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Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
Gunther is going back to VW on Wednesday.

I washed and polished him at the weekend (because the dealer had done a shocking job and there were bits of polish and wax all over him) and noticed that the paint finish on the bonnet is really bad. There are white spots between the paint and the laquer that wont polish off, and even a totally matt patch on the back bumper, which, now I've noticed it, I can't stop looking at.

The leasing department of our organisation take delivery of the car and then give you a time to come and get it. I assume they check the vehicle over before letting the delivery driver go, but they've missed the paint faults (probably because it was dirty when it arrived).

I know it's only paint, and I know it's a lease car, but it IS my brand new car that I'm paying for on a subsidised lease, and I don't think it should have these faults. Do you think they'll try to put it right, tell me to go away or allow me to reject the car? Can you reject a lease car?

Thanks
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Altea Ego
PG - some points

1/ If you are paying for any part of the lease, (and dont forget if its classed as a benefit in any way you are also paying tax on it ) you are entitled to have a perfect car when new.

2/ The leasing company who own the car are entitled to have a perfect car when new,

3/ You cant reject the car from VW because its not your car.

4/ The leasing company can demand money back from you at the end of the lease for any defects above "fair wear and tear commensurate with mileage"

5/ Given 4 above, you can reject the car from the leasing company, who in turn can insist VW repair it under warranty. And if it effects residual value of the car at end of lease time then they will.


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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Armitage Shanks {p}
TVM has given top advice - as usual. I wouladd that your comments re the dealer confirm a widely held suspicion, in the BR, the VW dealers are not very marvellous and on many levels!
Two week old Golf with bad paint - cheddar
Agree with TVM however to clarify his point 3/ ...........

3/ You cant reject the car from VW because its not your car.

......... the leasing company would not own the car if it were not for you and you are their customer so they may be persuaded to support your rejection of the car, perhaps get an second opinion though before pushing for this, perhaps your fleet manger or any aquaintance you have in the motor trade.

About 15 years ago I rejected a company car on the day it was delivered because it was not the the spec I ordered, Vauxhall had changed the spec though the dealer had not advised me, the fleet manager supported my argument and the dealer had to find me a car from stock of the required spec or order one with the missing features added as options. As it happened they did the former so I only had to wait another week or so for the car that I had been expecting.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - commerdriver
I guess it depehds on your fleet department.
You need to call them for advice as a first action, I would expect them to help get it sorted out. I think rejection of the car is probably going a bit far for a bit of dodgy paintwork but that's just my opinion.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
I guess it depends on your fleet department.


In my long experience of company cars it was never really possible to get anything like this sorted out - fleet deparments just think you're being ungrateful. I ran a car for 18mths with the emissions light on which the dealer was unable to fix for more than a few days at a time - it ended up being a handy excuse whenever I wanted a day off.

It might be useful to get some paint done on it, then if you damage it yourself you can get a cheap repair done, and blame the original job if it gets noticed.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Stuartli
>>you can get a cheap repair done, and blame the original job if it gets noticed.>>

A truly upstanding and moral view...:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
I did originally email the leasing dept but they just said "take it to the dealer and if it needs fixing, VW will contact Appleyard." I don't think they want to get involved past the actual ordering and delivery of the car.

Thanks for the advice. At least I will be a bit more clued up on Wednesday now!
Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
Well, the verdict is in.

After sitting in VW for the best part of four hours I was finally approached by a delegation of the customer services lady, fleet sales manager and bodyshop manager. I knew it had to be bad when they all showed up! They were very apologetic for the wait and for the fact that the car isn't as perfect as it should be.

The white spots are down to....wait for it..... industrial waste falling from the sky. Honestly!

The bodyshop man said that he has found the spots all over the car, not just on the bonnet, and also on the glass. He says that the fact that they're on the glass means it's not a paint fault and must have fallen from the sky. I beg to differ, given that the spots are clearly between the paint and laquer, but they have offerred to give it a full deep clean and polish next week "as a gesture of goodwill" (they were very careful to point that out!) so I will wait and see what that brings. They were also very keen to point out that the car hadn't been sat anywhere because it was 8 weeks from placing the order to delivery and it was specially built for me.

