Ridiculous 40,000 mile check-up

Maintenance/Repairs
21

Its not that you should never buy a VW again, you should take your car to a good mom & pop mechanic from now on. Even if its a brand new car, its against the law for them to void your warranty for having your preventative maintenance done elsewhere (keep your receipts though).

My dad has a '02 VW with 70k and he does all his maintenance through the independent shop by our house. I bet he hasn’t even put $1000 into this car and its still going strong.

Also, your owner’s manual should have an itemized list of stuff that needs to be done at 40k, 80k, 120, etc. You can review that stuff with your mechanic and he will tell you what is really necessary and what isn’t.

22

‘Counterfitting’ is what dealership service writers do.

23

Some non dealership shops offer rentals or rental service thru an agency at decent rates.

24

I’m still rather peeved at the whole situation, but what do you think: should this “buy back” our loyalty at all? Or, now that we know the warranty’s up, is it just time to look for a non-dealership repairman (and rent our own “loaner” during service visits)?

You can’t be serious? After you KNOW they fleeced you and then had enough profit to take $700 off the bill after your husband called and gave them an ear full of it? You know they STILL made a profit on you even after giving back the $700. Trust me when I tell you they still made $300 or $400 profit on the whole deal. Those parts just aren’t that expensive and professional mechanics make $25/hr TOPS (if they are lucky) You can’t blame the dealership for making a profit. Thats why they are in business.

But you can sure kick yourself in the backside for being a victim. You did it to yourself. Not to be rude, but you really mean to tell me you DIDN’T know the dealership is the WORST place to take a car after the warranty is out?

I would NEVER set foot on their lot again. NEVER.

Listen, I am not trying to make you feel bad, but you could have done 1/2 those repairs yourself, or your husband could have. Anybody can work a screwdriver and a small wrench. You could have replaced the battery yourself AFTER it finally quit. You could have replaced the tail lights yourself in 5 minutes and maybe $5 for the light bulbs at the local parts store on the corner. And you could have done your own brakes in the driveway or garage on a Saturday afternoon for less than $100.

Fix it yourself car manuals are perfect for people like yourself. Spend the whopping $15 and buy a Chiltons or Haynes manual for your car. Start off by READING it cover-to-cover. Next time you need to have the car fixed, schedule a Saturday and flip to the correct chapter in the book. Get after it and save yourself some money!! Not to mention the pride of having fixed it yourself. You won’t think mechanics are so smart after you realize how SIMPLE a car really is.

25

I think you’re a bit off base with this for the following reasons.
They did not do this work off the cuff. You were presented a laundry list of problems and you obviously approved these repairs in advance so you have no legitimate complaint.

You state these items weren’t found at the last checkup. This apparently means sometime last year and there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then. So. How do you know those items were even defective at that time. Car parts can fail gradually or instantly.

In the interest of customer relations and part of pacification program they gave you 700 bucks back and you’re still complaining?

Complaint over the battery? The fact the battery appears fine to you does not mean for one nano-second the battery is good. It can start your car fine and yet it can fail a battery load test. Failing a load test means it may not start your car the next day.

The purpose of a maintenance, checkup, inspection, what have you, is to go over the car and point out problems that may exist or ones that may be appearing shortly.
If the dealer ignored this battery problem, said nothing about the belt, or even kept quiet about the oil cooler which could lead to a trashed engine, then no doubt both you and your hubby would be screaming bloody murder because the dealer did not advise you of these problems.

While this is a pricy bill, I think if it were carefully broken down in an objective manner you would find that everything is on the up and up.
Just my opinion here, but it appears to me what has happened is that you approved a laundry list of repairs, hubby went balistic over the amount, likely tore into you (and later the dealer) and now both of you feel ripped off and want to point fingers.

26

I’ve had nothing but bad luck with the VW dealer locally, including outright lies to my face. If you’re close to Falls Church I would try Volkswerks. They’ve been very good at doing things properly at a fair (if not bargain) price. If you’re further away, then check the listings on the Car Talk Mechanix files or the Washington Consumer Checkbook. You can cross reference them to find a good independent mechanic.

