[ahmadnaik]

My earlier thread - link.

So - it's been a while, and it's back - about 94,000 kms into my ownership experience, and numerous hour long visits to the terribly managed service centre later, I am pleased to announce that Volkswagen continue to remain abysmal in every regard of of the word "service". This is a long post - but trust me, the "gearbox" thread is still in there.

Let's backtrack to a few months. I'm on my way out of town, when my Air-Conditioner randomly stops working. The compressor refuses to turn on, no cold air, I open my bonnet to check - and lo and behold, I find 3 screws missing from engine cover. Yeah. Missing, bang in the centre of where anyone with a cataract in both his eyes could see it. You can see both the gaping holes in the attached picture below.



Moving on to a painstaking service centre visit, something about the coolant leading to the engine head getting replaced leading to a bill over 2 Lakh being covered by my warranty leading to almost an agonising month of typical non-responsiveness and pure disheartening Volkswagen service. The important thing here is - no compensation was offered, nor a pick up and drop ever, nor a convenience vehicle, nor an apology, nor a callback when promised by the SA - ever.

But hey, that was June leading on to July, who cares about July? So let's fast forward to the next big thing, a long long time later- August. My brother was driving, a taxi guy clipped the front of the bumper at a roundabout, car goes in for a simple insurance claim, is promised back 5 days after the survey, comes back a 3 days after the extended promised date, and literally goes back to square one - no Air Conditioning as soon as I get the car back from the workshop.

So - after waiting 1 hour for a double delayed car delivery, I'm on my way back to the workshop, cancelling a meeting, and spend the next - yeah, 2 hours at the workshop, cause they don't know what's happening. In those 2 hours, I watch as a mechanic fiddles with unrelated stuff, stares at the wheel for a long while, and drives the car without the coolant cap on despite me warning him not to - and watching boiling coolant spill all over the engine bay. And it gets better, cause his way of offering an apology to my glowering "I told you so" look was - it's no big deal, I'll just fill more. Then the only VAS machine they have at the workshop manages to malfunction, and after they conveniently blame the port of my car - I tell them to do the most logical thing in a workshop - test it on other cars. Turns out the machine they had was bad, so about 3 hours later I'm driving from the body workshop to the main workshop to get the Air Conditioning fixed - during which my ABS light malfunctions along with my Engine Oil.

And if you're already bored, or fuming at the apathy of the service centre on an annoyingly lengthy post - let me tell you, I'm just getting started.

So - it's September, the 8th - my car is back from the workshop after another long stint. They claim to have "checked everything" and claim to have done "pressure tests" and I get my vehicle back home that night, ready to leave for a trip to panchgani the next morning.

And while I'm climbing the ghats, the Engine Oil light randomly turns on, which was strange cause my Engine oil was topped up at a service recently and my car was only back last night after a long stint at the service centre. I'm driving in sports mode, climbing the ghats, when suddenly - out of the blue - the car starts to splutter - and without warning lose power - and completely comes to a halt. It does on me, in gear and this is an automatic vehicle. There's trucks roaring behind me, cars honking, and by the grace of God, just enough space for me to move over to the side of the ghat while leaving a lane for traffic to move on.

And guess what - it's Volkswagen September trouble time! So I do the usual, call the guys up, after failing to start my car. With a feeling of alarming dread, I'm finally certain my gearbox has failed. Volkswagen gives me the usual, "can you get it to the nearest workshop" - and as always, puts the entire onus on me, without so much as an offer of recompense or rescue. I keep trying to restart the car, it's occupants now on the road, as it miraculously and without warning comes back to life. Then I keep my fingers crossed, slot it into Park, and slot it back into Drive, hoping against hope it just slots into gear. And it did. So I cut the phone, tell them I'll get it to them when I'm back from my trip, and proceed to drive at an agonisingly slow pace for the rest of the journey uphill. The Engine oil is not blinking anymore, but suddenly starts blinking when I'm at the top of the hill once again. I stop at the side, get down and check the level again - but it's completely fine. Spend the rest of my day asking around for Engine oil shops, and finally make it to the hotel in one piece. The receptionist happens to be a kind dude who take a look at my car and exclaims in Horror about something unrelated - that could have cause the issue. A leaking battery eaten by mice, something I'd completely overlooked.



