Getting Screwed over by VGA

[josho85]

Hi All,

Thought i would join this forum in hopes that someone can provide a little bit of advice on the issues that I have had with VGA.

Please see link to full story.

Vibration/Clutch Issues

Any help much appreciated.

[brad]

WOW! Interesting.

It appears VW arrogance continues on despite last years bad publicity.

talk about cutting off your nose (willing to live with cancellation of 2 sales) to spite your face (for a lousy clutch repair). You'd think they'd be smart enough to offer to pay for parts.

I assume the repairing dealer was the same as the selling dealer (Bayford)? What does the dealer principal say as usually they are more concerned about sales & repeat customers than they are about workshop.

[Buller_Scott]

so it's still a case of when you buy a new VW, you're on your own?

damn.

[Transporter]

Well, when you put oversize wheels on your car, you put much more stress (loads) through the drivetrain, starting with clutch and DMF, wouldn't you agree?

Keep in mind that we hear only one side of the story.

To the OP, you might be well within your warranty rights, but when you use oversize wheels you giving them the opportunity to make you pay for the repair.

If you feel that you're getting screwed by VW, take your car to an independent business (who investigates faults) who could asses the fault and give you an advice on what to do.

[gldgti]

Well, when you put oversize wheels on your car, you put much more stress (loads) through the drivetrain, starting with clutch and DMF, wouldn't you agree?

Keep in mind that we hear only one side of the story.

To the OP, you might be well within your warranty rights, but when you use oversize wheels you giving them the opportunity to make you pay for the repair.

If you feel that you're getting screwed by VW, take your car to an independent business (who investigates faults) who could asses the fault and give you an advice on what to do.

Thats true transporter, but that increased load (lets say up to 10 percetn for really big wheels) is nothing when compared to the increased load incurred by towing a loaded trailer, for instance, which the amarok is undoubtedly designed to cope with.

Nonetheless, it seems that VGA are trying to take advantage of this point, for whatever misguided and wrongful reason, and they appear to be doing the OP an injustice.

[Transporter]

Thats true transporter, but that increased load (lets say up to 10 percetn for really big wheels) is nothing when compared to the increased load incurred by towing a loaded trailer, for instance, which the amarok is undoubtedly designed to cope with.

It all depends, in off road and the car loaded in reduced gear the forces will be much bigger than on the car with oversized tyres used on the road.

I don't know if the VGA is trying to take an advantage or not, since I didn't see the OP's car and don't know the other circumstances. As I said he should get it looked by the third party if he feels he is unfairly dealt with.

[AdamD]

To the OP, you might be well within your warranty rights, but when you use oversize wheels you giving them the opportunity to make you pay for the repair.

If you feel that you're getting screwed by VW, take your car to an independent business (who investigates faults) who could asses the fault and give you an advice on what to do.

Whether VWA choose to decline the repair under warranty or not (and for whatever reason they see appropriate), you'd have to admit that the lack of care and respect taken by VWA towards the customer is very disappointing. Yes, we're not privy to all the details, but it's clear to see that the OP is unhappy with the communication he's had with VWA - irrespective of the outcome - and all this despite being a valuable repeat volume customer.

VWA should understand the implications of putting customers offside like this. When customers feel left out or mistreated - especially when loyalty is involved - the stories will get out. And they can only tarnish VW's reputation further.

[brad]

If I was VW I'd come to some type of agreement regarding the repairs on the proviso that the vehicle was put back to OEM spec.

It's a commercial vehicle - surely they've built more headroom into the how much stress the components can take than an F1 car?

We're talking about a vehicle that has a 1.2tonne payload capacity, 3 tonne towing capacity & designed to be used off-road aren't we?

[shami]

Whether VWA choose to decline the repair under warranty or not (and for whatever reason they see appropriate), you'd have to admit that the lack of care and respect taken by VWA towards the customer is very disappointing. Yes, we're not privy to all the details, but it's clear to see that the OP is unhappy with the communication he's had with VWA - irrespective of the outcome - and all this despite being a valuable repeat volume customer.