27

I think the timing of this “laundry list” is specious is what I’m saying. You could be right that these defects occurred “instantly,” but I suspect otherwise. There is, of course, no way to know.

As for my hubby and I, you don’t have to be sexist about it: my hubby has never torn into me over such a thing. We both know equally little about car repair and I’m largely in charge of our finances. What happened is that once the car was already at the shop and these repairs were detailed, we just didn’t have the time, what with the new baby and busy lives, to think about shopping around. Yes, in an ideal universe we would have said, “Just do what you’ve been asked to do” and then gone to another shop for the repairs.

Of course, in an ideal universe – and I think the posts here bear me out – the dealer would not have OVERcharged us for some of these items, and might have even thrown in the !(#$( tail lights for free. That would have cost them less and still earned our loyalty, despite the laundry list of items. As it is, we’re complaining because we DO think that they’ve acted in both a mercenary and dishonest way and I think I’m completely within my rights to keep complaining! I think dealerships need to realize that they can either make or break a customer’s next car purchase through their repair shops’ behavior. In this case, I’m inclined to not buy a VW regardless of how much I’ve enjoyed driving the car because I just don’t want to deal with this kind of a dealership.

28

Nancy, I Think That Both You And Your Husband Have A Good Handle On This Whole Affair, Right Down To The Bulbs!

Do you ever have a chance to compare notes with others at your places of employment? See if there is a consensus on particular car makes and dealers in your area the next time you go car shopping.

CSA

29

what do you think: should this “buy back” our loyalty at all?

Absolutely not. Going back to them will only reinforce this type of unethical behavior. [i]I can’t believe you are even considering going back to them.[/i]

…the axle boots needed replacing at 30K, and I needed new steering rack bolts at 35K… so while this is certainly the largest bill I’ve paid at this dealership by far, the other costs have totalled a bit over $2300. So, really, this car has cost just about $1250/year for car maintenance and repairs. That does seem a bit much., does it not?

I don’t think these were problems with the car. I bet they have been taking advantage of you for a long time.

Maybe they are padding the bill because you keep insisting on a loaner, which costs them money. Let go of this loaner issue and find yourself an ethical mechanic. See if you can find one with a courtesy shuttle to take you home and pick you up…or call a friend…or call Enterprise Rent-A-Car to some pick you up. If you make the loaner the most important issue, you will sabotage any ability to protect yourself form unethical behavior. Finding an ethical mechanic should be your first priority. Finding alternative transportation should be secondary. You really need to let this “loaner car” issue go. It isn’t that important since there are plenty of alternatives. Washington, DC has a better mass transit system than most other cities in this country.

My personal theory is that after having you raise your voice in front of other customers about a loaner, they have been trying to get rid of you by charging you for repairs you don’t need and overcharging you. Unfortunately, you have been so focused on the loaner car issue, it hasn’t worked…until now? Please tell me it is working now.

30

You’ve spent $4900 over a 40,000 miles duration, that’s 12.25 cents/mile. A more normal figure for a normal, non-luxury car would be 5-7 cents/mile. If you add up all your Acura bills you will no doubt find a much lower cost/mile.

On an 8 cylinder, fully loaded Caprice I spent $2570 over the first 40,000 miles on maintenance, repairs and tires. A good deal of this was done by the dealer, and included only replacing an idler arm as an actual repair item.

As you will have concluded by now, regardless of how good the dealer is, on a modern car, nothing is supposed to fail in the first 40,000 miles.

My son has a Mazda3, a compact economy car. This vehicle now has over 65,000 miles on it and the only “repair” it has had is a brake job. All other items have been normal maintenance. His total outlay is, of course considerably less than yours.

It’s best to think of a Volkswagen as a lovable child with unpredictable behavior and a number of serious health problems. Your love has to outweigh all those shortcomings. I personally do not recommend Volkswagens to anyone except mechanical engineers who are really into cars and can handle all their fussy requirements and quality shortcomings!!

A vulgar guy I know calls all Volkswagens “sophisticated crap”.

31

Nancy I share your pain. I had a 2002 passat so I know what youve been through. I had other VW’s that were just as bad. VW’s look nice and drive nice, but you just can’t trust them. I have found that VW was the worse company to deal with too. Finally, I wrote off Volkswagen and switched to Honda and I’ve never been happier.