The matt area on the bumper they are blaming on a "quick fix" at the factory, and they are going to sort that out when it goes back in for the polish so I'm not too bothered about that.

Anyone else had this excuse for bad paint? What if the polish doesn't work?

Two week old Golf with bad paint - Adam {P}
I could be talking complete and utter crap here but the fact they're offering a full polish may indicate a sign of guilt why else would they do it? As a goodwill gesture? A VW dealer? A car dealer?!

If you wouldn't mind asking the bloke when you're there next week, what "industrial waste" falls out of the sky? Is he on about kerosene and...well - toilet waste falling out of planes or particles from industrial plants coming down in the rain? If the latter, how come my car, parked next to a massive ICI plant for two weeks on the trot doesn't have these spots? Or my uncle's car which is parked in the dead centre of what's likely to be the highest concentration of smoke belching, polluting factories? He has black paint which is immaculate after two years.


Like I said though - I'm tired, bored and strangely not hungry which is a little unnerving, so I could be talking rubbish.

Good luck anyway.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
I did suggest that you wouldn't get anywhere.

One of the main advantages of having a company funded car is that they (your company, or whoever they palm these thing off to) should take of any problems. If they're not interested, then why should you be?

If I were your boss, I would go *bonkers* if you'd spent 4 hours of working time sitting with VW.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - harry m
with attitudes like that it's no wonder cars are made so badly.some of us have to buy cars and would like them made properly.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
with attitudes like that it's no wonder cars are made so
badly.some of us have to buy cars and would like them
made properly.

Believe me, I would be incandescent with rage if it was mine (and I've always run my wife's car, as well as having a company one), but no company I, or friends in a similar position, have worked for, has ever been helpful in resolving problems. Sure, they'll send off a stiff email, but they rapidly lose interest and you're fighting a losing battle. The garage doesn't care, because they know it's not your car so there's nothing you can do to force their hand.

Your employer just thinks you should concentrate on your job, and not spend their valuable time worrying about the car - they don't care either, because the cars are leased, so it's no loss to them. Even when cars need rectification at lease end, my previous employer just used to pay the bill, rather than have an argument with the employee (I only found out they did that when I got promoted and started to see the managment accounts.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Altea Ego
A suprising amount of industrial waste DOES fall from the sky as it happens. However

Had I been that bodyshop man I would have shown you the same spots on the glass, did he do that? If not
why not?

Anyway, see what it looks like after they have fettled it a bit, and if its not good loose your rag then,

Thought about posting pics of the spots on the HJ MSN group site?


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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Two week old Golf with bad paint - JohnM{P}
Regarding waste, falling from sky:
Many years ago, a colleague parked his fairly new Escort near a building site in London. When he returned, it was covered with many splats of concrete. When he invited the site foreman to inspect his car, several large site workers indicated that it wouldn't be in his best interests...
He later reported, at the end of the lease, that it took him half a day with Brillo pads to remove the spots. I shudder to think what it looked like (and what the leasing company had to say about it!).
Two week old Golf with bad paint - bell boy
A suprising amount of industrial waste DOES fall from the sky

>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
this is so true and if it took the techies 4 hours to come to this conclusion then im on my own here ish and tend to believe them
Two week old Golf with bad paint - type's'
VW Customer Service at its best once again.
At least they are consistent.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Dynamic Dave
A suprising amount of industrial waste DOES fall from the sky as it happens.


as well as parking near to railways.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=12831
Two week old Golf with bad paint - cheddar
About 20 years ago a friend, who has now sadly passed on, had serious paint problems on a new black Volvo caused by parking at a station daily. I had an MG Metro Turbo is a similar shade of, er, black which I also parked at a different station though a similar distance from the track which did not suffer from the same problem.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - nortones2
Now it may better to move on. You've reported it to the owner, in writing presumably, and depreciation is their problem if they can't be bothered. But if you are determined, have it checked out by an independent.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - cheddar
Now it may better to move on. You've reported it to the owner, in writing presumably, and depreciation is their problem if they can't be bothered. But if you are determined, have it checked out by an independent. >>


Assuming this refers to the OP, PG I dont think that is the point. The fact is that PG's remuneration package entitles her to such a vehicle and she has a right to expect it to be supplied in perfect condition, she is paying for it afterall, not directly in cash terms rather by way of her efforts on behalf of her employer. This is irrespective as to whether it is her, the lease company or whoever else that may take a hit on any additional depreciation caused by it not not being as it should. The question is whether the dealer will sort it out or whether she will have to put pressure on her employer and/or the lease company.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - DP
Oh if only more company fleet managers took that attitude, cheddar.

You are completely right, of course. It's just most companies take the attitude "it's free, stop complaining." Which of course, it isn't.

Cheers
DP
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Altea Ego
Yes that is the very point, A company car is not free.

It is consdered to be part of a renumeration package, that is its part of your wages. Also the tax man decides to have his lump, so that is real money too. All in all you PAY for a brand new car, and therefore you expect to get what you pay for just as any other purchaser would.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Two week old Golf with bad paint - SjB {P}
A previous car of mine had the paintwork ruined because I parked at the side of a railways line, in the braking zone for a station. The brake dust particles really "welded" themselved on and even started to rust, this bleeding in to the paint.

Took ages and ages to remove with Autoglym Super Resin polish (which has a mild cutting agent) and plenty of frequently replaced lint free cloth.
A colleague then told me that he'd purchased a new car with the same problem, and guessed it had been stored next to a railway.

I also once collected a car from service and on getting home found the bonnect covered in tiny white spots. My guess was paint spray from the bodyshop that ajoined the service car park though I could never prove it and ended up T-cutting them out myself (with complete success, but again, it took ages and ages).
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Zoidberg
I'm reminded of the time we all left our offices one evening to find we each had a speckled car.

It had transpired to be a Contractor who had decided it would be a good idea to proceed in spray-painting the adjoining Power Substation on what was possibly the windiest day of the year.

The fallout was spectacular - dotty trees, plants, brickwork, you name it.

At first, the Power Company & Contractor denied liability - but eventually, after getting company lawyers involved they admitted to having failed to notify us of this work and give us opportunity to move our cars. We were offered remedial work at the hands of their chosen bodyshop, but after the first group got their cars back with what could only be described as brilloed paintwork, they coughed-up for full resprays for those worst affected.

The point of this story was to say that the paint speckles could not be felt, looked as though they were between paint and lacquer and would not polish out for love nor money.

I'd find it hard to believe that VW are trying to pull a fast one over this. They are not accepting liability by offering to polish it - it's a rare case of customer care.

I'm inclined to believe fallout explanation.

PoloGirl, you've not said whether there actually is paint on the glasswork or not...

Zoidberg
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Vin {P}
PoloGirl,

I suspect it's a matter of assertiveness on your behalf. ANYONE who tells you they are not interested or who acts like they are not interested should be very clearly informed that this car is effectively part of your salary and/or a vital tool for your job, and that you want this fixed. Tell them how much tax you'll be paying over the next x years for owning the car and ask if they would pay that for something that is substandard.

If the polish doesn't work out, then start telling people you want it fixed. Anyone who says no should get the argument above. On what basis are they planning not to fix the problem?

Good luck,

V
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Pugugly {P}
If I were your boss, I would go *bonkers* if you'd spent 4 hours of working time sitting with VW.

Neither would I - I would have gone ballistic whether you had to do this in company time or your own. We refuse to deal with people like this, I will pull the plug on contractors that don't deliver.....not been sued yet !
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
Neither would I - I would have gone ballistic whether you
had to do this in company time or your own. We
refuse to deal with people like this, I will pull the
plug on contractors that don't deliver.....not been sued yet !

So what do you do if you have problems with a lease car? You phone them up and say 'Oi - sort it, now!'. They come and take the car, then bring it back and say the problem is caused by industrial fallout, and it was fine on delivery.