VWA should understand the implications of putting customers offside like this. When customers feel left out or mistreated - especially when loyalty is involved - the stories will get out. And they can only tarnish VW's reputation further.

I wonder if car manufacturers read forums?

In this day and age, a savy customer would no doubt trawl through forums considering other consumers experiences. I think fortunately or unfortunately, in this day and age customer service in paramount. Social media and forums like this can have a real influence.

I understand that not all complaints have merit but i think you can still give a customer bad news but make the experience palatable.

[brad]

I wonder if car manufacturers read forums?

In this day and age, a savy customer would no doubt trawl through forums considering other consumers experiences. I think fortunately or unfortunately, in this day and age customer service in paramount. Social media and forums like this can have a real influence.

I understand that not all complaints have merit but i think you can still give a customer bad news but make the experience palatable.

I don't think there are that many savvy customers. A friend recently bought a VW. I specifically told them to stay away from the DQ200 DSG7... so they bought a car with the DQ200 DSG7 (despite wanting a manual). I see people do this all the time.

As an example of good customer service, last year my accomodation I'd booked through AirBnB in Salzburg was cancelled 2 days before I was due to arrive (the apartment was flooded due to burst water pipes). AirBnB emailed me about the cancellation & offered me $300 credit on their website towards finding alternate accomodation in such a short timeframe. That's how to handle a problem.

[nat225]

I wonder if car manufacturers read forums?

In this day and age, a savy customer would no doubt trawl through forums considering other consumers experiences. I think fortunately or unfortunately, in this day and age customer service in paramount. Social media and forums like this can have a real influence.

I understand that not all complaints have merit but i think you can still give a customer bad news but make the experience palatable.

not many who work in a cars company are cars enthusiasts, lot of people do their work to keep their banks happy



Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk

[bombsquad21]

My experience with VWA has been one of the poorest customer service experiences I've ever had. Candidly an anonymous VW service tech reiterated that VWA are somewhat famous for their rudeness and ineptitude. My personal experience obviously, feel free to PM me for details!

[bombsquad21]

Hi All,

Thought i would join this forum in hopes that someone can provide a little bit of advice on the issues that I have had with VGA.

Please see link to full story.




Vibration/Clutch Issues

Any help much appreciated.

Josh, do you mind PMing me with the name of your case manager, mine also wreaked of smugness. I was irate by the end of our first encounter. I was going to possibly let it slide, but maybe not?

[sVWatt]

Contacts;

Rita Hamzey
Customer Service Team Leader - Aftersales at Volkswagen Group Australia
Sydney, AustraliaAutomotive

Or
Wayne Taynton
Executive Director at Bayford Group
Melbourne, AustraliaAutomotive
He was pretty good and fixed up a single VWA issue I had.

Or
Ben Wilks
General Manager Marketing at Volkswagen Group Australia
Sydney, AustraliaAutomotive

Ben stakes his career on "My key objective is the increased engagement of consumers with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles by ensuring a competitive product range and thoughtful, relevant communications that give substance to our brand values."

Maybe get some clarity from Ben on just what those brand values are...

[Snail Style]

I'd just like to point one thing out to the misguided concept that dealers want to avoid doing warranty work...

The labour rate is actually higher one warranty jobs(ie. the dealer makes more money on them than the same job if a customer were paying). Therefore there really is no incentive for a dealer to turn away a job.

HOWEVER, if the job isn't within warranty guidelines(like muddies on your rok) then they will most likely knock it back and likely tell you to contact customer care if you like. Reasons for this are because if it does get carried out, and later investigated, then the fault is deemed to be out of guidelines then the dealer will have to repay the warranty cost of the job and a percentage of ALL warranty jobs carried out. Just think about how much that will add back up to...

They tell you to contact customer care, because if they get involved and pull some strings(which does happen) then they are covered from having to repay due to any warranty issues.