Towbar - Poor workmanship

[Scullers]

I had a tow bar fitted to my 2011 wagon last week by the local VW dealership.

Later in the week the car went to a local auto electrician to get a brake controller and anderson plug fitted. Upon collection the auto electrician apologised that they hadn't been able to ft the anderson plug to the right of the seven pin socket as we'd discussed and had instead had to fit it around several inches to the right.

The reason for the odd placement was due to an oversized hole cut by the VW dealer when fitting the tow bar. Rather than removing a section of the bumpers underside just sufficient for the tow bar to drop through, they'd cur a hole around 3 or 4 times that required. As such there was nowhere on the underside of the bumper to secure the new socket.



Further to this.. the hole was very roughly cut (see pictures) and they'd carelessly gouged the rear section of the bumper during the process.





The auto electrician thought the work undertaken by the dealership was shoddy to say they least. The service desk is
closed for the easter weekend but I'm planning to take this up with them directly next week.

From the dealers point of view are they likely to see this acceptable?

Does anyone think I'd be justified in demanding that they made good on this with a replacement bumper?

Any other thoughts, comments would be appreciated.

Cheers Russell

[ian]

That looks like some novice fitted it , .I'd be more than upset if that was my car.

[Transporter]

I would take it back to that dealer and demanded to fix it or replace the bumper bar.

[Umai Naa!!]

Agreed, that is a poor job. If any of the lads at the dealer that used to employ me presented that as their completed job, I would've complained on the customer's behalf. All cut-outs are ment to be neat, and filed smooth.

Furthermore, why was the 13-pin -> 7-pin adaptor harness permanently fitted? Where is the bracket that is normally welded to left of the towbar tongue, that holds the 13-pin plug?

take it back, and demand it be rectified.

[h100vw]

Check once cut twice, that's my motto. 9 inch grinder not a dremel. Pretty gash job joking aside, get your angry head on.
Gavin

[MJW]

I have also had an issue with my factory fitted towbar. The tow plug has been mounted crooked & so far forward that one corner protrudes being the furthest point of the bumper. I definitely intend to have them rectify on service. Not on when you pay so much for the supposed peace of mind for factory fitting.

Scullers, I think you have a strong case for a new bumper. Hope they paint match correctly!!

[Umai Naa!!]

They should be able to just replace the lower valance. Providing they don't damage the upper painted part in doing so.

[WestOiler125]

They should be able to just replace the lower valance. Providing they don't damage the upper painted part in doing so.

Yes, the bottom valance is a separate piece on the B6, so imagine the same on the B7. Having had it replaced following a run-in with a bollard some years ago...

[Scullers]

They should be able to just replace the lower valance. Providing they don't damage the upper painted part in doing so.

Yep. Showed it to the dealer today and they offered to replace without hesitation. Admitted it was a lousy job and they'd sort it out.

The oversized cut out is however due to the position of the pin. It has to be as large as it is on the left so you can remove / replace the pin that hold the neck & towball.

[wind]

Amazing what sort of hack job they get away with on a tow-bar install!

Having read this post, I was concerned about how my tow-bar install will go (have a new Passat wagon due to be delivered towards the end of June) - so went to the dealer to look into it further, and, guess what??, a Passat wagon with a towbar was sitting near the showroom. Stuck my head under the back end and saw this:

(view from left of tow bar)

(view from right of tow bar)

I was amazed at how much of the plastic they had cut! What gets me the most is why did they cut the vertical part of the plastic??? I think Russell (1st post), apart from the scratches, may have gotten away with a 'better' finish/smaller hole that this guy did!


Soon after seeing this (the car was just outside the showroom - waiting to get serviced I think), I spoke with the dealer rep handling my purchase and he has agreed (in writing) that their installer and I will speak about the tow-bar installation on my car BEFORE they cut any plastic. I had made it clear that if the bumper of my car is butchered this way, I will demand that the damaged part be replaced and a smaller hole cut before I would accept the car.

With the power of image editing - these show the size and shape of cut cut I would like them to do on my car (fingers crossed!):

(view from left of tow bar)

(view from right of tow bar)

Let me know what you think - is it a reasonable expectation on my part or am I pushing the boundary a bit hard??

[Umai Naa!!]

Yeah, that is pretty rough. No filed edges, over-cutting, scratching.

The front side of the valance doesn't need to be removed at all.

[Transporter]

Why they don't have (use) the stick on template for the jobs like these is beyond me.
Anyone with the tow bar ordered should print this thread's pages out and give them to their dealers before they butcher their bumper bar.

[Umai Naa!!]

There's actually a mould line on the inside of the valance that indicates where to cut. It seems some installers don't feel that it's sufficently big enough. There is a template with the instructions, however.

[wind]

Thanks guys - good to hear that they have templates etc. with the tow bar installation instructions.

Will take photos and post them in this thread when my wagon gets its tow bar done (about 4 weeks time).

Can't see them taking more than half a day to do the whole tow-bar install (including the usual stuffing about!) and I do want them to get it done right - so am happy to spend the time at the dealer when they do it (I think of it as peace of mind insurance).

Looking at the pictures and the scratch/gouge marks, I get the feeling that they cut the hole on the car by eyeball not by template (that is, not removing that part of the bumper - saving the dealer a couple of $$$). Will definitely ask to see the instructions and the tow-bar kit box when I meet/speak with the installer before they touch my car.

[wind]

Update on tow-bar fitment . . . what I got on my car:

The Service Manager at the dealership I got the car from told me that the 'hack-jobs' seen around would not have been done by his people as all of them are factory VW trained and the strictly follow the factory guidelines . . .

While speaking with them, I also found out that if the car is a commercial delivery (i.e. company car, like mine) then the tow-bar (and other accessories?) is fitted by the service department of the dealership. On the other hand, if the car is a normal (consumer) purchase, the tow-bar is fitted by VW pre-delivery (i.e. before it gets to the dealership).


When I came in to speak with the Service Manager, his 2 guys doing the tow-bar install on my car had the rear bumper already off and the inside of the bumper very clearly showed the cut lines embossed on the plastic and they also had paper templates/drawings for the hole with VW logos on them.

I noticed that there were 2 cut lines marked/embossed on the inside of the bumper: (i) a smaller rounded/elongated oval one - I am assuming for when a tow-bar with no power connection is fitted and (ii) a larger rectangular one - for the tow-bar with power connection is fitted.


Having seen this and with a chance to speak with the guys doing the job to express my concerns about some of the tow-bars running around and how I wanted to have a neat finish with a minimal hole, I left them to it and when I picked up the car a few days later, this was what I got:



[


I admit that on the left hand side, the hole is (slightly) bigger than what I had hoped (would have liked) for it to be but apart from that it is neater than some of the examples floating about.

In general, I am reasonably happy . . .