Letter to VW (VW Golf Mk III (1992-98))

Name: biggerdeffer

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Product:	VW Golf Mk III (1992-98)
Date:	31/10/00 (1425 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: as listed

This is a letter from a work colleague to VW after being sold a car from a dealer in Hertfordshire.
Its quite long !!!!!!

It started when in the second week of July I visited the dealership to view the vehicles on the forecourt
It was VW?s outstanding worldwide reputation for Safety & Quality that led me to choose a Volkswagen for my first vehicle after having waited 4 years for the right one.

I expressed my interest in one particular vehicle and advised the sales representative I would like a test drive, at which point he hastily and rudely arranged a test drive approximately 2 weeks from that day and rushed both my mother and myself out of the showroom, quite to my surprise.
Upon arrival for the test drive, I was in the showroom for about 30 minutes before being attended to, at which point I was approached by a different sales representative who advised me he was now taking ownership of my sale. I was quite perplexed, as I had hoped to be dealing with the same representative throughout the process of potentially buying a vehicle.

During the test drive I raised some points regarding the vehicle, for example; the vehicle pulling to the left; the brakes not being very responsive, and a few other points. The sales representative assured me the vehicle would have stringent tests to ensure its safety and roadworthiness, which was standard practice, and re-assured me they would check the points I had listed, should I decide to buy the vehicle.

After checking numerous times that the points I had raised would infact be seen to and corrected, I decided I would purchase that particular vehicle (?95 Golf 1.8 Driver )

It was then that I was informed I would need to wait a further 5-6 working days which fell over a two week period, I wasn?t very happy that I had to wait this long and made clear my dissatisfaction to the sales representative now in charge of my sale. He rudely replied ?You are not our only customer, you
know?, and proceeded to advise me it was in my best interest to wait as the vehicle would undergo a full service & MOT, as well as the extra points I had raised.

On Tuesday 8th August as planned I went to collect my vehicle, after having already agreed a settlement and part exchange, I was told the vehicle was not ready at this time but that they would contact me once the servicing had been completed. I left, again making clear my dissatisfaction with the events so far, having travelled all that way unnecessarily when VW could simply have contacted me to inform of the delay.

I returned after having been called on Thursday 10Th August, I paid the bulk of the outstanding balance by Credit Card, my intention being to pay the final £1000 by cash on collection of my vehicle.
The sales representative advised me I would need my insurance certificate present in order to tax the vehicle, I had already contacted my insurance company but the relevant paperwork had not yet arrived.
At no point throughout my contact with VW (face to face & numerous telephone calls) was I advised this would be necessary, VW apologised and advised me I must again delay taking the car until I had the appropriate paperwork. I did not pay the final £1000.

I again returned on Friday 11th August with my insurance certificate and was greeted with another apology and was advised in recognition of the inconvenience caused (with regard to the insurance papers) VW would pay half towards my next service, and fill my tank with petrol, then advised me my car was now ready, servicing included.
I accepted this small gesture of goodwill and paid the final balance.

Driving my newly purchased vehicle home I noticed the vehicle still pulled towards the left side of the road; the brakes were as unresponsive as before, I contacted Volkswagen.

Within the first week I had also noticed a loud noise coming from the exhaust, as was the engine, The central locking ha
d failed to work on 3 occasions, the brightness of the driver side light was different to the left side, I had also noticed a loss of air pressure on the driver side tyre and was having to check this on a daily basis as it had proved to be a real problem.
I advised VW of the aforementioned problems and also discussed the 30-day exchange policy, at this point VW advised me to book the vehicle in for a service and if I still wasn?t satisfied, I could still consider the exchange.
They then proceeded to arrange a service for the 5th September ? 5 days before my 30-day exchange eligibility was due to expire.
I found it very strange that there was so many, quite serious faults apparently wrong with the vehicle after VW had claimed to have serviced it and carried out an MOT, including the points that I had raised.

I was unable to book the vehicle in for a service personally as I had used up considerable holiday time from work to try to sort out this fiasco, and my mother obliged. Before leaving the vehicle at VW the mileage was checked. Upon arrival, my mother was given the keys to the courtesy car and was rushed out to the vehicle, to the point where she was cut off mid sentence, VW were trying to reassure her everything would be alright.

I contacted Trading Standards who advised me the fact that the 30-exchange policy was due to expire did not necessarily mean I could not return the vehicle if I wasn?t satisfied under the Sale Of Goods Act 1979.
I also contacted the VW HeadQuarters for advice and requested a list of work which is carried out before a vehicle is sold, with this information in hand, I contacted VW Hartsdown and requested a list of the work which had supposedly been carried out 5 days prior to me buying the vehicle.
Clive faxed me through the information which turned out to be a ?multipoint check? it was dated 07/07/00, Not the date VW had said the work was carried out on.

On Friday 8th September I contacted
VW and was advised ?Nobody called C is employed by VW ?. I explained I had received a fax from him days earlier but was told ?You must be mistaken?. I had contacted Trading Standards to update them as to what was now happening; and that I was unable to speak to VW; Trading Standards did not seem surprised by this occurrence.

I finally received a voicemail message advising me my vehicle was ready for collection on Tuesday 12th September. Two days after my 30 Exchange policy had expired.

Tuesday was not convenient for myself as I have previously explained and I was unable to collect my vehicle until Saturday 16th September.

