VW Polo TSI DSG - Spark plugs

On Wednesday my car was shuddering an the EPC light came on. This resulted in the car going into limp mode and the engine warning light flashing sporadically.

I made my way to VW Nelspruit to book the car in and also book for a service as it was within 1200km. My vehicle was purchased November 2022 and has now got just under 30 000km on.

They reported that they suspect fuel fouling on the spark plugs and say they have had more than 5 cars in this week with the same issue. This wasn't an issue issue for me as i have a maintenance plan as well as a service plan for exactly this reason to avoid unexpected costs.

VW then informed me that it doesn't fall within the warranty or maintenance plan as it is a country wide fuel problem and now i have to pay R2700 for 3 sparks plugs. This to me is completely unacceptable as they charged me full price for the spark plugs and full price for labour. After arguing with them for an hour and a half they at least removed the labour from the invoice but still charged me R1400 for 3 spark plugs which retail at other spare shops for R79 a spark plug.

The Maintenance plan says that it will cover all wearable parts excluding tires. It is not the clients fault that the fuel has more metal in than normal and that the VW cannot tolerate it. This needs to be taken up by VW with Petro SA and the additional costs can be claimed against them and not against the clients.

This is very poor client service. In my opinion there is absolutely no reason to get a maintenance plan for your vehicle if they arent willing to cover these expenses