Bad Experience with VW Service Dept

[DGen]

Just had my first bad experience with the VW service department at Solitaire Adelaide.

Picked up my Mk 5 Golf not more than 2 months ago and immediately when i took it home i noticed a few things not quite right. Nothing major but imperfections nonetheless and things not acceptable for a German built $60k car.

I took it to the service dept to review, they agreed with the problems and that they needed to be fixed. They were;

- Poorly aligned and fitted rear bumper (manufacturer fault)
- Poorly aligned and fitted centre console (after market fault)
- AUX Jack for IPOD not functioning correctly (bad sound quality) (Not sure if this was a faulty unit or not installed correctly as VW wouldn't tell me)

There were other minor imprefections but i thought it overkill to highlight these as i didn't want to be "that guy".

I took it to get these things fixed yesterday, arrived this afternoon to pick up the car where the service manager informed me all had been rectified.

Walked over to the car and immediately could see that the rear bumper issue was still not fixed, plain as day you couldn't miss it.

Went inside the car and noticed the centre console was not fixed, and now not only was it not aligned correctly but now was loose also.

The AUX jack i had no way of checking if it had been fixed as i didn't have my IPOD on me.

Sure, the car is under warranty, but what good is it taking a car to get problems fixed by the people who are meant to know what they are doing if clearly they have no clue???

Now i have had to leave the car there for another 2 days to see if they can fix it properly this time.

Sorry for the dummy spit, just needed to vent. I love my Golf, but i have no confidence in the Adelaide service dept.

[maca]

Firstly... I'm guessing it's an R32 for 60k right?

Secondly, it doesn't matter if you're that guy or not. You want what you paid for to be right and that's that. Regardless of what they think of you, you reserve the right to be happy with the service they're providing and at the moment you're far from it.

The next time you need to take your car in, specify that you want a loaner for the time they have your car at no charge ($33 per day I think). Also let them know that you won't be returning the loan car until you're satisfied with the result of your car.

I know it sounds harsh, but if you play hard ball from day one I can guarantee you they won't stuff you around in the future. Good luck

[DGen]

Thanks Maca,
Yes it is an R32.

Yes got the loan car for free, something i stipulated upfront which they could not argue with. But bloody annoying going from an R32 to a lesser vehicle. I wanted to take the car home tonight and bring it back in the morning. Hate leaving it at the service dept.

I was cool about the defects as they were not major issues and easy enough to fix. What really revved me up was the fact that they told me it was fixed and all smiles when i walked into the office; however as i was walking to the car with the service manager and still 20 metres away i could see the rear bumper was not fixed at all.

I didn't play hard ball last week, just reasoned with them nicely. I was far from nice this afternoon. I did cause a bit of a scene though and did so intentionally in front of their customers.

Basically walked inside after seeing the car, detailed that i was less than impressed quite loudly in front of other customers, then asked for the head honcho, as he excited his office i arrogantly pointed at him and aggressively i must admit said "YOU, COME WITH ME!"

I surprised myself how arrogant and abrupt i was towards them but what really pissed me off was the fact the service manager also saw that the bumper wasn't fixed properly and i waited for him to say something and to my disappointment he didn't, thinking i hadn't noticed the bumper was still not fixed.

That's what caused me to make a scene. Trying to cover up their mistakes.

[maca]

Don't worry too much about maing a scene.. Just don't be rude to them. You've made your point now and they know you're not there to be messed around with and I'm sure the next time they'll do the job they're supposed to (to avoid this confrontation again).

Be nice but firm.

[Greg Roles]

Get it fixed, then only return to VW for other warranty issues. Get all your service work done at a VW specific independant, who actually wants your business. You'll get customer service AND at half the price. Surely people on here can recommend someone in your city.

I'm currently getting all these warning e-mails from my dealer as I haven't returned for service, and whilst I have had no major issues with their work, the cost, and the obvious lack of care made seeking out a recommended VW / euro garage for scheduled service an easy choice.

[Guest212]

Your bumper hasn't been fitted incorrectly at the factory mate. Your car has been pranged and repaired. This is not uncommon at all on brand new cars.

[bazzle]

Your bumper hasn't been fitted incorrectly at the factory mate. Your car has been pranged and repaired. This is not uncommon at all on brand new cars.

Good to see your expert opinion Yom.
It will make the orig poster feel great... not.

DGen, what did they say when you pinted out the unfixed items?
Can you post a pic?

Bazzle

[DGen]

Good to see your expert opinion Yom.
It will make the orig poster feel great... not.

DGen, what did they say when you pinted out the unfixed items?
Can you post a pic?

