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Dealership Service Woes...

dequardo

Autocross Newbie
Location
America’s Dairyland
Car(s)
‘21 GLI Autobahn GLI
But can you blame him? I'm predisposed to not trust them also and I work in one so my confirmation bias is probably the worst!

Ha. Fair enough. Not blaming him but trying to be neutral and state realistic expectations. I’ve avoided dealerships in the past also mainly due to costs. Maybe I’m spoiled in this area but the VW dealerships here are really good and I trust them.
 

Tsi7

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario, Canada
Where are you that advisors don't get paid for warranty work? That job is tough enough without that bull. I used to love warranty work because I knew the job would actually get paid for. Sure the %s were higher for customer pay but those jobs would get declined. Warranty work was easy money... Relatively.

Canada land... Most dealerships that I know of, regardless of brand, don't pay advisors warranty. The only ones I've heard of paying warranty is the really slow dealerships which don't get much business, so for the advisors to not starve, they are given a portion of warranty
 

Tsi7

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario, Canada
Ha. Fair enough. Not blaming him but trying to be neutral and state realistic expectations. I’ve avoided dealerships in the past also mainly due to costs. Maybe I’m spoiled in this area but the VW dealerships here are really good and I trust them.

Agreed, I try to be as neutral as possible but unfortunately given what I've seen I tend to be a little biased against dealerships... There's no doubt some very good ones out there... I just have yet to find one where I live unfortunately
 

ElectricEye

Autocross Newbie
Location
Central NJ
Good to know - thank you!
I came from a MK6 and the MK6 water pumps were failing regularly on the MK6 forum here.
 

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
Over the past year of owning my 2015 GTI SE DSG, I noticed quite a few things that need to be attended to under warranty (things that shouldn't exist in a CPO car). However, I have never taken a car to the dealer for service since I first started driving mainly do to the fact that I do not trust anyone to touch my car besides myself or people I know personally that do good work.

I bit the bullet and took my car to the dealer with a list if things to fix (every 5k miles I need to top off the coolant, gas cap error when warm, engine start button peeling to the point it pierced my finger, oil filler cap sweating on valve cover, A/C not blowing as cool as it used to, and the rear wind deflectors were coming off).

After 2 days of being at the highest rated VW dealer in the surrounding 2 cities, they called and said they have parts on order for the start button and wind deflectors, however they could not find a coolant leak or anything coming up on the scan about the gas cap/evap system. So the 2 major things I wanted fixed are untouched. The coolant is going somewhere, it doesn't just disappear. Regardless, they said the new parts will be here in a day and I should be back in my car by then.

The problem:
Today I get a call that I thought would be the dealer letting me know to come pick up the car, instead it was them saying the technician somehow managed to damage the paint somewhere around the back of my car while he was working on the spoiler/wind deflectors (the service rep doesn't know jack. They were supposed to send me an image of the damage and I am still waiting). They are having it sent to the bodyshop to get repaired and it should be back in the next 3 days.

So in the end, I am pretty pissed about this. The fact that they are repairing it for free doesn't matter, this should never happen in the first place (however I do appreciate that they owned up to it). Accidents happen from being careless and rushing. If they are being so careless as to mess up an easy job like replacing a trim piece, what else are they doing with peoples cars that no one knows about? This isn't even considering the fact that I am now without a car for another 3 days, by which point I will be back at school and work without a car to get around.

What would you do? I am going to email the Service Manager about the situation, but I am sure what my goal is to get out of it. At the very least I want them know that this is more of a problem than just fixing a scratch, its a testament to the poor reputations dealerships have come to have.

/end of rant :D

It seems like dealerships in California are pretty bad. I live close to Antelope Valley. Took my 2017 GTI S to VW there to have the spoiler replaced (freak accident, edge of plastic ripped off, had to replace the whole assembly). The idiots at the dealership could not put the spoiler in place properly at least 2 times. There are three freaking screws holding it, and they could not align the damn thing. On top of that, they did a horrible paint job on the primed replacement spoiler, with air bubbles here and there, and missing paint in some spots. They handed the car over to me and thought I would not notice. I'm an engineer with insane attention to details. I reached out to corporate, they didn't do jack.
 

itsstan

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Washington, D.C.
This is exactly what I planned to do before the UV dye. I have heard its pretty common for there to be a leak around the thermostat or waterpump housing due to the design of the part. It often is a slow weep so it can be harder to detect.



A slow weep should leave dried coolant residue behind. Here’s what mine looked like.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Supermoto

Autocross Champion
Location
San Diego
Car(s)
2019 Autobahn DSG
A slow weep should leave dried coolant residue behind. Here’s what mine looked like.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will look for it. I am just hoping its not consuming coolant internally. It drops from max to min every 5,000 miles so its not like the entire overflow is draining in a few weeks, but its still a loss of fluid that should not happen.
 

itsjosee

New member
Probably the worst customer service job ever. I can certainly understand getting out of the business. You would have liked seeing me when I came in. :) I bring a copy of my scan if there's a fault, and I explain any issues as clearly as possible. One thing is always hard - dealing with adviser who was never a wrench. I know the job is really part CS/part sales but when you deal with someone who doesn't even know the names of major car components or have the slightest idea what they do, dealerships might as well give you an iPad and have you just fill it out, then talk to one person about it who knows the cars.

