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| - 1 Star is not a low enough rating. I purchased a VW Beetle about 10 years ago from a different dealership when I lived in the east valley. My Beetle was already 5 years old when I bought it and it lasted me 7 years without any major mechanical breakdowns. I only traded it in because I needed a bigger car otherwise I would still be driving it.
Because of this, I had no issues buying another VW when my husband needed a new car. We lived in the west valley and it made sense to go to a dealership on our side of town. We leased a 2015 VW Jetta TDI (Diesel) in August of 2015, one month before the TDI scandal happened.
I was less than happy with the car buying experience, but I figured it was typical car salesmen stuff. I only wanted my monthly payment to be a certain amount and I did not want to spend more. The car salesmen and the finance guy kept using the line "Well, if you can't afford it" when they quoted me a monthly payment that was $100.00 more than I wanted to spend. I kept telling them it was not a matter of affording it, it was I did not want pay them my hard earned money. I told them I did not appreciate the tactic and I began to leave. They finally cut it out and I ended up paying the amount I wanted with the extended warranty.
When the TDI news broke one month later, we went back to the dealership, obviously upset. They told us we could trade the car in at a loss or wait for VW to handle the situation. Both options were not great, but we decided to keep the car and wait it out. The dealership did not have anything directly to do with the mess VW created with the emissions issues, so I will omit that from my story.
Anytime we would have to take the car in for service that was under warranty, we would get the run around from the dealership. They would always try to tell us it was not under warranty. We purchased the extended warranty that included interior detailing and oil changes. Anytime I would make an appointment, they would insist it was not under warranty. I would have to throw a fit in order for them to actually perform the work. They would also tell us that the car needs more services (for example an alignment), when everything was fine.
When the car overheated last week, I called the dealership. Mind you, we have not even had the car 3 years yet. They told me some of the parts were under warranty still, others were not. If we wanted to have them look at it, it was $130.00 for them to perform a diagnosis to even find out if it is under warranty. If it was under warranty or we had them fix it, they would not charge us the $130.00. If we took it somewhere else, we had to pay them the $130.00. We ended up taking it to the dealership because VW gave us roadside assistance because of the scandal, but you could only tow it to a dealership. We had the car towed to the dealership Thursday afternoon. When I called them they told me they couldn't look at it until tomorrow since it was almost 2:00 p.m. I called them at 1:15 p.m. and they are open until 5:00 p.m.
On Friday afternoon they told us a hose for the coolant system had to be replaced and they had to order the part. (I have a hard time understanding why a VW dealership needs to order a hose for a VW) They quoted us $60.00 for the hose and $35.00 for the fluid and almost $400.00 for the labor. When I told them that was ridiculous, they told me it was their standard labor cost for this hose. They finally finished the car on Saturday afternoon. We had to call them to check the status.
When we drove the car home Saturday afternoon, we noticed a strange smell, but we figured it was just left over coolant. My husband drove the car to work on Sunday morning with no issues. On his way home Sunday afternoon, the car was steaming and it starting to overheat again. He parked in a random parking lot and we called the dealership.
The service department was closed on Sunday. I asked to speak to a manager and I ended up being transferred to a sales manager. I did not know at the time he was a sales manager. I was told that no one at the dealership could get us a loaner vehicle until Monday, but he would be happy to evaluate the vehicle as a trade and put us in a new vehicle. I told him I would not own another VW even if someone gave it to me for free. He then said oh, well I can put you in another brand of vehicle. I told him that I would not give this dealership any more of our money ever.
We had to tow the car home since no rental car places were open on Sunday afternoon and we have no way to get to the dealership this morning. We went back to the dealership this morning. They told us that the hose broke in the same spot and we are not the only ones who have had this issue. I am not sure why or how they think this makes it better. They gave us a rental car, but they did not reimburse us for the tow. Furious is an understatement.
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