What do you do then - cancel the lease deal? Strike off the lease company as a supplier (they may be supplying hundreds of vehicles to your company / group of companies). I suspect PoloGirl doesn't have that level of clout, and I certainly didn't, even as a pretty senior employee.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Dalglish
.. I suspect PoloGirl doesn't have that level of clout, and I certainly didn't, even as a pretty senior employee. ..


unless your employer is loking for a reason to get rid of you, you do have hte clout.

you have to be assertive with the people whose job it is to provide you with your car. if that employee is not doing the job he/she is paid for, escalate it up the chain until either you get what you want/deserve or get fired/resign if that is really what your employer is trying to achieve. the rules apply regardless of you being a junior or "senior" employee. the companies i am familiar with, the fleet managers know why they are employed and they make dure that the staff who are entitled to cars are kept 100% happy with their cars. the lease companies also know these fleet managers mean business. there has never been a problem.

in the end, people get what they deserve. stop being wimps. wimps get trodden on.

Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
you have to be assertive with the people whose job it
is to provide you with your car. if that employee is
not doing the job he/she is paid for, escalate it up
the chain


In business, you have to know who your enemy is, and it isn't your fellow employees.

Few companies have dedicated fleet managers now - they've often palmed all the car stuff off to a leasing company and they just have a fairly junior person or, (worse) the MD's PA, doing little more than liaising with the leasing company.

Problem with car issues is that they're often a matter of opinion. In PoloGirl's case, VW think the car is fine. What's everybody in the chain supposed to do then? If her company is of any size, then her MD/CEO isn't really going to want to hear about her cars spotty paint.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - rtj70
Our fleet department was outsourced to Leaseplan. With current tax rules for company vehicles, lots have taken the allowance if they are "benefit" drivers. But there will be many still taking a company car. In the past it was said we were the largest fleet for company cars for a private company (thousands of them). So...

I had problems with a VW in the past (multiple problems) and stuck to my guns and even phoned VW Fleet direct. Once with a wind-noise problem they wanted to say they'd done all they could but I dug my heels in, queried what dealer had actually done vs. what they said they would do and got the problem resolved. Later the car had lots of other faults and even from new (on delivery) needed a new turbo and two door locks!

All I can say is be stubborn and even try VW Fleet.

Now if they claim after polishing car there is a problem due to some external pollutant... heck what do they make their paint from. Surely it can survive rain. It's all been water based for ages but I'd hope it can survive being in the open.

Interestingly I had 2 Audi A4s and 3 VWs (including short term company loan cars). Paint and bodywork on all excellent and survived well. The longest (nearly 4 years) for my Passat meant it weant back with near perfect paintwork and no dents. Only flaw on paint from early on (I avoided removing in case I damaged the paint) but when dropping off for my new car they used their nail to remove the only mark that was there for nearly 4 years. Doh.

Now have a Ford in "panther black". Lots of scratches from simply opening doors (bad) and quite a few dents from other cars opening doors and I assume hitting my doors. My Passat and the two A4's never suffered like this. So Ford paint poor compared to VAG.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Pugugly {P}
Yes but her Managers will, and this is the whole point. Our Office Manager (who has the authority) has been known to go rabid at garages that mess us around, we used to have 15 vehicles on lease before we changed our systems. Bad service musn't be tolarated. Hell we even have reasonable service off the Honda dealer that supplied our Civic IMAs (the only true company cars we now have). I would not put up with an employee that has to sit in a garage for four hours - FOUR HOURS - that would be serious chocolate ! They would end up being billed for that !
Two week old Golf with bad paint - rtj70
Had a problem with failed air-con (my Passat) and dropped off the car before going on holiday. It was approaching end of warranty and air-con knackered. Phone call from our fleet department whilst I was in Italy to say VW needed the car longer to fix. Explained they'd had it all week already and only just looked at it etc. So I'd collect and get it fixed after warranty ended... suddenly fleet (actually Leaseplan employees now) said no and they'd sort out a hire car etc. When I explained we only get carp hire cars and I needed a decent car they said they'd sort one out for me - no problems. Of course air-con replacement on a Passat was expensive and hence being keen to sort under warranty.

