My Passat B6 V6 I bought 27 days ago died today. Need help.

[Highlander]

OP is now probably aware of this after meeting with Fair Trading NSW but for information of anyone buying a relatively new used car, the following is copied from NSW Fair Trading's web site

CHECK THE PAPERWORK CAREFULLY

Licensed used car dealers must put a vehicle description form on the windscreen of every used car. The form will show the dealer's name, the cash price and other details such as the engine number, odometer reading and if a warranty applies.

* A Form 4 indicates the car has a standard used car warranty.
* A Form 8 means there is no statutory warranty.
* Occasionally there may be Form 6. This means a standard used car warranty applies but the dealer is not going to repair certain items that don't affect safety, such as air conditioning.

Important note:
Cars displaying a Form 6 or Form 8 must be sold with a safety check report stating that the vehicle is fit for registration if number plates are attached.



UNDERSTANDING YOUR STATUTORY WARRANTY RIGHTS

All used vehicles purchased from licensed dealers are covered by a 3 month or 5,000 km statutory warranty providing:

* The vehicle is not more than 10 years old and has not travelled more than 160,000 km.
* The purchase price does not exceed the Luxury Vehicle Depreciation Limit ($52,912 as of 1 January 1996). This amount varies at each annual Federal Budget and applies from 1 January each year.
* It is not a commercial vehicle.

WHAT DOES YOUR WARRANTY COVER?

In general terms, the motor vehicle and all accessories fitted at the time of sale are covered by the warranty. If a defect occurs during the warranty period, the dealer is obliged to fix the defect so that the vehicle is in reasonable condition for it's age. The time it takes to make repairs is added on to your warranty period.

WHAT DOESN'T YOUR WARRANTY COVER?

Your warranty will not cover routine adjustments, such as tune-ups and oil changes or replacement of batteries and tyres. However, tyres must be roadworthy at the time of sale. You will not be covered for any defects resulting from an accident or misuse of the vehicle -- such as motor racing or rallying.

You should check with the dealer to see which items are covered and which are not.

Hope OP had a Form 4 with his purchase. If so then you should have no "financial" worries as the dealer is legally "obliged to fix the defect so that the vehicle is in reasonable condition for it's age. The time it takes to make repairs is added on to your warranty period."

Most of us would assume that a 40,000km Passat would be little more than run in. For a 3 years plus a little year old vehicle 40,000km is less than average mileage.

Depending on the cost of repairs, the dealer may opt to take the car back and to return your money, whichever is the cheapest way out for them.

Good luck whichever way it goes.

[tryingavw]

i understood that if you bought from a dealer you automatically had a 3 month warranty- I bet this IS the case in this instance and these other options are special cases. ( eg sales between dealers)

[Rocket36]

i understood that if you bought from a dealer you automatically had a 3 month warranty- I bet this IS the case in this instance and these other options are special cases. ( eg sales between dealers)

Correct for anything sold above $3,000.

[Highlander]

Correct for anything sold above $3,000.

Form 6 is used for faults disclosed and accepted by buyer at time of sale

[jakiman]

UPDATE:
- Toyota still has no idea what's wrong with my car.
- Told me today again that they believe engine will need an overhaul or replacement.
- They told me they will be relocating my car to VW either today or tomorrow. (but today is now gone so i guess tomorrow or friday)
- I will mention about the recalls with this engine in US etc tomorrow when I get a call. (I did already mention about underspecced bolt issue on Tuesday however)
- No sign of any possibility for a loan car
- No call from Toyota manager / principle / customer relations manager about the incident I had with the sales rep on Tuesday even though I was promised on Tuesday and also Today that I'll get a call.
- I don't expect to see my car for at least 3-4 weeks from now and could be longer.

So I buy a car, drive it for 4 weeks, then it's out of service for 4+ weeks. Great.

[Lance B]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune, Jakiman.

I don't mean to sound flippant, but in a way, it is actually a good thing that it happened now and I will reason why. If it happened in another 3 or 4 months, you'd be out of warranty and pretty well stuffed and have to pay for it yourself. At least now you can claim warranty and VW should fix it with any upgraded parts, hopefully, that are probably warranted due to any previous issues with this engine. I know it is a pain, but at least you'll have a newish motor and should be able to sleep at night. In every bad event there is a silver lining. As the song states, always look on the bright side of life.

[vwrallycar]

i hope this experience doesnt put you off passats or VW in the future

[RedVR6]

These sort of stories just make one shudder.

My only tip is to find out the org structure at the dealership. Generally it will be the Dealer Principal who will be the most senior escalation point, although they are usually pretty difficult to get to. Your best bet in my view is to calmly build some sort of relationship with the Service Manager. It is unlikely that you will get to speak with anyone higher, and at the end of the day, it's his guys that will be bolting your engine back together (assuming they do it themselves).

[UG1]

It's his 2nd passat! He didn't learn after the first =P my Bora V6 has been really good to me for the last 5 years! It won't turm me or him off VW, but maybe Passats?

cool they gave him a toyota echo

[jakiman]

Yeah. I went to the dealership today and I spoke to the used car sales manager about this situation. He seemed ready for me as he didn't say much at all and just got me a free loan car. A toyota Corolla hatch. =)

My car has been relocated to VW Phil McCarols at Waitara yesterday afternoon also. No updates from VW yet.