When I arrived I explained I was there to collect my vehicle which had just been serviced, I was immediately handed the keys to my vehicle and advised it was out the front ready for collection. I asked what work exactly had been carried out and the gentleman replied ?the things that you listed?
I again asked them to explain exactly what had been done, reminding them that I am not a diagnostic expert and requested a printout of the work that had been carried out.

I was advised this would not be possible, as there was no such list. I explained I would not take the vehicle without this list but would instead keep the courtesy car until they could get organised.
C then agreed to get me a copy.

Whilst I was waiting for the invoice I again checked the mileage on the vehicle (as was done before leaving the vehicle at Volkswagen) and it had increased by 20 miles. I went back to C for an explanation. C told me the vehicle had been test driven after the work was carried out. He then proceeded to explain he as well as two of his colleagues had test driven the vehicle, hence the mileage.
But this did not add up, the route he had explained was not even out of town and covered approx. 2 miles both ways so even with 3 test drives, it should have only accumulated 6-7 miles at the most.
VW could not
explain this to me.
I requested somebody with the authority to resolve my problem to come and speak to me but was told the only one person who could do this (Aftersales Manager) was tied up with a customer.
Eventually D (sales rep) did come, and listened as I explained the list of grievances I now had.

I again asked what work had been carried out both prior to me purchasing the vehicle; (the one that had been documented in my service history, stating the service was not now due until 10/08/2001),
And the service now in question. He advised the ?service? that had taken place before I purchased the car (Multipoint) was that of a visual one, and that the only real work carried out was a check of engine levels, tyre pressures, and screen wash. I proceeded to explain that even the Visual Multipoint check was inaccurate, as it had stated, for example, there was a toolkit in the boot, which was present and complete. Well this is not true as one of my points in the test drive was that the toolkit was missing, There was other points I raised i.e. the uneven brightness of the front beams, which had the visual check been carried out properly, would have been picked up on. Dean accepted there was some discrepancies.

I then queried if ALL of the points I had raised previously as well as any obvious problems with the vehicle had now been corrected, He assured me they had, I also asked for confirmation that ALL of the parts on the invoice HAD infact been fitted, This was also confirmed numerous times.
Dean then suddenly turned and walked off, telling me under his breath to take this up with VW HeadQuarters, as I was clearly not prepared to accept what he had to say. Dean had not offered me any explanation or justification in terms of the points I had put to him therefore there was nothing to accept.

I was left standing at the service desk unattended until Clive returned, Quite surprised that Dean has just walked off in that manner. I p
roceeded to explain what had just happened. By this point I had been at VW for nearly an hour.
As SN was still unavailable I advised Clive that this issue was still unresolved, and he said he would get Simon to call me ?as soon as he is available?.
Driving my vehicle home it was apparent the brakes had not been fixed and the car was still pulling to the left, and it had become worse.
I called Clive within minutes and explained I did not believe the work had been carried out on the vehicle, as these faults were still present. Clive advised me to bring the vehicle back in to check the brakes & the pulling to the left problem, I explained I?d feel more comfortable taking my vehicle to another approved dealership to have a check up or service as quite frankly I didn?t believe the dealer
Were being honest, Clive then proceeded to advise me that this would cause problems in terms of payment under the warranty scheme. I again advised I was not happy taking the vehicle back to the dealer for a service.
I called VW HeadQuarters, as I didn?t feel this issue could be resolved with the Dealership. They informed me I can infact take my vehicle to Any Approved Volkswagen Dealership under the warranty scheme.
It was then I was advised to contact yourself.
Once at home I checked over the vehicle, I tested the exhaust which was still making the loud noise, and the noise from the engine was still present.
What was to happen next would diminish what little faith I had left in the dealer.
I checked inside the vehicle and I found two VW parts on the back passenger seat, these are two of the parts that are listed on the invoice dated 12/09/00 (still in their original packaging,)
Which I had confirmed with several VW staff on numerous occasions that these parts had been fitted.

I waited until Monday 18Th September to call again and spoke to G.
I did not explain that I had found the parts in the vehicle but proceeded to question him a
s to whether or not he could guarantee the parts had been fitted, he kept repeating that he?d been charged for them so they Could Only have been fitted. I again explained I did not believe the work was carried out as the faults I had previously listed (some even before purchasing the vehicle) was still causing problems.
G asked me to take the vehicle back but was aware that I did not wish to do so as a result of the service received so far.

Instead G has said he would like to test drive the vehicle himself, with me present, and we can discuss any issues I have.

G (sales representative) has since test driven my vehicle and advised me the problem with the vehicle pulling to the left is a not a problem but instead it is quite common and is within the manufacturing tolerance levels.

He accepted it did pull to the left but said this was normal. He also speculated that the brakes were not a problem but insisted they were ok.
G is Not a Mechanic or a Diagnostic Expert (as he kept reminding me throughout the test drive), So I?m sure you?ll agree this test drive served no purpose whatsoever and G?s opinion is that of a personal one and therefore means nothing.

He also said he would offer me an Independent Assessment to be carried out but actually didn?t offer anything.

What I would like is to have my brakes replaced, the problem with the pulling to the left resolved and the other issues that I originally had to be corrected.
I would also like the Independent Assessment (that Gary claims to have offered me) to be carried out at my convenience, outside my house.
Alternatively I will return the vehicle for a full refund and will take my custom elsewhere.

I would like to discuss this issue with you personally, as this has been ongoing for so long and given the sheer lack of professionalism surrounding this matter, I expect I will hear from you personally within the next few days.

I realise there is
a certain hierarchical structure when making formal complaints, however I?m sure you?ll appreciate the seriousness of the matter I have described.

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