From: ari@viipuri.nersc.gov (Ari Ollikainen)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: Dealer to avoid (revisited)
Summary: VW dealers no different from other auto scumbags
Date: 15 Aug 92 02:29:41 GMT
Organization: National Energy Research Supercomputer Center, Livermore CA

In article <1992Aug14.203516.7834@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> ac579@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (G.C.J. Timm) writes:
>
>>Dealer oriented BS deleted for brevity.
>
>Customer oriented anti-dealer rant deleted

Having bought and owned VWs since 1961, I've seen a steady deterioration
in customer satisfaction regarding dealer performance in both the sales 
and service areas. It used to be easy to get warranty service at VW dealers.
But in the last ten years this feature of the VW customer "safety blanket" has
eroded to the point that *if* it's a warranty covered item one can be assured 
of a long wait in obtaining the part as well as an equivalent wait in getting 
in repaired/replaced. I lost count of the number of window motors my 
Scirocco had on order, although the fix was not the motor replacement but the 
redesign of the motor mounting in the door(s)... Failed fuel-pump relays in 
three different VWs in the same year, leaving me stranded a long way from 
civilization, ignition locks which failed in the "locked" position in two 
VW buses, blown head gaskets in aircooled Beetle as well as air-cooled T-2
Bus, requiring rebuilds and consequent waiting around VW dealers in isolated 
places around North America ( both of which resulted from poor quality control
of normal maintenance services at VW dealers...elsewhere....Of course this 
was in the good old days of VW America when they covered "dealer" service...)

I drove around Scandinavia with a leaking powersteering reservoir because *NO*
Scandinavian dealer would/could order an American spec replacement part!! When
I picked up my Westfalia at the docks  on the West Coast I had to take a 
pint of Dexron with me to make sure the system had enough fluid to operate.
It took *weeks* to get a replacement reservoir...from...GERMANY!! ARRRGHH!!
This same vehicle almost stranded me in Frankfurt a few blocks from the 
Tourist drop-off point when the fuel-pump quit. I used the juice in the twin
batteries and the starter motor to get it to its destination. The people at 
drop-off agency were amazed that I would leave them with a non-functional
vehicle. My response was that since the fuel system was going to be flushed 
at the shipment prep point anyway, they could order up a new fuel pump 
ahead of time...They weren't happy, but the Wetfalia *was* under warranty...

The ultimate sleaze was my local VW franchise which was sold to Reggie 
Jackson, whose management operated under the caveat emptor rules:

1. Wife's Vanagon had a *total* brake job (front disks/rear drums turned, 
  pads and shoes replaced) which lasted 15Kmiles when the right caliper
  ground up the right disk. Turned out that the left disk was too worn also...

2. Warranty service on my Westfali to replace fueltank filler neck and 
  associated leaky rubber-and-fabric hoses was performed under the emission
  warranty grudgingly -- I had to read and show them where the warranty said 
  they should make the repairs *without cost to me*. Turns out they didn't 
  replace *all* affected hoses. So when the fuel started leaking again after
  filling the tank, I took the vehicle back, only to find that they were out
  of business. The next dealer I took the problem to did the same thing...
  they only replaced the leaking hose. Now it's leaking again and its been 
  out of warrany for over two years.... I consider this poor service and 
  also poor design on VW's part.

3. And the BS with the injectors that get fouled by "Bad Fuel" and need 
  "cleaning" or replacement...Well, we had this happen with my wife's Vanagon
  when it was a week old. We got the run around at the dealer, at first, as to 
  how it wasn't their problem, etc., etc. Eventually they cleaned the injectors
  and all was well for a while. Both our Vanagons were fueled from the same
  station (Chevron )and my wife's was the one that kept having the problem.
  After a lot of phone calls to various parts of VW, I finally got them to
  replace the injectors!

4. Or how about diagnosing a blown head gasket based on  eye-balling a 
   coolant leak? When I questioned this, the service writer reconsidered and
   tried to sell us a new water pump [ symptom: coolant would drip from 
   engine compartment when vehicle was stopped after freeway driving; temp 
   gauge did not show rise in coolant temp. eventually Low Coolant light came
   on while stopped on a freeway transition ramp...]. I rejected the diagnosis
   and did the troubleshooting myself to discover that the coolant reservoir
   had a crack in the bottom which only leaked when the host coolant expanded
   the coolant reservoir plastic. Wait for part: 1 week. Fix: removal of
   reservoir and application of silicone sealer.

5. Or the amazingly sievelike AC system on my wife's Vanagon. The freon was
   recharge twice under warranty and the third time, some seals were also 
   replaced also under warranty. The ^%#^7@& AC holds a charge for about a 
   season and is useless when the temperatures start up again in the spring.
   No one has been able to provide me with a satisfactory explanation for this 
   behavior, especially since I make sure that the AC is cycled regularly
   in colder weather. And, in comparison, my 1986.5 Scirocco 16v AC was as
   effective in September 1991 when I traded it on the SHO as it was when new
   in July 1986...

I could go on and on...Suffice it to say that a good dealer is one that tries
to make sure that his customer is satisfied and will return for service
or another purchase and/or recommend him to others...

Ahhh...what's the use?

PS: Noe my wife's Vanagon *needs* a replacement steering rack!!! We're making
do with frequent Dexron fill ups of the power steering reservoir until we can
sensibly deside to dump her Vanagon on some other brand van... I'm not sure 
the EuroVan is in the running as a replacement vehicle.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw