VW Australia need to change

[Ideo]

So are you saying Gosford VW is good or bad?

Personally I have found them very good. No problems at all with my injector replacement, work was completed very quickly and they charged me exactly $0 no questions asked.

Kloster VW in Newcastle on the other hand I have found to be complete rip offs. I needed a radio code a couple of weeks ago and upon phoning them was told that I needed to book it in @ $160/hr so they could scan it and retreive the code. I know this is not the case and I just had to supply the VIN and radio serial. They insisted however this was not the case and eventually told me that I needed to take it there so that they could verify I was the owner (this is a RCD300 radio worth next to nothing). Called Gosford and gave the VIN/serial and he callled me back in 10 minutes with the code.

Even worse: Yesterday I had the car booked into Klosters to get the gearbox jerking checked out as it could possibly be covered under goodwill. Took it in and he told me that the DSG might need a software update and it would take 3.5 hrs again at $160/hr. Now I've never done a software update on a DSG box but I know flashing an ECU only takes about 10minutes. I'm not quite sure where this 3.5hr figure comes from other than the desire of Klosters the line their own pockets at the customers expense.

In the end he wouldn't even test drive it because one of the rear brakes was down to the metal.. (kind of fair enough due to liability but it did stop fine) Anyway looks like I'll be taking it to another dealership.

Yeah - meant Gosford was a good one.

I mean, they gave me an R32 oil filter instead of an R filter, but mistakes happen and they swapped it over free of charge.

[gecko2k]

Has anybody else the feeling that dealers are normally not very interested to sell (spare-) parts? I am usually after a lot of parts, but most dealerships ignore emails and phone calls when you mention the word 'spare parts' as long it isn't followed by the magic 'replacement DSG box'-suffix. Ka-ching, anybody? $$$$

Gone are the days when dealer staff "know" their product. When I went to get a pair of wiper blades for my MKV Golf,the parts guy wanted the VIN,WTF?

That's the point. I grew up with them and I love them. When I see a tosser at a dealership not knowing **** about VW(s), that just breaks my heart. Nobody asks them to know the exact tyre size of each vehicle ever build by VW, but how many dealership people will:

-know which other car companies belong to VW?
-know what a G60 is?
-know what a Corrado is? (hint: you can't eat it!)
-know which VW vehicles never made it to Australia officially?
-know whether Australian delivered MKII were 2 or 3 doors/8v or 16v?
-can identify a MKI/II Golf as a VW Golf?
-know anything about the brand and it's history?

I could continue that list for days. Has anybody ever mentioned the 2 words "ABF conversion" and the person you were talking to had any idea what you mean?

Or let's turn this question around: how long would a Holden sales person last at a dealership, when he/she wouldn't know what a HX, UC, HR is?

i'll be hanging onto it for as long as it runs. but i think, as i like reliability and good service, my next car will be japanese (good service as in, i know where i'll be buying my next car, and they're good to deal with).

Same here. We ordered a Tig (with DSG unfortunately) and we are hoping to hold on to it for 10 years, but otherwise I don't see any car in current line up that I would really want. Like a car you would hold onto forever to pass it on to your kids one day? Those times are over (at least for now...)

[danielv10]

Has anybody else the feeling that dealers are normally not very interested to sell (spare-) parts? I am usually after a lot of parts, but most dealerships ignore emails and phone calls when you mention the word 'spare parts' as long it isn't followed by the magic 'replacement DSG box'-suffix. Ka-ching, anybody? $$$$

I haven't taken delivery yet and my sales is already ignoring my emails or taking his sweet time to reply/call me back. And I agree that some of the staff at the dealerships have no idea about the cars they sell. Even as a newbie to the VW brand, I knew more about the features of current Golfs and Polos than they did.
I'm dreading the day that I need to take my car back for warranty repair....

