Finally a story with a happy ending! The water pump on my 2000 jetta gave out last week. The car has 55k miles. The dealer informed me that the water pump was not part of the power-tran. warranty. I checked my owners manual to discover that it is covered, so I called VWoA customer care line. The rep. admitted that the primary water pump is covered but not the secondary. I asked her to call the dealer to verify, which she did begrudgingly. After talking to the dealer she told me that it was the primary and would be covered, but only if I could provide all the appropiate service records. She said that the dealer claimed he had told me this.I called the dealer back and he said to bring my records in and they would evaluate them to see if any discount could be applied.
A couple of days later I called the dealer and was told my car was ready. The outstanding balance was $560,(which included an oil change). When I got there I asked to speak to the service manager. I asked him about evaluating my service records and he told me VWoA never got back to them about the warranty. I dropped all my service receipts on the counter and said lets call them now, I have the ‘phone number. He excused himself for about 90 seconds. When he came back he told me that VWoA had spoken to his boss and the repair was covered. My bill went from $560 to $40 just like that.
I suspect that they had already submitted a bill to VWoA and were tring their luck to see if they could get more money out of me. Obviously VWoA doesn’t pay dealerships the same hourly rate that customers pay for maintenance.

First off, let me start by saying I’m not here to bitch, whine, or complain. I’m here to warn others about Volkswagen of America (VWoA). The first VW I ever purchased was a 2006 Jetta VE in 02/06 and I loved it. But, I wanted more power than the 5-cyl could produce so I purchased a 2006 2.0T Passat in 09/06. I loved this car too but I wanted to modify it and since it was a 6-spd auto you can’t add a larger turbo down-tube because of where VW placed the transmission oil cooler, so chipping it is a bit silly. It was a great car nonetheless but I still wanted a little more power than the standard 200HP. So, in 04/07, I get the Big-Daddy … The 3.6L 4Motion Passat. This car has power, agility, gadgets, and is the biggest piece of shit I have ever driven. It is plagued with problems too numerous to detail.

So, I do what everyone else does and take it to the shop. For the first time I get the full VW treatment that you all are complaining about. I get the run-around and the technical hide-the-salami. I’m not an auto mechanic but my dad was, and I’m a Systems Analyst with a Master’s degree in Math. I’m not an idiot and neither is anyone else here. And yet, the service department blows off everyone of my complaints as “”not-reproducible”" even though I have demonstrated the faults to the service adviser on test drive after test drive. Apparently, it’s not enough to show the service adviser the fault, the technician working on the vehicle must also see it on his own. No, you can’t actually show it to him because NO ONE sees the Great Oz!

A few of these trips to the local dealer motivates me to call VWoA’s Customer Advocacy center. What a laugh! Those people can’t even spell advocate much less understand what one is. What they told me was, “”We will honor our warranty.”" I told them the car is broken, fix it. They replied, “”We will honor our warranty.”" The car is still plagued with no resolution in sight so after purchasing 3 VW’s in less then 2 years, and my wife purchasing 4 in the same time frame for a total of SEVEN brand new cars in 2 years, I will never do business with them again. They can kiss my ass!

My anger and frustration is not about having a crappy car. EVERY automaker screws up and releases some junk products. It happens. But, only VWoA gives you the finger when they do it and that isn’t acceptable. I had a long talk with a Toyota customer Service rep and she was appalled. So was Infinity, GM, and even Ford. Ford was shocked! Ford! The bottom line here is you should ask yourself, “”Am I prepared to receive no support for this product after I buy it?”", before you purchase anything from VWoA.

Hey, Got a 2000 VR6 jetta. We ahve plenty of spark from plugs, wires, and coil. But we have a Po300 Misfire code that is in cylinder 5. I compression tested it and its read low compression at only 65pnds. However, the oil is dry, and it is not comsuming OIL or Coolant! WTF is the compression loss…? WE even tried lubing the piston with tranny fluid to see if the piston ring was stuck to the piston..but it still remains

any idea’s…

Sales were down 1.9% for 2007! VW introduced new models, advertised like crazy, and made every effort to sell their crap cars. AND SALES WERE DOWN 1.9%!
Our message is getting out to America! VW cars are junk.
This has got to be another financial disaster for VW group of America. I mean, how many years is VAG going to continue subsidizing sales in America?
VAG is going to have to crack down further on the unions in Germany. They will have to get the work force to actually work 40 hours a week.