*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000
All, I need some urgent feedback. I was supposed to pick my GTI up from Lewisville VW today. I was contacted 10 minutes ago and given some bad news. I was told that during a final test, they realized that the “”Comfort Control Module”" was “”on the way out”". Good news was that the Gearbox and Clutch was going to cost $3400 instead of the $4300 original estimate. Bad news is the Comfort Control Module is $50 labor and over $300 for the part. I know nothing about cars but my question is this: if the comfort control module is an electronic component, surely it either works or it doesn’t. How do they know it’s on it’s way out. Is it more likely that they have damed it in some way?? Of course I’ll be writing again to the customer care line but so far, that keep upholding their line that the car is out of warranty and there is nothing they can do. I would love to here from so of the respected posters.
Thanks, MICHAEL.
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CRAIG B Said,
July 27, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – So you are looking at about $4000. I would say for $4000, it is worth getting a second opinion. Get your car back from the dealer, do not call first, just show up. Look up some names of transmission centers in your area and then run their names through the BBB, (they are not an exact science, but they are better than nothing). Choose one that doesn’t have too many complaints and take it to them for an estimate. I guarantee you it will be considerably less than a dealer.
297 Said,
July 27, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – If it’s repair and non-warranty, it’s always better to go with an indie unless you have a fantastic arrangement with the dealer (based on those quotes, you don’t).
I would ask why they think your comfort control module is “”on the way out”".
Transmission and clutch should run about $2000 in parts, new. The rest is labor, which shouldn’t be more than $700.
297 Said,
July 27, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – Okay, looks like the dealer already fixed your transmission and now they want permission to repair the comfort control module.
The module is under the dash just left of the driver’s wheel, so they could not have damaged it when replacing the transmision and clutch.
The comfort control module controls all the lazy features of a car: power windows, mirrors, alarm, keyless entry, etc.
You would realize it’s going if certain electronics no longer work. Codes may be logged by the dealer, in which case they should tell you so, and what those codes are and mean.
Ask them why they think it’s going. Let us know what they say.
mdodds Said,
July 27, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – Craig/Paul, thanks for the feedback. Paul, you are correct I didn’t have time to shop around and approved the gear box and clutch work. I’ll ask them for the error codes. Thanks again. Craig, you bought up the BBB. Any views as to what my chances are of getting the parts paid for even though it’s a 1000 miles outside of warranty. I just can’t understand VWoA not wanting to understand what the root causes are?
Thanks, MICHAEL.
CRAIG B Said,
July 27, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – Oh, you already had the initial work done, ouch. If you have the time and constitution, call VWoA, it can’t hurt. Keep bothering them, maybe they will agree to pick up some of the parts. Most likely though, they will tell you to go scratch. Also, if you just gave a dealer $3400 and now they are asking for $350 more, I would politely piss on their counter before I gave them another dime.
mdodds Said,
July 28, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – Paul, you were spot on. They said that while test driving the car the window control went out. He explained that it would be just a matter of time before the car wont start because it controls the alarm immobilizer. Lewisville VW have serviced the car since I bought it and they appear to be very genuine. The labor portion of the costs as explained to me so far seem to be reasonable. The lions share of the totals seem to be parts costs. I guess I have to accept that VW builds a car that has a bunch of issues when it breaches the 60,000 mile warranty. I’m going to be relentless with VWoA. I’m also going to log a report with the BBB. It can’t hurt and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to propose VW picking up the parts cost. Outside of that I’ll just continue to spread the word.
Thanks for all the quick responses.
MICHAEL.
297 Said,
July 28, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – If you can find the part cheaper elsewhere, your dealer will just charge you labor.
Ask them for the part number of the particular module you need, then have a look for it here: Impex VW Parts.
They are always cheaper, though sometimes it’s only by a few dollars and not worth the shipping, there are other times when they run prices 50% or even less the price at the dealer.
rick Said,
July 28, 2004 @ 12:00 pm
*Urgent* Follow Up to Gear Box Done At 61,000 – lol @ “piss on their counter”!!