My Passat B6 V6 I bought 27 days ago died today. Need help.

[jakiman]

Grrr.

My MY07 Passat B6 V6 3.2 FSI 4 motion I got off a Toyota dealer in March 30 died today.
(I basically bought the car 2nd hand from that Toyota dealer a month ago)

Last few days, Idle was quite noisy and I was hearing a rattling sound in the centre dash while driving. Thought it was just some wiring inside that was rattling. This morning, it got a bit louder and suddenly, it got much louder and my MFD said "Engine oil pressure low, turn off engine now". I veered off to the side of the M4 fmotorway and shut it off. Engine sounded like some diesel truck or worse towards the end.

I bought this off a dealer not even a month ago. I am pissed. I got it towed to them today but servicing was closed so I have to wait till tomorrow to even find out anything.

Is this a common issue? Anyone have any ideas what it'll set me back in terms of time/money? I shouldn't pay anything for this right? (I was told I get 3 months of warranty by law, then 3 years dealer extended warranty.)

Would love some ideas from you guys here on what I should expect and what I can demand from them.

[Rocket36]

This is very straight forward because you bought it from a dealer.

You're well within your rights to demand everything that's wrong with it is fixed - presuming they didn't sell it to you with any known issues (that they would have had to advise you of).

If they don't want to fix it, then you can get all your money back and leave them with the car.

[apom]

Not a good feeling. As long as your dealer is a registered one you should be ok. They are not always upfront, so be sure not to admitting to anything that created the problem, especially if its been modified in anyway. If its going to cost them money, sadly, a lot of dealers will do all they can to try and get out if it.

Lets hope the dealer is a good one and you get it sorted ASAP. Let us know how you go.

BTW, how many k's did it have on it?

[jakiman]

The car had 40500km when I bought it. Now it has around 41800km on it I think.

[Jmac]

This is very straight forward because you bought it from a dealer.

You're well within your rights to demand everything that's wrong with it is fixed - presuming they didn't sell it to you with any known issues (that they would have had to advise you of).

If they don't want to fix it, then you can get all your money back and leave them with the car.

I agree here they will have to fix that for you . And sounds like a new engine on the cards. Not so good. Hope it all gets resolved mate
Jmac

[jakiman]

I agree here they will have to fix that for you . And sounds like a new engine on the cards. Not so good. Hope it all gets resolved mate
Jmac

But the dealer would their best to not replace the engine right? It won't even be an option to them.... The engine surely would have been damaged while it was making such grinding sound right? Loud enough that the Toyota salesman immediately told me to stop the engine soon as I started it for him to hear it as it was so bad. Loud enough that the towing guy said that it REALLY sounds bad.

It's not under the original manufacturer's warranty so I'm worried they will just do a dodgy...

[Rocket36]

They have to provide you with a car that's in FULL working order. They are under no obligation to replace the engine but if that's the only thing that can be done to provide you with a car in full working order, then that's what they'll have to do.

I would arrange for an independent inspection/assessment if I were you. The dealer knows their obligations under law.

Good luck and keep us posted.

But the bottom line is they have to come to the party...

[Stephy]

They have to provide you with a car that's in FULL working order. They are under no obligation to replace the engine but if that's the only thing that can be done to provide you with a car in full working order, then that's what they'll have to do.

I would arrange for an independent inspection/assessment if I were you. The dealer knows their obligations under law.

Good luck and keep us posted.

But the bottom line is they have to come to the party...

Absolutely - my Polo came from a dealer and there were a couple of little things i wanted fixed, they did try to get out of it. Get it looked at when you get it back and if there is anything wrong, keep taking the car back until it is fixed in full... (Or just throw a royal tantrum - worked for me)

[Rthirsty6]

But the dealer would their best to not replace the engine right? It won't even be an option to them.... The engine surely would have been damaged while it was making such grinding sound right? Loud enough that the Toyota salesman immediately told me to stop the engine soon as I started it for him to hear it as it was so bad. Loud enough that the towing guy said that it REALLY sounds bad.

It's not under the original manufacturer's warranty so I'm worried they will just do a dodgy...

Mmmm, you better be careful. I don't want to scare you but I'm not sure wether warranty will cover running an engine low on oil! Expect the dealer to tell you that, trying to get out of it!
Have you checked the engine oil level since you bought the car? The (orange) warning low on engine oil should have come up first before telling you to shut the engine down. This might indicate a rapid loss of oil, were there any visible oil leaks after you stopped the car? If I were you I would prepare myself for worst case, and be well prepared when you talk to them.

Good luck!

