Golf GTI Service and the adventures that followed

[dkgti]

Hi All,

Just wanted to post this as a warning to all to be careful even when getting your car services but a large inner city (sydney) unnamed VW dealer.

Description:
1.Took my 06 GTi DSG for service on a tuesday
2.Was ripped off for the 60K service and dealer did not believe me when I complained about the rear doors not opening.
3. Next day, bad/weird smell was coming out of the car
4.Wife drove the car and it overheated!
5.I opened the bonnet and noticed that the top part of the air intake was missing- Bingo! The dealer did not refit it properly and it got lodged between the cooling fans which then gto shorted out and needed to be replaced!
6. Local dealer agrees that locks in rear doors need to be changed and apparently this is relatively common! So much for this problem 'never happening with golfs" as advised by the other dealer!
7.Local dealer notices that the CV boot is split! Why did this happen? Not even picked up by the servicing dealer 2 days earlier!
8. Completely lost confidence with Stealers

Not happy Jan!

[Maverick]

2.Was ripped off for the 60K service

How were you ripped off? Did you ask for a quote before the work was done? Did you get an extra services?

3. Next day, bad/weird smell was coming out of the car
4.Wife drove the car and it overheated!
5.I opened the bonnet and noticed that the top part of the air intake was missing- Bingo! The dealer did not refit it properly and it got lodged between the cooling fans which then gto shorted out and needed to be replaced!

Whilst this may have been the dealers fault this is a common fault where that part can be dislodged and damage the fans.

7.Local dealer notices that the CV boot is split! Why did this happen? Not even picked up by the servicing dealer 2 days earlier!

Was it a fresh split or had it been there some time?

[dkgti]

Hi,

In answer to your questions:
*Was told the price include DSG service but it did not
*They also gave me a ridiculous price for the brake pads
*The air intake issue was definitely the dealers fault- they did not put it back on properly.
* The CV split looks fairly new to me.

There is absolutely no excuse for the dealers conduct and lack of capability!

[KWICKS]

C'mon, it is our responsibility as car owners to ensure the next generation of mechanics has something to learn from their mistakes on, so we continue to send our cars to dealers for service.

[TDIESEL]

How were you ripped off? Did you ask for a quote before the work was done? Did you get an extra services?



Whilst this may have been the dealers fault this is a common fault where that part can be dislodged and damage the fans.



Was it a fresh split or had it been there some time?

What is it with your obsession of sticking up for the dealers Mav ? Or should I say all except for one that we know you love bagging.

The guy got crap service from VW service professionals...I'd be annoyed too.

Another point in case towards the dealer screwing up just as much as any other log book servicing joint.

[brad]

Whilst this may have been the dealers fault this is a common fault where that part can be dislodged and damage the fans.

If it's so common then why didn't the techs take extra care to ensure correct fitment?

[SmutsGTI]

All too common story unfortunately. Even though my first service was reasonably priced and the service acceptable i think this was the exception rather than the rule. The only reason i took it there was to get Warranty Items addressed. There was a girl in there with a nice MK4 who wanted her handbrake adjusted and pads replaced $790 later she walked out of there. I had a chat with her and she will be heading to VW Village the next time around, she really thought the dealer was her only option.

Smuts

[dkgti]

And.... to add fuel to the fire they also lied to me about the state of the brake wear.

I was told the front discs were at the min. thickness, front pads have 500klms to go and rear about 2500klm to go.

Other dealer assessment: Front disc have can be machined once more and should be fine, front pads need replacing but could go for another 5,000klms, read pads fine ( 20,000klms left).

[brad]

And.... to add fuel to the fire they also lied to me about the state of the brake wear.

I was told the front discs were at the min. thickness, front pads have 500klms to go and rear about 2500klm to go.

Other dealer assessment: Front disc have can be machined once more and should be fine, front pads need replacing but could go for another 5,000klms, read pads fine ( 20,000klms left).

Giving an estimated mileage is helpful but really means nothing. They should tell you how many millimetres of friction material are left and what the lowest recomended thickness is (I don't like less than the thickness of the backing plate ~3mm).

When i was spannering, I told customers they had an estimated 5,000km left & they were back a month later because their vehicle usage had changed (started towing a caravan). Others I've told ~1,000km left and they get 5,000km out of them. It's very hard to give an accurate assesment.

Also, some people want to get it all done at the service & not go back to the dealer for 12 months; others seem happy to call in every other month.

I don't think dealer1 are liars but they do sound incompetant.

[VW Convert]

Hi,

In answer to your questions:
*Was told the price include DSG service but it did not
*They also gave me a ridiculous price for the brake pads
*The air intake issue was definitely the dealers fault- they did not put it back on properly.
* The CV split looks fairly new to me.

There is absolutely no excuse for the dealers conduct and lack of capability!

I was under the impression the DSG service is carried out at 60,000KM. As the DSG service itself is quite expensive, there would be a very significant price difference between a service including and a service excluding DSG service. I'm wondering how much the service did cost you?

My dealer quoted me a stupid price for pads at my last service, I politely declined and got it done elsewhere.

Cheers

George

[dkgti]

Cost me $1300 +

[mikinoz]

While I appreciate you are upset, there are many surrounding circumstances that are not covered in your original post.

Please remember that the members of VWW will look to help you out with support, but really, your best recourse is via the Service Manager then with VWAustralia.

In perspective, if you have an itemised invoice, where is the majority of the cost attributed to - because it is hard to be objective without all the information.

Not saying you are wrong, but some more detail will help us form calculated responses.

[Greg Roles]

Do what the rest of have done, find a recommended specialist who gives a damn about your car and business, and charges "normal" prices. There's several out there!

[dkgti]

Everything is sorted now- the other dealer fixed things up.

I want be talking to the VW service manager at fault again- have been unhappy with the quality of work and service for some time.

[VW Convert]

Cost me $1300 +

Was this including the DSG service?

Cheers

George