[kaanage]

On top of the pi$$ poor sales service (not to mention attitude towards warranty issues ), wouldn't it be nice if VAG kept a decent supply of spares down here rather than always having to ship things from Singapore or Germany. A friend of mine waited SEVEN weeks for a new A3 dashboard to replace one damaged in an accident (the passenger side airbag went off which destroys the dash)

[Transporter]

I haven't taken delivery yet and my sales is already ignoring my emails or taking his sweet time to reply/call me back. And I agree that some of the staff at the dealerships have no idea about the cars they sell. Even as a newbie to the VW brand, I knew more about the features of current Golfs and Polos than they did.
I'm dreading the day that I need to take my car back for warranty repair....

Do you know what I dread the most? When today's kids are out of school and replacing those people that serve you today. There was the article in the newspaper by principal from one of the private school; he was saying that the school should start later, so kids get more sleep in the morning because they're spending time with their smart phones and the tablets playing games till late night and are sleepy in the morning.

[Ideo]

Here's an old school (sort of) acronym

OINVU

Are you happy with the Viezu tune?

After the poor service elsewhere I was amazed. I was basically chased out of barloworld.

Very happy. Dyno figures coming very soon. Great mid range pull.

[Finance_Analyst]

When it comes to love for the product, I would venture to say that most VW drivers/owners are passionate about their car and truly love their cars. They are, after all, an excellent product and the brand seems to nurture a loyalty which is fairly rare these days.

Problem is, when it comes to having to deal with either VWA or a VW dealer, it all turns sour for many owners.

From my own experience of owning, and loving, a MKV Golf GTI and now a Golf R, the thought of having to set foot in a dealer is a worrying prospect and one which I expect and anticipate conflict arising from the nonchalant stance adopted by my dealer (and many others from what I read on this and other VW forums.


My experience in buying my R was very disappointing and now I am bracing for conflict with my dealer regarding a DSG warranty issue. I am yet to respond to the VWA survey and doubt that I will for fear that my dealer will punish me for telling it how it is. As I said, my experience in buying a Golf R was a less than pleasant experience, see post #4 of this thread

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...vey-69426.html



The corporate image of VW with the fancy shop fronts and their clever advertising campaigns, seems to fall apart when it comes to actually looking after their customers and delivering quality after sales service / customer care.

Countless posts on this forum alone, confirm my assertion. Most of us love our cars and generally the VW product, so VWA need to listen to their customers and demand a higher level of professionalism from their dealers.

Have you already got an issue with the DSG after such a short time?

[brimway]

Sadly,yes. I had the mechatronics replaced under warranty in my MK V Golf GTI and thought that my bad luck with DSGs was all used up. But I was wrong. Hopefully, my current problem is software related, but I fear not.

My friendly service manager is test driving this Thursday in effort to diagnose the problem, will report back.

[quozl]

The problem is that unlike Germany the dealerships are not owned by VW they are independent business's in most cases owned by multi car franchisees who have little to no incentive or reason to follow the VW guidelines for sales, service or support. So you get inconsistent / nil training for sales and service staff, no incentive to improve and no consequences when they don't follow VW guidelines.

It would take a monumental blunder or consistent low low sales numbers for VW to take away a franchisees rights to sell VW.

The best thing for the consumer that could happen would be for VW to open all their own dealerships run by VW themselves and remove all the multi dealership franchisees. Taking things in house would allow them to control the quality and training of all staff and make sure things are done as VW intend and not the way some dealer selling 12 different brands of cars from various lots thinks it should be done.

Cheers Al

[brimway]

Sadly,yes. I had the mechatronics replaced under warranty in my MK V Golf GTI and thought that my bad luck with DSGs was all used up. But I was wrong. Hopefully, my current problem is software related, but I fear not.

My friendly service manager is test driving this Thursday in effort to diagnose the problem, will report back.

The service guy drove my car today and acknowledged that there is a shudder in low gears. He hasn't got any idea what is causing it but assured me that they will do whatever is necessary to rectify. A comforting response.