[jakiman]

Mmmm, you better be careful. I don't want to scare you but I'm not sure wether warranty will cover running an engine low on oil! Expect the dealer to tell you that, trying to get out of it!
Have you checked the engine oil level since you bought the car? The (orange) warning low on engine oil should have come up first before telling you to shut the engine down. This might indicate a rapid loss of oil, were there any visible oil leaks after you stopped the car? If I were you I would prepare myself for worst case, and be well prepared when you talk to them.

I checked the oil dip. It was full. Even after the i shut the engine off after the problem. I never had the engine oil light light up and im sure no engine oil leaks ever happened. Not a single drop in my parking spot at home since I got the car and none on the towing truck's tray while it was towed to the dealer. So it's still all in the sump. So it's definitely not through negligence. =P

[Rocket36]

So it's definitely not through negligence. =P

Well not yours anyway...

[jakiman]

Okay. I just got a call back. I'm FURIOUS and need a place to vent or I'll go nuts. Read this and let me know what you think.

NEVER EVER purchase cars off Shane and Clint from Use car sales in Alto West Pennant Hills Toyota.
They are a bunch of liars and have the worst customer support skills ever. They need some softskills lesson.
Service called me up saying they have no idea what's wrong with the car and they won't be able to give me any more updates today. (which pretty much means they stopped looking at my car for today) Then told me they ran out of loan cars and sales should be able to provide one.

Got transferred to Shane. He told me that he cannot give out loan cars as he doesn't have the authorisation level and that person is not in today.

Then I asked for his manager. He hands it to Clint. Another salesman. He told me he's the manager for today. He first said he doesn't have any cars available to loan out as they need to be booked weeks in advance. Then later on, he says "lt's put it this way. we do not loan out cars". Then I told him you are constantly changing your words. When I told him you were basically lying. He said. "Yeah".

Then Shane takes over the call again. He's now basically pissed off and is raising his voice saying we do not loan out cars. Period. Then he says his manager who will be in tomorrow may be able to if he feels like it. I told him why did you put me through to Clint when I asked for your manager. He said he never did. He said he left the phone down and Clint just picked it up out of his own free will. Yeah right. I know the tricks. I've been in customer support for over 10 years myself. (Clint even told me he was the manager)

I asked who is higher than you or clint. I want to speak to him. He then threatened me saying if I say anything wrong to this super boss, he will pound me. WHAT THE. Then he just hung up the phone. (heard him say "I can't deal with this" or something similar before the hangup)

I was FURIOUS.

I just called reception and tghe lady won't pass me on to this main manager. She says she's the relations manager. Then when I was explaining the stuff all over again, she said she need to call me back coz she has to take other calls coming in. What is this.....??!??!

So I'm waiting now.

Tell me my rights. Gimme some ideas. What should you do in my shoes??

[team_v]

Go to Fair Trading
That is outrageous and very sub-par handling of a business/client.

Edited to remove informaton that was clarified by Rocket.

[Rocket36]

Deep breaths mate.

OK, to clarify you are complaining to the wrong people about the wrong problem. FORGET THE LOAN CAR issue.

The dealer must, by law, fix your car so that it is in full working order as per the sales contract. You did not enter into a sales contract for a car that required or was likely to require MAJOR work.

Do NOT involve the media if you want this to be resolved smoothly.

Do NOT talk to salesmen. You should be dealing with the Sales Manager or his management chain. Salesmen are not going to give a ***** about your problem.

Contact the Department of Fair Trading (not the ACCC) with the story of what has happened so far but do NOT mention the loan car debacle. They will be able to provide guidance and what rights you have etc.

AFTER you have spoken to the Dept. Fair Trading, arrange for a meeting IN PERSON with the Service Manager.

Remember the key problem you have here is getting your car fixed and not whether or not you can get a loan car. Don't piss off anyone at the dealer (may be a bit late for that) as you will only get a reputation through the whole place as a whinging git.

As inconvenient as this is, this sort of thing happens. There's nothing anyone can do to completely avoid this bad luck. It could happen to anyone. The best you can do and the best advice I can give is cop the inconvenience of it on the chin, remain calm, maintain common sense and deal professionally with the SERVICE MANAGER. It might be worthwhile dropping in to arrange the meeting rather than over the phone. And I'd even eat some humble pie and make some face to face apologies about what's happened so far. You lose nothing from doing that and will find how your problem is managed will be a LOT better. You may also be lucky and get a courtesy car while it's sorted out but don't count on that. They aren't obligated to provide one.

I sympathise with you but hopefully cooler head will prevail. The Dept. Fair Trading is your friend. Treated right, the Service Manager (or his management chain) is your friend. And you can bet once the Dealer Principal finds out about it he's going to want to sort it out quickly. Dealing with Fair Trading is NOT something they want to be doing.

Keep us posted.

[Rocket36]

Oh, and arrange for an independent mechanical inspection ASAP. They are a Toyota dealer after all and not a VW dealer.