So came back got the reasonable spec Vectra C and got the Passat fixed. Everyone happy.

Bottom line is fleet managers can be helpful. Heck when my company Golf GTi 1.8T was stolen, cheapest option was for my cost centre to "rent" an available car from fleet whilst my Golf waited to be written off. So instead of a poor 1.4 litre hire car I had at first an Audi A4 1.8SE, then an A4 1.8T Sport and finally a VW Passat 1.8T Sport whilst I awaited my new Passat. All cost my cost centre less than the carp hire car too (for 3 months) and kept costs in house. Liked the A4 1.8T Sport a lot but my allowance at the time (2000) was about £350 per month with option to pay up 33% but that car was £525 per month as configured so no way to keep. Oh and the P11d said I had a 1.4 hire car for three months (well I had a hire car) and got the pay-up price back too :-)
Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
Sorry folks - been really busy the last couple of days.

The first thing I think I need to clear up is that, no, I can't see any spots on the glass.
Second thing - we only get subsidised leases, not full on company cars, so I am actually paying just under a third of the lease myself out of my wages each month. That's why I'm so annoyed about it!

The way our leases work is that, although I don't work for the county council, they manage the lease cars for most of the public sector organisations in the area (think thousands of cars!), so we don't have a dedicated fleet person where I work, it all goes through them and they liase with the various leasing companies they use.

So, yesterday morning I sent them a nice email, also cc-ed to the Fleet Sales Manager at the VW dealership...



I noticed that the car was pretty dirty on the outside but put this down to the fact that it had been driven from *dealer* to *where I work* already that day. It was not possible to check it over properly until I got home but I assumed that, as you took delivery and signed for the car, you would have inspected it fully in proper daylight before handing it over to me. When I got home I found lots of small white spots on the bonnet, between the paint and the top coat of lacquer. As I had also noticed that the car had been badly polished (smeary with white polish marks left all over the plastic trim), I thought the marks on the bonnet would come out when I had a chance to wash and polish the car myself.

Unfortunately because of other commitments, I didn't get time to wash and polish the car properly until the following weekend (Aug 5). The white marks on the bonnet didn't polish out, and I also found a patch of totally matt paint on the bumper. I had previously spoken to *****, about the paint and he said if there were any problems to book it into **** who supplied the car. I rang them on Monday and booked the car in to be looked at on Wednesday afternoon (yesterday). They said I wouldn't need a courtesy car as it would not take long to just have a look at the car.

I ended up spending over four hours at ***** yesterday, and was finally approached by a delegation of the Fleet Sales Manager and Bodyshop Manager. They told me that the matt patch on the back bumper is due to a repair at the factory, and can be put right. My question is, why was it not picked up by **** and put right before delivery, and furthermore, why was it not picked up and sent back to be rectified when the car was delivered to you?

More worryingly, the body shop manager agrees with me that there is something not right about the white spots on the car's bonnet. He says that, as he has found the spots all over the car and on the glass, he doesn't think it is a paint problem. They are blaming "industrial fall out", despite the fact that I don't live or work by any industrial areas or railway lines, nor have I parked near anything vaguely industrial since I have had the car. Having inspected the car again last night when I got home, I can't find the marks anywhere but on the bonnet and a small area of the front wings, so I am inclined to maintain that it's a paint fault.

****** have offerred to have the car in for two days, give it a proper polish and also fix the patch on the bumper. However, I am concerned about what will happen if this doesn't work and I am left with a car with white spots on it's bonnet. I am paying towards a brand new, perfect car, and that is what it should be.

To be honest, my biggest disappointment is that none of the faults described above were picked up before the car was given to me, and that I am now having to spend hours of my time sorting it out. Had this not been a lease car and I had taken delivery of it myself, I would have rejected it straight away and sent it back to be rectified, but I have not been given that opportunity because the car was delivered to and signed for by you first.



I then received a reply from the leasing dept, saying that they were sorry I wasn't happy, they'd spoken to the Fleet Sales Manager and understand that arrangements are in hand for the car to be taken in to the bodyshop and I will be provided with a temporary replacement vehicle (no doubt with Bodyshop scrawled all over it so everyone will think I've crashed my car). They said that they had been: "assured that the car will not be returned to you until it is in perfect condition as would be expected by Volkswagen and I am confident that the matter will resolved to your satisfaction."

So it would seem everyone is trying to put it right, and I need to give them a chance! The twist in the tale is that they don't actually have any courtesy cars for the bodyshop for another week so it's not going to be sorted yet.

Oh and to the person who said their boss would go mental.... I am the boss, and I work flexitime. ;)









Two week old Golf with bad paint - barchettaman
Should have got the Fabia VRs in the first place... seriously tho, hope it all gets sorted out to your satisfaction.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Pugugly {P}
I am the boss, and I work flexitime

So am I and I would be even more annnoyed at having to sit at a dealers for four hours. I wouldn't have been a happy teddy and that unhappines would have perculated into their boss' office and his gruntle would have well dis'd. Even more so in my own time. Oh Yes.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
Oh well. I guess I believe in complaining politely and quietly at first... and then gruntling someone's dis if that doesn't work. Believe me I will be playing the Miss Angry card if the polishing doesn't work!
Two week old Golf with bad paint - bell boy
as already said why not ask an independant bodyshop to give an unbiased opinion before you get it buffed,if you called in at the one i know the propiater would give you 5 minutes off his time for free and give you a reasonable explanation............just a thought........
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Aprilia
I second oldman's comment - that's exactly what I'd do. An experienced paint man will give you a diagnosis in a couple of minutes, no need to wait four hours.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
Thanks - hindsight is of course a wonderful thing.

It's a brand new car, and it's under warranty. I have said I will give VW the chance to put it right, as they should, so that's what I'm doing.



Two week old Golf with bad paint - Aprilia
Hindsight doesn't come into it. Its a question of how much you trust the dealer - I generally don't trust them much. The dealer says its industrial fallout and you don't believe them. What are they going to do in the two days - maybe respray the bonnet? If it were my car I would be looking for an unbaissed opinion before letting them get their hands on it. When you know what the problem is you go back to them. Information is power. Anyway, I hope they sort it for you.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
PoloGirl wrote:
The way our leases work is that, although I don't work
for the county council, they manage the lease cars for most
of the public sector organisations in the area (think thousands of
cars!), so we don't have a dedicated fleet person where I
work, it all goes through them and they liase with the
various leasing companies they use.
Oh and to the person who said their boss would go mental.... I am the boss


To Dalglish and Pugugly: Now can you visualise how hard it can be to get this sort of issue resolved within an organisation?
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Pugugly {P}
Yes I can.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
I never said I didn't believe it was industrial fall out. I don't really care what it is, as long as they can sort it and I get a car without spots. If that means they respray the bonnet, fine - as long as they do a faultless job, I don't care!

Look at it this way... if you bought a brand new TV, and found a fault within weeks, you'd take it back to the shop you got it from for them to sort it, wouldn't you? You wouldn't spend ages hawking it round to get second opinions before you'd even given the shop a chance to put it right, would you? I wouldn't.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - rtj70
Unless the brand new TV was a surround sound system. And at low volume it hissed. Mine did a bit but can live with it - that was a problem with the set 'cos I researched it.

My brother had a problem TV years ago (same brother with a problem Golf mentioned in another thread), swapped it (no better) then decided to get a different brand. They refunded the original set on his chargecard... then deducted the difference in cost for the new one. He did not realise until next statement. A friend of a friend worked at the branch of ***** and it was agreed best not lose that person's job by highlighting their error. He now lives in the states and sold the said TV many years ago.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Dalglish
To Dalglish and Pugugly: Now can you visualise how hard it can be to get this sort of issue resolved within
an organisation?