32

I’m not surprised at what happened to you. Keep in mind that service writers are salesmen, just like the salesman who sold you the car in the first place. They get a commission on what they sell. They sell you what they can, and they really don’t care if you need it or not. It’s not unusual for a woman to get charged more than a man.

I have a woman friend who went to a chain store for brakes. They recommended $700.00 of brake repairs. When she said she wanted to check with her (non-existent) husband, they dropped the price by $150.00. I also pretended to be her husband when a dealer was giving her the runaround concerning a repair job. They had no problem with the diagnosis when I got involved. ( It was a bad alternator… pretty easy to check)

I’m glad that you are getting some of your back.

The bottom line here is that you should build a relationship with an independent mechanic for future repairs. If he does a good job for you, buy him a case of beer or a box of doughnuts once in a while.

33

Not that anyone else seems to think it matters, but do you happen to know whether Volkswerks has a loaner program? I’ve e-mailed them but haven’t heard back. I think they’re the right solution almost regardless, but would love it if they’d streamline the process (and not require me to arrange my own alternate transportation)…

34

When buying a car you want to keep a long time, the main cosiderations will be how long the body lasts without rusting out, and the parts availability. In addition, the life expextancies of the key components is important.

For lowest “life cylce cost”, an accounting and technical term, Toyotas, Hondas, Mazdas, and now Hyundais stand out for their long life, reliability and good parts supply. I friend of mine has a 13 year old Jaguar, and the dealer refuses to even try to order a part. The local Chrysler dealer will not stock any part for cars older than 10 years.

Agree that paying more for a Toyota than a Saturn Astra makes a great deal of sense. The Astra was designed by GM’s Opel of Germany (now in bankruptcy, but being sold to Magna International, a parts maker) and built in Belgium, sold by Saturn which has been bought by Roger Penske. The prospect of getting parts for this car 15 years from now are very slim. People who bought Daewoo cars can testify.

Ford and Chevy pickups are not the world’s best vehicles, but many 30 year old ones are still running around. The secret is cheap and readily available parts.

If we look at Volkswagens in this light we find: basic design flaws, shorter lived and more costly parts, uncertain future parts availability at reasonable prices (poor aftermarket), needlessly complex and unreliable electronics, maintenance schedules that almost certainly doom the transmission and engine to a shorter life.

Comparing this with Hyundai, we get better reliability, design for North American market use, cheaper and longer lived parts, and very good basic warranty, as well as better trained and less arrogant dealers. Volkswagens probably have better SEATS and slightly better BODIES, than Hyundais.

35

I have never got a positive experience where a service writer or mechanic on commission is involved.

I cannot even stand to go to my dealer anymore (out of warranty) since for a oil change that is only $25. They have nice laptops/internet for use and a nice comfy waiting room and usually quick service. However they recommend about $300-$900 of work each time.

On the other end my independent with a cold/barren waiting room who charges $40 for oil change says does not need to be done. Who do I trust a 22 year old service writer or Subaru master tech(independent) with 25+ experience working on them?

36

I’m not sure but I would sort of doubt it. Their phone is 703-237-5266 if you want to check directly.

37

I agree it is personally frustrating for someone who is somewhat knowledgeable about cars to have to talk to a service writer who knows nothing about cars and who can’t answer even the most basic questions. I haven’t been to a dealership for service in years.

38

Based on what you have told us so far, renting a car would be a lot less hassle than having to deal with being taken advantage of. You will spend a lot less time calling to rent a car and scheduling a pick-up than you have spent on this problem already. In terms of cost vs. benefit, using a service provider who gives you a loaner has cost you in money and time. You could save both money and time by arranging for your own transportation.

39

Okay, maybe DC mass transit wasn’t such a good idea.

40

This battery replacement issue is going to get complex. BMW has a plan that the battery must be registered (via the cars diagnostics) and the car will adjust its charging parameters depending on the age of the battery. This feature takes battery replacement out of the hands of the DIYer. This feature is comming to other type cars also espically ones using the new AGM type battery.