They get paid well, at least in the States. I'm sure you've heard me rant about building a relationship with a particular service adviser and mechanic, at the least the adviser. It does help. They will give you job to a better mechanic. I also know the mechanic. I also try to get to know the service manager.

I know I'll get flamed for saying I tip the mechanic every time, and send the service manager a Christmas present. I also call VWoA and praise their service every time. I always follow up and do the surveys, giving the adviser a top rating, and mention the mechanic by name. I know it's their jobs, but do want them to treat you like just another job or more like a friend? I'm guessing people probably tip waitresses more.

The Fed - If what you're saying is true, that's amazing! This truly goes a long way with dealers and their advisors/techs... especially with the survey. But to call VWoA too? That's awesome. If you ever need some goodwill from VW, your dealer should definitely step up without hesitation.
 

Supermoto

Autocross Champion
Location
San Diego
Car(s)
2019 Autobahn DSG
Just an update, I was supposed to be back in the car yesterday at the latest and didn't hear anything from them. I called this morning and asked what the situation is with my car and they said we are looking at Monday now. I spoke with the service manager and he was apologetic for my service rep not filling me in on what's going on with my car. He also said he will try to get a loaner car in for me however it could take till Monday to find one which is when I'm supposed to get my car back. At least they are trying I guess... I'd appreciate some type of compensation for all the trouble. I'll bring it up with the manager when I see him in person.
 

cb1111

Newbie
Location
Virginia, USA
Just an update, I was supposed to be back in the car yesterday at the latest and didn't hear anything from them. I called this morning and asked what the situation is with my car and they said we are looking at Monday now. I spoke with the service manager and he was apologetic for my service rep not filling me in on what's going on with my car. He also said he will try to get a loaner car in for me however it could take till Monday to find one which is when I'm supposed to get my car back. At least they are trying I guess... I'd appreciate some type of compensation for all the trouble. I'll bring it up with the manager when I see him in person.
If you want compensation, then think about what you'd like. Remember that service credit is easier for them to give instead of money.
 

Supermoto

Autocross Champion
Location
San Diego
Car(s)
2019 Autobahn DSG
If you want compensation, then think about what you'd like. Remember that service credit is easier for them to give instead of money.

Yeah I am not the kinda person to say "gimme money", instead I would push in the direction of service credit type stuff.
 

Supermoto

Autocross Champion
Location
San Diego
Car(s)
2019 Autobahn DSG
Update: I called VW today asking if the car is ready. They said it just came back from the body shop and they have yet to start the original repairs so I am looking at another day or 2. I asked what happened to their offer of a loan car and they said if I wanted a loaner I should have asked last Monday when I first brought the car in. I told them I did exactly that and they denied it. Now I am still on hold without a car and getting to school has been a pretty big pain.

I contacted VWoA and told them about everything. They are transferring the case directly to the regional case manager and he will contact me by the end of the day tomorrow to follow up and discuss stuff. Still no one has even remotely suggested any kind of compensation. I didn't want to be the one to suggest it as I don't want to come across as one of those people, but I think I might have to at this point.
 

Tsi7

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario, Canada
Update: I called VW today asking if the car is ready. They said it just came back from the body shop and they have yet to start the original repairs so I am looking at another day or 2. I asked what happened to their offer of a loan car and they said if I wanted a loaner I should have asked last Monday when I first brought the car in. I told them I did exactly that and they denied it. Now I am still on hold without a car and getting to school has been a pretty big pain.

I contacted VWoA and told them about everything. They are transferring the case directly to the regional case manager and he will contact me by the end of the day tomorrow to follow up and discuss stuff. Still no one has even remotely suggested any kind of compensation. I didn't want to be the one to suggest it as I don't want to come across as one of those people, but I think I might have to at this point.

You should, this sounds like typical dealer BS
 

avenali312

Autocross Champion
Location
Mableton, GA
Car(s)
2015 GTI
Yeah I am not the kinda person to say "gimme money", instead I would push in the direction of service credit type stuff.

The only problem with the service credit is that you'll have to go back to this dealership, which at this point in your story, I probably would never do (I'm also spoiled and have multiple dealer options within a short trip).
 

Supermoto

Autocross Champion
Location
San Diego
Car(s)
2019 Autobahn DSG
Just got back from the dealership to pick up my car. As soon as I walked up to it I noticed the very poor repair job of the rear spoiler and wind deflectors. I told the service rep they did a horrible job (bubbles and pits all over the painted area, plus the wind deflectors were not lined up properly and separating from the top of the spoiler).

The service rep went and got the manger, and as soon as he walked up he said that looks horrible (idk if he already knew about it and was hoping to pass it off) but regardless he was apologetic and said they will make this right wether it means repainting it or replacing the entire spoiler. He said they will get a loaner back this Sunday, so just bring my car back in then and we will trade. As far as making this right, he said that they did an alignment and detailed the car (I wish they had not detailed it but whatever). I do not want to come across greedy, but especially considering the current circumstances, that does not feel like enough to try making it right.

As far as the original repairs, they replaced the start/stop button as well as tightened some bolts on the axle coupler under the car. They did not find anything on the coolant loss, oil cap leak, or gas cap error I get on the dash (all of which were the primary reasons for taking the car in). They said if any of those continues to happen bring it back, however I don't know what they will do differently this time around.
 
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