From: dld80@ccc.amdahl.com (Don Dusza)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: A dealer to avoid???
Date: 30 Jul 92 06:28:11 GMT
Reply-To: dld80@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com (Don Dusza)
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

Hi all.  I want to thank everyone out there on the net that replied to my
dealer woes.  

I took my '91 Jetta back to Stan Antonio VW/Hyundai this morning to discuss the
bent hood episode.  I talked with the service manager about it and he took a
look into it.  He fixed the hood by twisting it counterclockwise a couple of
times.  Soon it was back to normal with the hood resting on both rubber bumpers
midway up the fender.  His theory behind the damage was that the hood was 
lifted by the passenger corner abruptly (Ok, I can somewhat buy that).  Why
didn't I do the twist move?  Mainly to bring the problem to their attention and
because it is under warranty (of course!).  I left with the satisfaction that
a wrong was righted and it may not happen to someone else later.

Since the topic is up and others have shown interest, this is my recomendations for bay area VW dealers.  First, I went to almost every VW dealer last fall
looking for my new Vee Dub.  I finally purchased the car at Al Sanchez VW/Jeep
Eagle/Mazda in Gilroy, Ca (about 35 miles south of the bay area).  My impres-
sion with the sales staff is really good.  No pressure tactics, no mind games.
They even gave a reasonable schedule on the downpayment.  The Jetta is pretty
loaded with A/C, Sunroof, etc. and they even threw in the set of cast aluminum
wheels (ARE brand rims that Acura puts on the Integra in a turbine design, 
painted to match the car) and sticky, low profile Conti's (*gloat* 8^) ). A few
minor things surfaced in the following days and they even called me about some 	things that they found when the car was delivered (things I never even noticed).The service staff was fast, friendly and was happy to answer silly questions.

Two weeks after purchase, the water pump seal between the halves started to 
leak coolant (Honey, one of the little red lights on the dash came on today
on my home from work...).  I called around and Boardwalk VW in Redwood City
by San Fran. said they could get me in right away.  Off to Redwood City I go.
I was very impressed with the shop and the service.  In and out in 1.5 hours 
with a new water pump.  The shop was extremely clean and big.  The sales people
that I talked to at search time were relatively low pressure.

The experience with Stan Antonio's sales crew was not good.  The sales people
were intercepting as we got out of our truck.  They would not stop pestering 
even after repeated "Were just looking"s.  They had cars with small dents and 
scratches in the hood and fenders. Sad.  The service dept. has been fair to 
good with missed promise times being the downfall.

This is the 4th VW I have owned ('70 Fastback, '72 Super Beetle, and '80 Wabbit)and I still love em'  The others were owned in the harsh NWern Indiana where 
the winter road salt took it's toll.  The shops I dealt with there were cheap
as you find for VW parts and did good work on repairs.

Overall, the best IMHO is Boardwalk, then Al Sanchez, then Stevens Creek VW in
San Jose (haven't been there yet), and on down to Stan Antonio. YMMV, especiallyin California.  If you want to send me your votes for best VW dealer, I can 
post a list of recomendations by state.

                                          Don
                                          Longwinded Jetta Owner
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw