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Hatchbacks Volkswagen Golf Volkswagen Owners: Dealer & Service Experiences 
55 messages, Last post on Sep 26, 2003 at 6:57 AM
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Believe it or not, alot of carmakers have horror stories like this. There is a lemon in every carmaker's lineup sooner or later. It's bound to happen. You just got one of them, that's all. Sorry to hear of all the problems with the car. Have all these repairs been covered under warranty or not? |
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Just had the 40K service performed on my '99 GLS V6 (5 Spd). Did it a bit early (39K+) to accommodate schedule & take care of Recall notice (2ndary air vacuum line). Cost seemed high: $356 (without brake fluid change or tire rotation; former done last year; did tires self), but nearest 'not mistrusted' dealer wanted something like $600 (!) to do the job (nearly fainted...). At least the car was returned without significant damage (one noticeable scratch across trunk lid; polished it 90% out...sigh... but car has numerous other surface scratches from 3 years driving), and it does run well - seems to have a tiny bit more 'oomph,' and the MPG is Perhaps up a bit, but don't really have enough time to tell that. Am still impressed by the Passat - major problems are numerous paint chips (no rust, but the front end has dozens of tiny chips exposing white (?)undercoat) and more 'rattles' than seem appropriate, even though they (mostly) only show up on rough / uneven pavement. Beyond this, the car is going strong - ride, handling, performance, lots of creature comforts (a loaded GLS V6), and I still park at the back of the lot & walk away 'backwards'... Cannot say For Certain that it would get replaced with another Passat - there are a lot of very nice cars out there - but anything else would have to be Very Impressive: after 3 years this car has been nearly problem free, and is still a joy to drive Spiritedly (major standard of comparison: Taurus SHO, 5spd). |
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My friend who has VW Passat V6 1996 has a lot of bad experience with repair service. Could anybody recommend a good and reliable dealer/shop which is really professional and responsible for the work they are doing. My friend is living in Hinsdale about 20 miles from Chicago. I would be greatful for any info about good repair service for VW Passat in Chicago area. Alex |
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| Have a 2001 Jetta Vr6 with 47,000miles. I was putting on about 120 miles a day / 6 days a week for about a year..so they are all highway miles..car is less than 2 years old, and at 41,000miles my check engine light comes on. car's acceleration is terrible now, and my A.M radio reception is now lousy. Smithtown VW replaced knock sensor, cam sensor, knock sensor. In that order, all after about 20 miles the check engine comes on again..acceleration is still terrible. These guys are professionals? $650 bucks later they take the car in for 10 days, now they think a wire in the harness is shorting. But it is in the harness so they have to replace the whole thing...$1100 dollar job...finally got VW to "good will"me the harness at $400. got the car back 10 days later accelerating better. but they did not hook up speedometer. told the dealership I thought the 8 hours labor was unfair, since they just kept replacing sensors that already costy me $650 needlessly....Lou the service mgr could care less. and in between all this my window falls into my door...apparently the plastic that holds up the windows is shattering on a lot of vehicles. I was pissed could not get my window up...I have leather interior, what if it rains? They fixed it supprisingly enough that day in 3 hours....anyway after they did the harness, 10 miles later...guess what....check engine on again...and I find out they set back the timing or something so that I would not notice the loss of acceleration as much...I used to redline at 65oorpm they set it back to about 5100rpm...did not even notify me...seems a bit much....the smithtown dealership in NY is terrible, service is the worst .....the whole ordeal with the unfair pricing led me to telling my story to someone in the showroom, and they went crazy...when I asked the for my receipt on the window repair they refused, so I told them I would not leave without it...and they called the police....what customer service..anyway got to tell my story to 3 other police officers...who would not by a car from that dealership...guess I got something accomplished..any one having similar complaint son windows, radio reception shorting out sensors...service similar to what I got at SMITHTOWN VW in NY? VW customer service is of no help, they say they can do nothing about dealerships the yare independent franchises? Who polices the dealerships? doesn't VW of america care...finally got an address from germany, will keep them posted...and they tell me ther eis no one else I can talk to ..no mediators? is this true....? I kno wI am rambling but I am so frustrated at this point....Thsi car was great till I got to 40000 miles...is that all $26.5K gets me? someone please help...... | |
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Check out the attached document for more details. http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbumPhoto.asp?userid=JettaDude&album_id=103437&image_id=19 |