>>

yes, now that the words "public sector" and "county council" have been mentioned, and the fact has been established that the person (golfgirl) who is prepared to tolerate shoddy service (i.e. 4 hours waiting time) is the boss. none of this would wash in the companies that i am familiar with.
expect excellence (and make it clear to all) and you will get it - whether from a, accountants, bankers, cleaning contractors, d, e, ---, lease-companies, --, q, r, suppliers, t, u, v, z, or whoever else you care to mention.
by the same token, all staff work to get it right first time within and outside whoever they deal with, in whichever department they may work in. they all know that customer satisfaction is what keeps the business growing and pays their wages.

Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
What would you have liked me to have done, Dalglish? Stood up and shouted and banged my fists on the desk and demanded to be seen to. In my experience that gets you nowhere, except to be treated with contempt and get nowhere near the service you want.

I believe strongly in stating your case and giving people the chance to put things right before you start shouting the odds and making demands. It hasn't failed me yet and, so far, I'm getting what I wanted without having to play any obnoxious 'don't you realise I'm a boss and you are here to serve me' cards.

Frankly I'm sick and tired of coming to this place and getting nothing but patronising comments and people saying they would have done things differently. I'm all for other people having opinions when you ask for advice, but it strikes me that whatever I had done in this situation, I would be wrong.





Two week old Golf with bad paint - rtj70
PG

Agree with your approach. For a start you're giving them a chance to sort it out if they can - even if that is a respray of the panels affected.

I had lots of issues with various company cars and I am not working for local/central government and not on flexitime. And i've had to waste many hours in VW garages. Book it in my timesheets honestly and never had a problem.

Hope you get it sorted without too much hastle and enjoy the car :-)
Two week old Golf with bad paint - bell boy
ive followed this thread through and given 2 opinions the first was fallout from the sky,this problem has been a bane where i live for the last five years and gives the exact symptoms of white spots,my second reply was before you take back the car for a buff you seeked a second unbiased opinion from a respected man of the bodyshop trade ,for giving this advice i get called patronising well thank you very much.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Dalglish
What would you have liked me to have done, Dalglish? .....getting nothing but patronising comments and

>> people saying they would have done things differently. ..

pologirl - my replies were directed at bill-payer, and were in support of pugugly. i was making the point to bill payer that the public will get the service they deserve (just as they get the police force that they deserve). i was agreeing with pugugly that 4 hours waiting time (regardless of personal or employer's paid time) is too much to waste. one cna be assertive withour being aggressive. the public-sector has many courses for employees (which they will happily fund and send you on a jolly) to teach you assertive behaviour.

what matters is that you, pologirl, are happy with the outcome of your complaint.

i remember that with help from this forum you were able to assert your rights to get the paint and body work on your polo repaired to your satisfaction.

Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
"One can be assertive without being aggressive. The public sector has many courses for employees (which they will happily fund and send you on a jolly) to teach you assertive behaviour."

"I remember that with help from this forum you were able to assert your rights to get the paint and body work on your polo repaired to your satisfaction."

Even when your patronising attitude towards me has been pointed out to you, you still carry on. Amazing.

Oh and, by the way, getting Polo back up to standard was all my own work - it became such a long running thread because I wanted it detailed so that anyone else finding themselves in the same position would know they are not alone.

Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
Dalglish wrote:
expect excellence (and make it clear to all) and you will
get it - whether from a, accountants, bankers, cleaning contractors..etc


The problem that I have is that my idea of 'excellence' seems to be in a completely different league to pretty well anyone else who is involved in anything to do with cars. The one exception (so far) is Honda, who obviously gave my supplying dealer a severe kicking when I wrote to them after the dealer messed up the handover of Mrs BP's Jazz.

Should I accept a refur'b alloy when the tyre fitter scuffed mine (I want a new one)?
My daughters Ibiza has broken down twice due to faulty coil packs causing - I asked the dealer to change them all the second time (refused) or to put a spare on in the car, so the AA man could just do a straight swop (refused). Am I being unreasonable?
Two week old Golf with bad paint - cheddar
>>...... Am I being unreasonable?


"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
George Bernhard Shaw, 1903.

Although I dont quite agree with his politics it has been my catchphrase for many a long year.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Bill Payer
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man."
George Bernhard Shaw, 1903.

