
Originally Posted by
gavs
This is EXACTLY the point. One should not have to expect a product to fail and keep returning it. If one was to pay $10,000 for a top line fridge and the plumbed-in ice maker failed resulting in a flooded kitchen, you would be pretty pis*ed off. If it did it again, and then again and then the shelves collapsed, then the freezer died and on top of this, you have to throw away all that food, and get the floor re-done because the flooding has warped the floorboards and cracked the tiles on top, would you still be happy just because the manufacturer covered all those costs of repair and replacement, even after you took the fridge on a trip, 40kms each way to the point of sale and left it overnight, sometimes even 3-5 weeks each time to have it fixed? I think not. Before someone says 'oh, but those things aren't the same, replacing floorboards is much worse than being without a car for a day...' Well think of it this way. You live (like prcurrie) 40+kms from the dealership and your car suddenly drops all the odd gears. You call VW assist, they pick up the car which now leave you car-less an drop it at your local dealership. They don't have a car to give you, so they ring you a cab. Now, not only are you without a car, how in hell do you get to work the next day? You ring your boss saying 'hey, sorry, would you believe I can't come into work today because my 12 month old car is broken down, AGAIN! So I'll be in when I can'. Even the most understanding boss will be worn pretty thin by the 5th time this happens in 12-18 months!
Then you get the call 'your car needs part blah blah but there is none in the country so it will be about 3 weeks until its fixed, here is a courtesy car for you' so this car that you waited 12 months for is already off the road for 3 weeks.
Then after 3 weeks, you get the car back, 4 weeks later your back at the dealership because something else is wrong, so that is more time off work, loss of income, a waste of time, a major inconvenience. Just like not having a floor, or waiting for a cheque to come through because you just had to throw away $250 worth of food.
Manufacturer warranties are realistically for marketing purposes. They are there as a sign the manufacturer is so sure that there will not be any problems with their product that they will fix/replace any defective parts in the specified period.
If VW was so confident in their product, why is it that when an indirect issue arises (I'm not referring to my case either) rather than valuing customer relations and backing their product, they try to find loopholes within the ACL so they can make their warranty statement seem like if you do anything other than leave your car in the garage, you will void this 'warranty'?
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