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PLEASE READ THIS before buying any new Volkswagen! I bought my '00 VW GTI 1.8T brand new a couple of years ago from Flow Motors here in Winston-Salem, NC. Despite meticulous care and conscientious maintenance, the vehicle was nothing but trouble from the start. Here's a brief rundown: I had the car in the shop SIX times to have window problems fixed. (The passenger door glass was replaced twice due to deep scratches caused by the power window mechanism, and the easily broken "retainer clip" which connects the window glass to the door motor had to be replaced several times as well). Try driving 40 miles down the interstate back to the dealership with the driver's window stuck in the "down" position, and you you may appreciate my mood at the time. I had to use vacation time to take the car in for service immediately, as any precipitation would have ruined the interior, and my belongings inside the vehicle were unprotected from the elements, not to mention theft. Virtually every exterior bulb -- headlamps, turn signals, and brake lamps -- burned out on this supposedly well-built "German" vehicle within two years of purchase. One headlamp burned out TWICE, despite having been replaced with a genuine VW bulb from the dealer. The cheap plastic hinge on the glove compartment door broke twice. The whole door has to be replaced when this happens. (Hey VW, why not use a METAL hinge if you're going to spring-load the glove box for that pleasant "dampened" feel?) The clutch went out after only 40,000 miles (a very costly repair). Bear in mind that I did not abuse this vehicle -- most of the miles were accumulated in fifth gear on the interstate. The air conditioner started malfunctioning last summer, leaving me drenched in sweat more than once, but luckily started working again. Don't ask why. I hate to think what a new condenser would have cost. The turbo blew an intake valve, causing a loud "fluttering" noise during acceleration. The "check engine" light came on as well. The turbo valve cost around $200 to replace, and the part was not covered by VW's touted 100,000 mile powertrain warranty (even though the VW salesman specifically told me that the turbo WAS fully covered by the extended warranty when I purchased the vehicle). The six-disc, trunk-mounted CD player was problematic, constantly jamming and generating a bogus "disc error" message. (I had the same problem with numerous newly-purchased CDs, so it wasn't the software.) I had to pull over, pop the hatch, remove the cartridge and "spin" all the discs to listen to any of the CDs. A nuisance to say the least, particularly while commuting or driving in bad weather. Disgusted with the constant breakdowns, I threw up my hands and traded in my GTI on an '03 Subaru WRX after the last repair epdisode, during which I was bluntly advised by VW maintenance personnel that my inoperative driver's side window could not be repaired because no replacement parts were available anywhere in the country. (No replacement parts nationally for a '00 model! GET REAL!) It took calls to the general manager and regional service director to finally get the parts by special order, and I drove a rental for a couple of days while they replaced the assembly. Now, after absorbing a loss on my trade to avoid more unforseen repairs, I get a letter from VW stating that they're generously extending the manufacturer's warranty to cover certain window problems. (The dealer advised me that VW has known about the problem for years, but refused to issue a timely recall, and will now have to spend a cool $100 million to replace thousands of defective power window assemblies in ALL models.) Please, learn from my mistake and CONSIDER ALL YOUR OPTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOOSING ANY VOLKSWAGEN PRODUCT. There are just too many other choices, folks, to be stuck with a sub-standard product that makes for a great test drive but provides poor reliability and dealer service down the road. If you find yourself sipping cold coffee and sitting for hours in the waiting area of your local VW repair shop while the same old defective part in your "German-engineered" vehicle is replaced yet again, you have only yourself to blame. This is a true story, and I have the service records to prove it. (I'm not alone: a friend of mine had a '00 New Beetle that needed a full brake job after only 15,000 miles and started belching black smoke soon thereafter -- another hurried trade-in.) Look, I'm not a mechanic or race fanatic who spends a lot of time arguing about which brand is better than another. I'm just an ordinary consumer who expects a $21,000 brand new vehicle to have things like a reliable engine, working windows, a functional CD player and a useable glove box. Don't let VW do the same thing to you -- do yourself (and your wallet) a favor and stay away from this "German-engineered" (and Argentinian built) brand until they make quality control and customer service a priority. |
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Odd your profile indicates you own a 94 Saturn and are shopping for a Maxima - did a turbo GTI blow your Saturn's doors off and now your mad so you post a bunch of lies? I run into this all the time on these boards - My GTI has been perfect - no regrets whatsoever. |
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| funny...my 02 Golf was assembled in Brazil | |
| I can see someone having an experience like that with a GTI. I have had a not-so-great experience with my 02 Jetta (mostly rattles though), but not to the extent of those problems. | |
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I have had my 2001.5 Passat for 18 months and I have had some minor annoying things go wrong with it and the dealer has always taken care of it with no problems. I enjoy the car and dont fret over minor issues like headlamps and glovebox doors when I bought the car for the enjoyment of the drive. Dealer was Ed Schmidt in Perrysburg, just south of Toledo, Ohio. Definately would by another VW, and would buy from them. Parents bought a Passat after me and my brother bought an A4. Its unfortunate that some people get that lemon and then dont get help from your dealer. Its easy to get mad, but what real good does it do. |
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