My wife's 1998 Golf TDi was serviced last week at the local VAG dealer. I posted a thread here when I discovered the brake fluid had been filled to the brim of the master cylinder. They fixed that by soaking up the excess with a rag.
I took the car for its MOT yesterday. More bad news emerged. The tester checked the engine oil - it was over full. He would not do the emissions test without draining just over a litre (!) - I think they only take 4 litres in total.
He also noticed that the offside sill had been damaged - it was clear that it was a badly placed jack that had caused the damage - it is also obvious that it is recently caused - the damaged area is still clean.
I am stunned by this level of service and competence. I had given the car a good hard drive before the MOT to clear it out - only to discover it had too much oil in it - presumably creating excess crankcase pressure?
I paid £180 for the service and now have a car in worse condition than when it went in.
Any recommendations on what I should do?
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Contact the Service Manager, pdq
Be factual and don't loose your cool.
Has the oil level been adjusted now? It's a shame you cannot show him/her the evidence.
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Agents do not give a Sh-- as there margins have been cut by VAG.VAG is being run by accountants and they do not care a Sh--.Solution sue ,get all the information together contact your local paper and make live hell for the garage.
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The main reason that people go to the dealerships rather than your local man (whose job relies on his reputation) is, I suspect, to do with the warranty being invalidated if you do not keep servicing at the dealership.
Under EU law is this legal?
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The trainees have to learn and it looks like he/she was learning on your car.Not bad really for what,£60 per hour +VAT.Sad really such poor service.
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I just cannot understand how anyone can put up with such bad level of service.
Complain politely at first, but regardless of the outcome follow up with a registered letter to the MD of the dealership and copy it to VAG HQ in Germany.
As a minimum, you must get the dealer to accept liability for any future bodywork problems that follow from the spilt brake-fluid and any engine damage due to the excess oil.
Also, you should get compensation for your time wasted and the trouble/anxiety suffered.
In non-British cultures, this kind of poor service just would not be accepted.
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JB,unfortuneatly the Germans except anythins and are far worse at complaing than the British ,they are taught at an early age that every profession has a Meister and his word is gospel in reality German service in all walks of live is far behind the UK or the US.
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I'd agree with JB. You should give them the opportunity to put it right, and give you an explanation. If not satisfactory, give 'em both barrells. The senior management should be horrified, Customer Satisfaction Index down will cost them money.
Regards
Mike
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I have followed this approach. I wrote to them with copy to the MD of the dealership. I have also spoken to them explaining my disappointment and have stayed calm with no ranting. To be fair they are very apologetic and want the car back to change the brake fluid again and check everything else out. Of course they claim that the over filled engine oil will have caused no damage other than burning a bit more oil as it is forced past the rings. I will let them sort it out but I fully intend to write to the MD of VW UK once I have the full story.
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I have to agree with Andy B about the attitude of some VW retailers, there was a thread a month or so ago about this very topic, and I think HJ even referred VW to it but there was a deafening silence from them. I had a bad experience last year with two VW retailers and got VW Customer Services involved, at one stage I even wrote to the Chief Exec of VW UK who simply refrred me back to Customer Services. Eventually one dealer acknowledged that the service they carried out was unacceptable but this was after 11 months! I have found a good VW garage now but it is 40 miles away, when the warranty expires in June I shall be back to my trusty local garage.
Rob S
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Copy the letter to VAG HQ in Germany, not VAG (UK).
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Do you have a name and address.I have looked on the VW website but could not find useful info like this!
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steve: look up
www.volkswagen.de/home_e/index_.htm
for the VW-Germany HQ's English version web site.
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