[ambivalent_98]

I have visited VW service for my 4 regular services and a couple of other times for some minor issues I have had a fairly good experience. Nothing extraordinarily courteous but would be almost comparable to other car brands. They are professional and businesslike and make the same mistakes that Maruti , Hyundai would make. But I have seen nothing severly wrong.
So maybe they have been doing their homework and slowly and surely turning around the after sales service.

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Hi Docaxe,

Am just trying to understand the role of the RSA company here. If it doesn't bother you, Could you please help me with few queries?

IMHO, RSA add on packages are really useful just as the extended warranties. It will really help others to decide on these packages if we clearly define it's role in your case.

Originally Posted by docaxe

We were stuck between Belgaum and Dharwad and made a call to RSA.

Call was attended by the RSA company personnel? Did you get any case number?

Originally Posted by docaxe

When I told them about the issues that I faced, they promptly organised a Vento Tdi from VW Mangalore.

Who was the coordinator between the two dealerships? The RSA Company?

Originally Posted by docaxe

I was in a dilemma and I conveyed the same to VW higher-ups who were in constant touch with me.

Could you please specify their respective positions? When the case was open with the RSA company, why VW personnel were following it up, isn't it the responsibility of the RSA company to provide updates at regular intervals?

Originally Posted by docaxe

They asked me to take a flight to Mumbai, for which they would refund the fare amount after the claim process

RSA add on package offers the transfer to the planned destination or home address and includes hotel and replacement car benefits.

Originally Posted by docaxe

They had sent the bill which I settled in cash. Next morning I received a call that there was some mis-communication and I was erroneously billed. They had taken up the case as a warranty repair and promised to refund the entire amount ASAP.

Were you invoiced by the RSA company or VW Hubli?

Thanks in advance.

[embee]

Hi docaxe,

I am glad to hear some good news about VW service. That is an exceptionally good experience. As being a VW customer for many years (using Passat and Polo), all I have heard is negative views and now it looks like VW service is going towards a positive trend. Hope to hear more of such happy experiences...!!!

Wish you a Happy New Year

Cheers,

[advaitlele]

Am I dreaming while reading the post?
Oh, no I am awake; and it is indeed all praise review of the VW A.S.S.

I surely hope VW has pulled up their socks and will continue the good service across all dealers and regions. I surely hope this is a regular experience for all VW customers and not a one-off case in new year.

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by abhjain

As per my experience even though Maruti is the highest seller in the market, their dealers are never high headed. Service support is also amazing.

Very true, but this is only due to high volume, and not any innitiative from Maruti. As per a friend who was a Maruti dealer previously, most Maruti spares are supplied to the dealer for very low margin of profit 4 to 7.5 % for fast moving spares.

Rahul

[Kn1ght1941]

Good to see VW step up its game in India.

Their cars are good and now with more potent engines available they should see sales climb.

I own a VW myself and have so far had a very good experience with it.

[vidyHyd]

Our experiences when we visit car service centre for regular servicing of the vehicle could be varied. We might appreciate the quality of the work done on the vehicle, how we were greeted at the font desk, how well the workshop is maintained, the cost of the spares, the list can go on. What matters is did the automobile service network help you when it mattered most. I would like to highlight an incident similar to the one on this thread and thank VW service personnel that were responsible in making it happen.

Purpose:
God & Goddess. Srisailam is in the Nallamala hills and forest cover is quite dense. It has one of the 12 Jyotirlingas that of Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy and one of the 18 Shakti peethas that of Goddess Bhramarambika Devi.

Road taken:
Distance is about 250 km one way from my home. Took route 765 - Outer Ring Road (ORR), Kalwakurthy, Dindi, Srisailam. It is not a divided highway for most part. Final 80 km is ghat section. There is a tiger reserve in the Nallamala hills and they do not allow traffic from 9:00 pm in the night to 6:00 am in the morning. The road used to have lot of speed breakers, now they removed most of the them except for those in the forest area. Few villages on the route, the closest major town is Kurnool. I never went to Srisailam via Kurnool, Google Maps shows a time of about 4 hours to reach Kurnool from Srisailam.

Incident - Delight with VW service:
I started from Hyderabad around 1:30 pm and reached Srisailam by 5:30 pm, with couple of brief stops in the middle. My Jetta started at both these places without any problem. After reaching the destination and checking into the guest house, I wanted to use the speaker phone of the car to make a phone call and the car would not start.

When I turned the ignition, the instrument panel lighted up a couple of times but the engine would not crank! I suspected battery, but I was able to turn on headlights and all other lights. I called VW roadside support and the call centre person asked me to send the location of the vehicle so that he can arrange for towing service. Since I drove the vehicle for 250 km minutes before the incident, I knew that the issue could be minor so requested that I speak to service centre personnel.

The call centre person put me on hold for a minute and immediately conferenced a service person. Later on I gathered that the name of the person is Mr. Sundar Rajan. While I was delighted to get hold of someone who is knowledgeable about the vehicle with a single phone call, what this gentleman said and made sure is what really impressed me. He said, there is a possibility of the call getting dropped, so he gave me his mobile number so that I can call him back, if needed. He also said that I am in the middle of a jungle, so his team will help me in making sure that I return home safely. WOW - it was a sheer delight to have people like him in the service industry. When you need support if the dealer network provides it, you really love your car a lot more.

Resolution:
I was connected to the master electrician Mr. Naresh and he confirmed that the battery is not in a position to take load and that it is better for me to get it replaced. I made a few more calls to the Amaron dealer network, found a vendor who could deliver the battery at the guest house in Srisailam, got it fixed in the car the next day and returned home.

Conclusion:
By God’s grace, the car did not stop when I was in the middle of the jungle despite having a battery at the end of the life. It waited till I reached a safe destination! I had a glorious Darshan of the Lord and the Goddess. Got a brand new battery in a small town like Srisailam and returned home safely. Took the car to the service centre upon my return to get it checked and the service personnel confirmed that everything was order related to the new battery and electrical network of the car. Thank you VW service, keep up the good work!

[vidyHyd]

After four years of trouble free service, my battery failed. Well, that is what I concluded since multiple alarms started flashing in the dashboard.

Got it replaced at a battery care center and the technician told me that there is an electric leak in the car! The alarms in the dashboard continued to flash after replacing the new battery.

Took the car to a VW service center and they told me that it is not a leak but a sensor failed and it needs to be replaced. Since it is not readily available, it had to be ordered and service agents told me that I can drive the car ignoring the warnings!

After driving for a couple of days in the city, I realized that the car would not go past 40 kmph. Apparently it is a safety measure. In the meantime the sensor arrived and the service center replaced it in few minutes, all the warnings vanished and the car started behaving normally.

Observation and question to the group…

Event 1: After 2 years of ownership the VW company battery just died, without any warning. I replaced it with Amaron battery since I trusted the organization and believed that these give trouble free service. Car started normally after the battery was replaced and the dashboard did not have any warnings.

Event 2: For 4 years - which is the warranty period - the battery behaved very well. Then I had to replace the battery. So, after 6 years of ownership, a sensor failed when I had to replace the battery.

Question: The VW service agent said that company battery (in other words the OEM battery) is designed to maintain voltage within a range. When it can’t maintain the voltage it just dies. Whereas batteries manufactured locally continue to function till you figure out there is a problem, thus resulting in sensitive equipment like sensors failing! Can anyone validate if this is true?

[mav2000]

I think a majority of Jetta drivers have had to replace their batteries in or around the 2-3 year range. The same happened to me as well. I got it changed under warranty and the battery promptly died after another 2 years. Shifted to Amaron post that and there is been no issues for the last 4 years.