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Volkswagen Beetle Maintenance and Repair

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What is this discussion about? Volkswagen New Beetle, Coupe, Hatchback

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#140 of 1064 Recently ripped off by sammyair Aug 28, 2003 (4:11 pm)
I purchased a "certified" 2001 New Beetle with 23,000 miles for my daughter on 7/10/03 from Bill Barry Volkswagen in West Hartford, CT. The clutch failed on 8/14/03 after we had the car for about 1,000 miles.   The service manager at the dealership immediately concluded that since it is a wear item it's not covered by warranty. When the car was sold the warranty was represented as "bumper to bumper". Of course they were going to mail me a copy of the warranty document. I haven't seen it yet. I can only blame my own stupidity for falling for that one. I questioned how the clutch failed so soon. The dealership's position was that the car was driven improperly. That's odd, since both my daughter and I have been driving our other car that has a manual transmission with no ill effect. Additionally,in Connecticut, state law requires a 60 day or 3000 mile used car warranty against any mechanical failure in a vehicle which costs $5,000 or more. Repairs are supposed to be made by the selling dealership at no charge.   The dealer proposed a compromise. Repair at their cost, $857 some compromise. By the way that is not cost. Their cost on the parts is around $400 and they could have a tech do the work when their shop is not loaded.   I have three concerns.   1) Volkswagen of America refuses to get involved to help protect a consumer of their product.   2.) Bill Barry, the dealer principal, is ethically challenged and VOA apparently doesn't care. The guy wouldn' even return my telephone call until I made it clear I would file a complaint with DMV.   3.) Certification is smoke and mirrors. What about the next thing that breaks?   My solution. I have instituted a small claims lawsuit against the dealer. I also named Volkswagen of America as co defendant. I have subpeonaed the dealer, his service and sales managers and the Volkswagen Zone Manager.   My worst case scenario is that at least I'll have the satisfaction of costing them a lot of time and negative publicity.   I will never purchase a Volkswagen again. I'm trading this one in against a a Honda fairly soon.
#141 of 1064 sammyair by fish8 Aug 29, 2003 (4:01 am)
Sorry to hear about your problems with the clutch in your Daughters New Beetle. BUT, the clutch IS a wear item and is usually not covered under the bumper to bumper warranty. Since the car had 23,000 miles on the odo when you purchased it and you only put on 1,000 miles, you have no idea how the previous owner drove the car. If the previous owner knew they would trade the car in at around 20,000 miles, maybe they drove the car hard and therefore the clutch went premature. I think you would have a chance of winning if the part that went was the engine or transmission, but since it is the clutch, I am not sure how much of a case you have. For the most part, clutch wear is indicative of how it is used. If it is abused it won't last as long as expected. I hope all goes well for you. This is the reason why I will never buy a used car.   BTW: Did you actually get a lawyer that would handle the case?
#142 of 1064 sammyair by lngtonge18 Aug 29, 2003 (5:03 am)
I agree with the above poster. I'm sorry to tell you this, but the clutch is a normal wear item, just like brake pads, and is only covered for the first 12k miles. This is the case for every car, not just VW. After that, it is purely a case by case determination on the part of the car manufacturer. VW does have the power to grant a "good will" repair but since you are the second owner, there is a smaller chance they will do it and they are under no obligation. In all honesty, your beef should be with the dealer and the former owner, not VW. A good dealer would offer to fix the car for the cost of the parts only, as a good will gesture. I don't think you should blame VW and vow never to buy their cars again due to abuse caused by a former owner. I wish you luck in your repair, but take this experience as a lesson to make sure you understand what "bumper-to-bumper" means.
#143 of 1064 clutch problems by p100 Aug 30, 2003 (5:27 pm)
I am going to side with sammyair on this one. I have been driving manual transmission cars for years and I have never worn out a clutch yet on any of them (kept a few for about 125K miles). It takes a really incompetent driver to wear out a clutch at 23 K miles. Because the Beetle is not exactly a sports car, they would have to ride the clutch constantly to wear it out so quick. My hunch is that Volkswagen has too many problems with their New Beetles and there have been quite a few complaints about clutches failing prematurely.   I bought a new Volkswagen Quantum in 1986 - a piece of crap. Had four speedometers replaced in it before the car hit 6K miles. They kept putting defective rebuilt ones in. The car started loosing power after 3K miles, VW never fixed it under warranty, treated me like dirt, and refused to buy the car back. I have not bought another VW since and likely will never buy one again. I know exactly what some of the people go through with their problematic VW cars.
#144 of 1064 Dejavu Clutch by bugpoop Sep 10, 2003 (4:29 pm)
I can attest to VW clutch failures - My 2000 Turbo with 29,000 miles has gone through 3 clutches. And yes, I did get the "it must be the driver crap too." Since this was my second vehicle with manual transmission, I wasn't buying it (I drove my previous car for 100,000 miles and never had to replace the clutch.) VW of America was helpful the first time, hesitant on the second and told me never to call again after the third repair. In the end, the dealer worked with me on repair for the third clutch, so the previous poster may want to work on the dealer more - especially since this problem is not an isolated event. I plan to get rid of the bug ASAP while the clutch is still working!
#145 of 1064 Driver's side switch by spiritualquest Sep 13, 2003 (7:30 pm)
I have a 2001 NB TDI. When I open the driver's side door, it is supposed to turn the interior lights on, notify me when I leave my lights on, and who knows what else. Well, the switch does not work. In previous cars, the switch is simply a button that pushes in. When it does not work, the button is usually stuck in the closed position. A little WD 40, and it gets unstuck. I cannot find the button or switch. Anyone know where it is? Replies to this message: mewild (Aug 29, 2005 6:58 pm)
#146 of 1064 A/C problem by jed1894 Nov 12, 2003 (8:13 pm)
New Beetle owner here (03 TDI). The A/C went out (it never worked actually). However, it blows, and the light comes one, but no cold air.   Any suggestions? Fuse, relay?   JED
#147 of 1064 Jed by fish8 Nov 13, 2003 (9:11 am)
Take it to the dealer. Why are you trying to figure out what is wrong with your New Beetle? With the purchase of your car, you get a 4yr 50K mile warranty. Get your money's worth and use it.
#148 of 1064 FIRE by zekesmom Dec 17, 2003 (12:52 pm)
I have a 99 NB GLS and had absolutely no problems (well, other than the window clips) but it recently caught fire while I was driving it. I'm guessing it's electrical (still haven't heard back from the shop) since it came out where the AC/Heater knobs are.   Has anyone else had this problem??

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