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Hi everyone,
Back at the end of 2013, I bought a 90TSI Comfortline Golf VII. Between my 90,000km and 105,000km service, the car started using a very significant amount of oil (may have started increasing earlier, but that was the first time I had to put more than a litre in between services). The dealer looked at the car at 105,000km and over the following few months determined that the oil consumption was well outside even VW's very loose acceptable tolerance, and diagnosed it as needing new pistons and rings due to carbon build-up. Cost quoted at $8,000.
Given that a car of similar age in good condition is worth about $10,000, I'd say this falls very much into the category of "uneconomical to repair". I'd have also expected rather more than 100,000km out of a non-performance vehicle driven pretty gently over its lifetime (to give you an idea of how I drive it - I actually get the rated fuel economy).
Now, I get that this isn't a brand new car any more, but I'd have thought that an engine should last well over 100,000km before it costs essentially the full price of the vehicle to fix? Am I kidding myself here? Or does this not meet a reasonable standard of durability? Looking around the internet, I see other people have had similar issues. I'm wondering if anyone can give some advice in an Australian context? VW have declined to assist once already based on the age of the vehicle, and are refusing to talk to me directly (they say they changed their policy on this at Christmas time and now all communications must be done through the dealer). The dealer seems to have some sympathy for my position, but obviously isn't volunteering to do the work out of the goodness of their hearts...
I guess what I'm wondering at this point is what can I do? Have you had a similar problem? Did you have more luck than me? Should I pursue this with the ACCC based on the vehicle failing to meet a reasonable standard of durability? Are there any more economical ways to get this back to a working standard, and if so, why have I not been quoted for those? I'd really appreciate some assistance, as I'm at my wits end here...
Back at the end of 2013, I bought a 90TSI Comfortline Golf VII. Between my 90,000km and 105,000km service, the car started using a very significant amount of oil (may have started increasing earlier, but that was the first time I had to put more than a litre in between services). The dealer looked at the car at 105,000km and over the following few months determined that the oil consumption was well outside even VW's very loose acceptable tolerance, and diagnosed it as needing new pistons and rings due to carbon build-up. Cost quoted at $8,000.
Given that a car of similar age in good condition is worth about $10,000, I'd say this falls very much into the category of "uneconomical to repair". I'd have also expected rather more than 100,000km out of a non-performance vehicle driven pretty gently over its lifetime (to give you an idea of how I drive it - I actually get the rated fuel economy).
Now, I get that this isn't a brand new car any more, but I'd have thought that an engine should last well over 100,000km before it costs essentially the full price of the vehicle to fix? Am I kidding myself here? Or does this not meet a reasonable standard of durability? Looking around the internet, I see other people have had similar issues. I'm wondering if anyone can give some advice in an Australian context? VW have declined to assist once already based on the age of the vehicle, and are refusing to talk to me directly (they say they changed their policy on this at Christmas time and now all communications must be done through the dealer). The dealer seems to have some sympathy for my position, but obviously isn't volunteering to do the work out of the goodness of their hearts...
I guess what I'm wondering at this point is what can I do? Have you had a similar problem? Did you have more luck than me? Should I pursue this with the ACCC based on the vehicle failing to meet a reasonable standard of durability? Are there any more economical ways to get this back to a working standard, and if so, why have I not been quoted for those? I'd really appreciate some assistance, as I'm at my wits end here...
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