Hi there

[extraordinarymachine]

Hey guys I'm new here. My name is Abbie, and I own a little silver '02 Beetle named Eleanor. 1.6l, manual transmission.. probably the most standard 2002 ever.

I initially found this group via Google, after trying to confirm the prices given to me in regards to a replacement ECU by VW (turns out they were spot on). My poor little beast has been having some serious issues since I purchased her in March of last year.. contacted the old owner, only to be told that she was traded in to be scrapped and shouldn't have been re-sold (at least, not with all the problems she has/d). My love for the Bug has led me to spend far too much money on her, but she is totally worth it in my opinion.

[CraigR]

Welcome Abbie.

I would have definitely contacted the dealership with this information to see what they had to say for themselves. You should have been given a 3 month stat warranty as well. Did the PO give you any information on the problems the car had when traded?

[extraordinarymachine]

Thanks for the welcome :]

We did contact the dealer, they ignored everything we said. The old owner said that the issues we're having now, are the exact same ones that Eleanor had when she was traded in... so nothing got fixed before being re-sold. We've just had the ECU replaced, oxygen sensor, some high tension leads and the leaking coolant bottle. She'll also need a top engine rebuild within the next 18 months. Putting a lot of work into this car, she is my baby, but still pretty angry over what was dealt.

[CraigR]

Oh wow. That's pretty low. Unfortunately some dealerships don't care how they make their money.

[tigger73]

Hi Abbie,

Sorry to hear about the issues you're having. Unfortunately it can be hard to get a dealer to pay for repairs even when it is under statutory warranty. Given that you've had the car for 18 months I can understand why the dealer is saying it's not their problem.

It is unfortunate that they have on-sold the issue, however that's why it's important to get a proper vehicle inspection done and if you can even speak to the previous owner (before you buy the car).

Put that one down to experience.

Though good to hear that you love your bug and are prepared to spend the $ on bringing it back to a good state of repairs.

Sounds like you're in need of finding a good independent specialist VW/Audi workshop to help you with your car.

[extraordinarymachine]

Cheers mate

Unfortunately I was a first time car buyer and didn't know what steps to take prior to purchase. We didn't find out how bad the issues were until a couple of months ago, so didn't bother contacting the dealer over them again.

I've thankfully taken Eleanor to the Volkswagen dealership in my town and they have been fantastic. Honest, given me the full list of everything she will need. **** happens I guess, I'm just glad we're finally getting her fixed.

The poor car has seen six mechanics in the 18 months that I've had it, not once had we been told about the major issues. The timing belt was overdue, the ECU was going... soooo many problems under the hood that were all brushed off despite me taking it to mechanics basically pleading for them to tell me the truth. Most recently we had a "mechanic" replace the timing belt, assuring us it was NEW.. wasn't until Eleanor wouldn't start that we took her to VW and was told that the belt had done 70,000kms and was installed wrong.

[tigger73]

I hear you. I think given your location you may be better off taking it to a VW specialist in Melbourne.

The local VW dealership will charge you a premium and possibly over-service you. Sometimes there will be more cost-effective options like purchasing second-hand or refurbished parts as opposed to brand new. Given that the car is 14 years old there's not a lot of point putting brand new parts on when a refurbished one would do exactly the same job at half the price. The dealer won't offer you the option as they are only allowed to use genuine (new) parts in their repairs/servicing.

I'd be looking to make contact with a Melbourne based independent workshop and go from there if you haven't been able to find anyone else locally that knows what they're doing.

Good luck!