Bazzle

I didn't take a photo of it before i took it in. I took it to a panel shop owned by my cousin and without taking it apart he said that it looked like the clip in that section has not clipped in correctly and was sitting above the clip. This causes a bulge in the centre of the bumper just below the rear door lip. The edge of the rear door actually hits the bumper and has scratched it where the bulge is.

The bulge is very obvious, you can see it a mile away.

Yom thanks for your opinion on the issue, i hope this is not the case, i actually made a point of asking if there was any transportation damage on the car which had been fixed prior to taking delivery of the car as i know this is common. They assured me there was no damage on the car. Whether to believe them or not is another matter.

I had the service manager call me this morning and try and convince me that the 3rd problem to do with the poor audio quality from the AUX cable is just the way it is. Total bollocks, my wifes $25k Toyota has the same aux input and the audio quality is fine. Checked it with 3 different IPOD's and still no better.

So he tried to make a sale out of it telling me they will throw in labour to fit the after market IPOD accessory... As expected i told him this wasn't good enough, i paid for an IPOD connection which worked, so they should install an IPOD connection that works without cost to me.

[DGen]

DGen, what did they say when you pointed out the unfixed items?
Bazzle

They had to agree with me, it was plain as day. I then asked them how they could allow the car to be deemed to have been fixed if something so obvious was still clearly not fixed?

I asked them what the sign of procedure was as someone has to sign off on the job being done correctly, so whose job was it to check the workmanship?

They opted not to answer any of these questions and simply said they would fix the problem.

Clear that their service guys have no clue and that they have no Q&A procedures.

[Maverick]

I had the service manager call me this morning and try and convince me that the 3rd problem to do with the poor audio quality from the AUX cable is just the way it is. Total bollocks, my wifes $25k Toyota has the same aux input and the audio quality is fine. Checked it with 3 different IPOD's and still no better.

So he tried to make a sale out of it telling me they will throw in labour to fit the after market IPOD accessory... As expected i told him this wasn't good enough, i paid for an IPOD connection which worked, so they should install an IPOD connection that works without cost to me.

You didn't pay for an IPOD connection, you purchased a car that has a auxiliary interface that you can plug any device that has a analog output into.

Have you tried changing the settings on the aux in from high to low on the headunit or adjusting the output on the ipod?

[Big Yellow]

i run my iphone through the aux and find that the iphone has to be set on max volume. also depends on the quality of the mp3s. for example, my cd rips play perfectly, however, some downloaded songs are very low volume and im guessing it could do with the bit rate or whatever they were encoded at.

[DGen]

You didn't pay for an IPOD connection, you purchased a car that has a auxiliary interface that you can plug any device that has a analog output into.

Have you tried changing the settings on the aux in from high to low on the headunit or adjusting the output on the ipod?

Yep did all that, at delivery we tried it, at the service dept we tried it, and service deduced that the error was with the aux plug itself and that it would be replaced.

Now they are saying that is just the sound quality from the stock aux input, i simply said if that is the sound quality no one would use it and therefore i have paid for nothing so the unit must be replaced with something that actually works.

i run my iphone through the aux and find that the iphone has to be set on max volume. also depends on the quality of the mp3s. for example, my cd rips play perfectly, however, some downloaded songs are very low volume and im guessing it could do with the bit rate or whatever they were encoded at.

Tried testing that also. In short i took an ipod to my wifes Toyota with the same AUX input played the same track and the sound was CD quality. Then plugged the very same ipod and played the same track into the Golf and it was disturbingly bad.

Don't worry too much about maing a scene.. Just don't be rude to them. You've made your point now and they know you're not there to be messed around with and I'm sure the next time they'll do the job they're supposed to (to avoid this confrontation again).

Be nice but firm.

Thanks Maca, agree 100%. I'm a lot calmer now, but being taken for a fool by the service manager in trying to palm off the bumper as being fixed is what got me going.

Will be heading past there later today and provide you all an update. Will be on my best behaviour.

[WEDEL.1]

Is yours a grey 2-door?

[Maverick]

Yep did all that, at delivery we tried it, at the service dept we tried it, and service deduced that the error was with the aux plug itself and that it would be replaced.

Now they are saying that is just the sound quality from the stock aux input, i simply said if that is the sound quality no one would use it and therefore i have paid for nothing so the unit must be replaced with something that actually works.

Was you car equipped with a RNS 510 which was removed and replaced with a RCD 500 or vise versa?

[DGen]

Is yours a grey 2-door?

No its a 5 door.

Was you car equipped with a RNS 510 which was removed and replaced with a RCD 500 or vise versa?

Yes it was upgraded to the SatNav system, not sure of the model number of this though. And is was a pre delivery fitment.

Is yours a grey 2-door?

You wouldn't happen to work for Solitaire would you?

Just got a call from service dept, apparently all fixed... Will find out at 5pm today.