It needs very dedicated people to succeed in improving anything, and I don't feel that I want to dedicate my life to improving the service provided fleet manager, leasing companies and car dealerships. I've dabbled, but it's hopeless, and it just causes me anquish better reserved for something important. "It's only a car", quotes everyone involved in the auto industry.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Avant
Absolutely - PoloGirl is undoubtedly going about it in the right way. It's perfectly possible to stay calm and pleasant while not giving in, while the 'other side' is trying to be helpful. The time to be stroppy is when they either are offhand or refuse to do anything when it's their job to do so.

There seems to be a good chance of their getting it right, so it must be sensible to let them have a go.

It's easy in these threads, isn't it, to get carried away from the original posting. PG was asking what the legal position was - which was to do with contract law and was well answered above. I don't think she needed to be told she was doing the whole thing the wrong way - which she isn't.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - rtj70
So what was the outcome for fixing the poor paint? Or have I missed it? if so sorry.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - PoloGirl
Ach sorry! I've fallen victim to my own pet hate of asking for advice and then not finishing the story.

I'm afraid it was classic poor service that I've come to expect from this dealer, but we got there in the end.

Instead of them phoning when they had a car free, I had to contact them and nag them, and on the day it was eventually booked in I was given an SDi Golf belonging to one of the women who works there instead of a courtesy car. Exactly the same age as mine, but categorically the worst car I have ever driven - can't believe anyone there let her spend her own money on it. It didn't escape my notice that this car was also covered in speckles.

They didn't finish it that day so I kept the awful Golf overnight and went back at lunchtime the next day. The matt spot on the bumper had gone, but the car was still covered in speckles, and even more so on the glass since I'd left it with them.

They tried to fob me off with lots of "it's hot and dusty today and that kind of metallic will never look glossy as it attracts the dust" but when I pointed out to the body shop guy that I'd been told it would be washed/polished all over, it's covered in mud and I could do a better job with Autoglym, he realised that actually I wasn't a stupid girl who knew nothing about cars, and got on the phone to the fleet sales manager, who wasn't in but said to come back at 5pm.

I went back and lo and behold, the car was glossy and didn't have a spec on it. The fleet guy had the cheek to say "it looks better than a new car now" to which I responded "no it looks how it should have looked when it was delivered." He then told me that the best way to look after it was to give it a regular wash with fairy liquid, and was quickly corrected by the bodyshop man...and neither of them knew what a clay bar was!

All's well that ends well, with the result that they wont be getting my servicing business, and our fleet dept are reluctant to use them again for all their messing me around.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Red Baron
Tee Hee,

I bet those two are now slapping each other for making themselves look so stupid in front of you.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Collos25
To Polo Girl ,there has been a problem with the paint plant in Wolfsburg on ,large amounts of complaints are being received in Germany although VAG are trying to deny it.
Two week old Golf with bad paint - Aswan
To Pologirl,
*Oldman* ( seconded by Aprilia) gave you some really good advice in this thread.
You would have been (IMHO) really empowered by knowing the cause of the paint problems.
I think your
attempted analogy of equating a faulty new television with paint problems on a new car seem to show a lack of awareness of
the difficulty some dealerships can put in your way in these situations.
Looks like you were OK with the dealer concerned, but elsewhere they could have had you on the back foot, as it were.
I refer to an attempt to correct the paint which either failed or later further problems. The repairs obliterating the original evidence
of the cause.
Thats why the advice ( of independant paintshop opinion) given to you, was so good by Oldman and Aprilia.
They put effort into trying to explain to you more than once.
I have a maxim: " when one seeks expert opinion, respect the time, effort and experience needed to post you an erudite reply"
( Otherwise what is the point in asking for advice on a forum where subject experts gather anyway.)





Two week old Golf with bad paint - cheddar
>>All's well that ends well, with the result that they wont be getting my servicing business, and our fleet dept are reluctant to use them again for all their messing me around. >>

Reckon you will now be pigeon holed as a customer who expects good service plus perhaps have gained some respect by these guys. Therefore you might well get better service at this dealership than starting a new relationship with another one. I would take it in for the first service or whatever is next due and see what response you get.