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| - While on vacation, I had my 2011 Jetta towed here because my key would not go into the ignition. I've found out since then that this is indeed a common problem and there are a couple of temporary fixes. I called them first and spoke to a mechanic. He acted like he had never heard of such an issue with VWs before and compelled me to bring it in, even though I told him that a simple google search had yielded a couple of possible temporary fixes to the problem. I only wanted him to confirm that this was true before attempting to acquire the necessary tools to do the job. He urged me not to trust what people on Google say and to have it towed in. I know, stupid me for trusting him at this point. But I was desperate and thought that if there was a quick fix, he would have the tools and at least try it first. Plus, I needed to drive home the next day.
Once the car was towed there, the clerk immediately had me sign for a "diagnostic" check. I came to find out later that the diagnostic check consisted of the mechanic attempting to put my key in the ignition and then concluding that the entire ignition system needed to be replaced to the tune of $1190. His diagnostic check was nothing more than what I had already done myself. When he told me this, I told him that I had read online that a small screwdriver used to push back the anti-theft mechanism in the key slot might do the trick. He refused to do It, saying that he did not want to break my car. He and the clerk at the desk also would not allow me to do it myself while the car was on their property. All I wanted was a temporary fix so I could drive home the next day as planned, but they insisted that the only way was to leave the car with them for a week while the necessary parts came in, and pay $1190.
I'm glad I did not listen to their advice. I'm also glad I argued with them over the "diagnostic" fee of $170 they attempted to charge me. In the end, I had the car towed off of their lot to another location, bought a $3 small screwdriver set of my own at a local Wal-mart, and was able to temporarily fix the ignition myself by breaking the anti-theft mechanism in the key slot, just like many people on the internet had suggested. It took me about 2 mins.
I drove home the next day and took it to a local VW dealer in my town. The clerk at that dealer service center told me that this was indeed a fairly common problem and was surprised that this dealer in Vegas had told me that they never heard of the problem. Unlike this dealer, he did not charge a diagnostic fee to take a look at my ignition, and quickly concluded that I had done the right thing in order to make my car driveable in the interim until I had the time and money to completely fix the system. To totally fix the system, he quoted me a price of $680, about half of what AutoNation wanted to charge me. He could not fathom such a fix costing as much as they wanted to charge me. Keep in mind, this is another VW dealer service center in another town. VISITORS TO VEGAS BEWARE OF THIS PLACE! If they know you need your car to get home, they will try and take advantage of you because they know your choices are limited at that point. DO NOT TRUST THEM!
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