Taking the YOU out of VW

Item: Motus VW
Rating: 1

Dear VW…and Me It seems we no longer believe in quality (or family) as the theme song to your TV commercials suggested back in the day. After being a loyal member of the VW ‘family’ for the past 10 years, servicing & repairing my vehicle with no one but VW – despite it being out of warranty & service plan, I feel cheated & despondent after my recent, month-long, VW ordeal. It appears to be a non-event for a customer to return for the 5th time for the same problem, to be charged for expensive parts that are not necessary & for parts that were not actually replaced, then fob it all off as a simple “inconvenience” to the customer. If you are self-employed & have lost days-worth of work-time as a result of running backwards & forwards, not to mention having to fill your ‘courtesy’ car with fuel, TOUGH! But hey, you will be refunded – eventually, for the unnecessary part. So relax. Alternatively, come for a free service at our brand new, bigger & better facility that will be opening soon – you have certainly helped pay for it! Thank you VW for making my next vehicle purchase a lot simpler. Should you have nothing more pressing to attend to, feel free to read the following order of events: 1) 2/09/2016 My VW Caddy went in for service & repairs to Lindsay Saker Vereeniging. The main repair issues were: a) Loud banging noise from back left of vehicle when going over bumps b) Constant rattling noise from rear of vehicle c) Back let break light not working 2) Upon collection I was told a part (leaf spring) for problem (a) had to be ordered & the vehicle would need to be returned for part to be fitted. I was required to pay half of the large bill at this stage. 3) Upon receiving my vehicle back I noticed back left break light (which was charged for) was still not working. A technician had to come open the back light cover & replace bulb in the parking lot while I waited. 4) I was told that there had not been enough time to assess problem (b) but that it would be addressed when vehicle was returned for part (a) to be fitted. 5) 9/09/2016 My vehicle returned to VW for the new part to be fitted & problem (b) to be assessed & repaired. I was told everything was done & my vehicle was ready for collection. The vehicle was not ready when I arrived, as promised & I had to wait for at least 30 min more. As I left, problem (b) was unchanged. I took the vehicle straight back to VW & insisted that a technician drive in the vehicle with me & drive it himself to assess the problem as this had at NO point been done. As it was now near closing time, I was asked to bring the vehicle back for a 4th time for the problem to be rectified. 6) 14/09/2016 My vehicle was returned to VW for problem (b) to be fixed. As this process had already caused great inconvenience to myself & friend who was having to drive me back & forth (I live more than 30 minutes away from the dealership) I had requested a courtesy vehicle, which I received with just enough fuel to get me home! I had to put fuel in the car, further inconveniencing me, only to be told I would not be reimbursed for it. Furthermore, I requested that the replaced part please be left in my vehicle when I returned to collect it. This is something that is required by CPA law but was not done until requested. All seemed to be well with the vehicle at this stage & final payment was made. 7) Something was nagging me about the part that was replaced. It was explained to me that the left rubber bump-stop had come off & therefore the leaf-spring needed to be replaced. When I got home I inspected the old leaf spring & found nothing wrong with it except for the missing bump-stop. I investigated the matter further the following day by contacting the parts department & found that the bump-stop could have been replaced individually for around R141 & that it was not necessary to replace the entire leaf spring valued at R3510. When I queried this with the service department I was told “that is how the part comes.” Only when I insisted that this was not the case did the service consultant take the matter further. I was later contacted by the service department acknowledging that there had been a “mistake” & that I would be refunded. “Apologies for the inconvenience.” 8) 19/09/2016 Lindsay Saker’s manager finally makes his first attempt to contact me to discuss the matter & only did so as he was prompted by an email I sent the service department requesting that he do so & after a call was made by VW SA after receiving my complaint. Unfortunately I missed his call but received a brief email to say he would sort the matter out & revert asap. No apology. 9) 21/09.2016 Manager finally calls back to address my questions pertaining to all of the above & half-heartedly apologizes for the “inconvenience,” a word which is now a joke to me! He has handled this matter, and me, with no importance or urgency. No date was given as to when I would be refunded. 10) 27/09/2016 Still no refund & to crown off this experience, my car was returned today to VW for the 5th time as problem (b) returned within 2 weeks of ‘being repaired’. No surprise that I have not yet heard from management & the chances of seeing my car repaired by the end of this day are growing slim.

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