to live with it haha.
 

gixxerfool

Autocross Champion
Location
New Jersey
Car(s)
2016 Golf R
I had a tire shop cause over $3,000 in rocker damage to my wife's Jetta. They owned up to it, but never a pleasant situation. Good on the dealer for owning up to it and taking care of it.

wow. That’s insane. I had a 1/4 panel hung on my civic replaced for about twice that. That’s a ton of damage. That’s all I think anyone wants. Some go for the jugular. I’m not that guy.

I have similar damage on my GTI from a dealer. It had happened while the previous owner owned the car and they lifted it incorrectly. He worked for the dealership, and either never noticed or just decided not to get it taken care of. Luckily, on the GTI, the sideskirts aren't painted, so it's more of just a crease in the plastic that typically only I notice. Mine did go up far enough to dent the rocker panel as well though, but again, I'm one of the few that knows it's messed up. So, I'm trying to live with it haha.

I thought all the golfs were the same with the side skirts. I didn’t realize it was an R thing. My friend decided to ask me about the rockers. I wish he had thought of that before I went there yesterday.

I got a call from VW Corp this morning. They’re monitoring the situation and working with the dealer to get it corrected quick. So it’s nice to know there are more eyes on this.
 

gixxerfool

Autocross Champion
Location
New Jersey
Car(s)
2016 Golf R
Final update guys and gals,

picked my car up from the dealer yesterday. They body shop did a great job painting and installing the side skirts and the dealer even covered the missing front tow hook cover for me.
Final thoughts: while this is something that shouldn’t have happened at all and there was likely every possibility the dealer would have dealt with it the same without VWoA involvement, I don’t regret contacting them. The service manager was in touch with me every step of the way and the process was delayed due to holidays and snow. While I do all of my own work, there are some items I will need a dealer to do, such as programming a key fob and such, and will consider going to them for that. I ultimately hope there is a “retraining” or something to make sure no else has to go through this.
 

dancar10

New member
Location
Georgia
Car(s)
1
Hi, I am also a new member here. My car was also damaged while being serviced at a VW dealership on 12/11/2020. My visit was to diagnose an ABS light coming on. The second one. The first ABS sensor failed when the car was under warranty. My visit to the dealership was with an appointment. I am like you, I don't like others working in my car. I do the work myself. This time because of the electronic sensor I decided to take it to the dealership to find the faulty sensor. While in service my car received the same damaged in the rocker panel. Unfortunately my car does not have skirts I wish my car could have them. The body shop offered to repair. I insist on replace. Apparently the rocker panel is part of the uni side and in order to replace the damage part the body would have to be sectioned in the area. Same story, the dealership wanted me to leave the car with them for an unspecified period of time with no assurance the car would be free of damages like more dings and dents for them to take it to the body shop they work with. And that they would drive it to the body shop located 5 miles away from their location. I said no. I contacted VWOA and expressed to them my dissapointment. The question now is: is it worth it to replace the skin, the procedure is going to be more invasive, they have to remove both doors, section the area, weld and repaint. Or have the body shop repair the dents and use what they call "minimal filler."
I expected better care from VW technicians. After all, we believe dealership service is premium service and they should be better than the local shops. I paid good money for the services they did to the car. Not only they did the dents with their lift but also did scratches to the rima while tire rotation. The service manager says it was an accident and that these things happen. Really? I took my car to be serviced by the brand experts.
8C6E35D7-34E9-4BBC-9DF1-498C2549052C.jpeg
 

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dancar10

New member
Location
Georgia
Car(s)
1
I am including another picture.

I never thought this would happen under the care of the VW technicians.
 

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gixxerfool

Autocross Champion
Location
New Jersey
Car(s)
2016 Golf R
Hi, I am also a new member here. My car was also damaged while being serviced at a VW dealership on 12/11/2020. My visit was to diagnose an ABS light coming on. The second one. The first failt ABS sensor the eatranty cobered the replacement. My visit was with an appointment. I am like you, I don't like others working in my car. This time because of the electronic sensor I decided to take it to the dealership. My car received the same damaged in the rocker panel. My car does not have skirts I wish my car could have them. The body shop offered to repair. Apparently the rocker panel is part of the uni side and in order to replace the damage part the body technicians would have to section the area. Same story, the dealership wanted me to leave the car with them for an unspecified period of time with no assurance the car would be free of damages like more dings and dents for them to take it to the body shop they work with. And that they would drive it to the body shop located 5 miles away from their location. I said no. I contacted VWOA and expressed to them my dissapointment. The question now is: is it worth it to replace the skin, the procedure is going to be more invasive, they have to remove both doors, section the area, weld and repaint. Or have the body shop repair the dents and use what they call "minimal filler."
I expected better care from VW technicians. After all, we believe dealership service is premium service and they should be better than the local shops. I paid good money for the services they did to the car. Not only they did the dents with their lift but also did scratches to the rima while tire rotation. The service manager says it was an accident and that these things happen. Really? I took my car to be serviced by the brand experts.
View attachment 201992
Wow. This is awful. I’m sorry to see it. I am not sure how this even happens. The rock guard being repainted correctly would be concerning. The options are to cut it or just fill it all in with body filler. Neither are great options, unfortunately.

if you decide on the repair path you would prefer the question is how are you to know it was done correct and there isn’t going to be an issue down the road due to shoddy work? I would address this with VWoA and get everything in writing from them and the dealer. If possible; the body shop.

Feel free to reference this thread to VWoA as my case was recent. Is it Nina you’re dealing with at VWoA or Dan?
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Whichever route you choose get something for the diminished value.
 

dancar10

New member
Location
Georgia
Car(s)
1
Wow. This is awful. I’m sorry to see it. I am not sure how this even happens. The rock guard being repainted correctly would be concerning. The options are to cut it or just fill it all in with body filler. Neither are great options, unfortunately.

if you decide on the repair path you would prefer the question is how are you to know it was done correct and there isn’t going to be an issue down the road due to shoddy work? I would address this with VWoA and get everything in writing from them and the dealer. If possible; the body shop.

Feel free to reference this thread to VWoA as my case was recent. Is it Nina you’re dealing with at VWoA or Dan?
Thank you for your thoughts. The VW authorized body shop recommends repair. I am opting for replacement. It is a shame the dealership techs did this. I will make reference to this thread.
 

dancar10

New member
Location
Georgia
Car(s)
1
Wow. This is awful. I’m sorry to see it. I am not sure how this even happens. The rock guard being repainted correctly would be concerning. The options are to cut it or just fill it all in with body filler. Neither are great options, unfortunately.

if you decide on the repair path you would prefer the question is how are you to know it was done correct and there isn’t going to be an issue down the road due to shoddy work? I would address this with VWoA and get everything in writing from them and the dealer. If possible; the body shop.

Feel free to reference this thread to VWoA as my case was recent. Is it Nina you’re dealing with at VWoA or Dan?
The tires were also rotated for the first time and I found deep gouges and scratches surrounding each hole where the lug nut was removed. This is because of the caress use of the impact drill. I share this to the general manager and he said that this is because of road debris. I also notified the service advisor and he said that this is normal. I wonder how do they remove the rims from VW's most expensive cars? I like the brand but VW dealership techs really need training and they have to be more careful.
 
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