So I call the service centre guys again, ask them if that could be the issue - they say no, and I'm like it's cool, I'm have to buy a new battery - even though I'm reasonably certain the odds of it having happened the only one night it was parked in my building was negligible since we've got rat disinfectants and traps etc and there have been no rats in my building for a while now. Still - being an honourable dude, I decided to pay the full amount for the battery - about 7K. That's when the service advisor tells me they knew about the battery being bitten cause they'd seen it at the workshop, but they "didn't know it was leaking so thought it wouldn't be a problem". And again - I'm reminded of Volkswagen being epically awesome with their utterly illogical explanations.

Also - I know now for sure that it certainly didn't happen the one night it was at my building, which means it must've happened during the 3 weeks it was at the workshop. And if you see where their bodywork workshop is located, you'll agree with my renewed assimilation without hesitation. So I'm back to making a hundred phone calls - and they deny it being their fault, say the car was bought in like that - and I tell them they need to have made a log of all the existing damage - otherwise the point of the pre-service acceptance checking is nullified. Nothing gets through - they keep denying it - the service advisor feels stupid for admitting he knew about it.

But now I've got the number of a person who's higher up the Volkswagen chain of command, courtesy of my first gearbox jerking thread. So I call him and tell him - he's extremely polite, offers to get the battery replaced - says I'll still have to pay 1 thousand, but it's better than 7 so I say yes. Car gets the battery replaced, I tell them to recheck the Engine oil sensors, cause the light had come one a couple of more times after that, they say they rechecked it all - and I get my vehicle back on 16th or 17th of September - but hey, Volkswagen ain't done with the month yet - so on the 27th of September, the Engine oil light starts blinking again - and the car shudders and almost stalls again while climbing a speed breaker on a slope with 5 passengers.

So - I do the usual, call them up, it's the 27th morning. The service advisor is vague - the higher up guy I know doesn't reply for the next day - until I message him 3 times after which he says "Dear Mr. Ahmed, can you send the vehicle to shaman on Monday ... we will take basis log and proceed for the same."

Then I find out it's not open on Monday - so it's Tuesday, I tell the guy that I'm done with their antics, and I will only give my vehicle if I get a replacement vehicle. He doesn't reply to that message. I message again on Tuesday, and I get the usual "I'm in a meeting, I'll call you back." As of this post - not got the call back, and it's Saturday today.

The workshop service advisor calls me on Wednesday and casually says "sir, we're getting the convenience vehicle tomorrow, so that's why you'll have to give it tomorrow, which is Thursday). I say okay - Thursday comes and goes, so does Friday, and now we're at Saturday - and I'm up at 2am writing this post out of purely epic frustration, and a desperate need to warn others.

Do not purchase Volkswagen vehicles if you care about your sanity or service. I'm not one to bad mouth guys just for kicks - but seriously, this is beyond exasperating. Also - I'd recommend any Team BHP Moderator to mark this post as "unresolved" since it seems to have reoccurred. I didn't mind it showing as resolved, and yes I've had brilliantly awesome moments with my vehicle. I also do not doubt my case could be a one off - but I'm willing to buy an unsteady Hyundai over a Volkswagen just to not have these service woes.

Oh - and the best part, my car will be completing 4 years at the end of this month, after which I'll have no warranty. And if a simple coolant level reduction resulted in an engine head replacement costing over 2 Lakh, I shudder to think what's in store.

Will keep updating on this thread. And trust me, there's a lot more I haven't mentioned. I've also not mentioned names of individuals, but I'm one step away from doing that. A brand needs to be held accountable for its misdeeds, especially when customers are repeatedly being treated like - don't want to violate the Team BHP terms and conditions yet.

P.S - Here's a picture of 2 cars touching bumpers while parked inside the cramped workshop. I clicked a picture before asking the service advisor to move them. They're not my vehicles- but it goes a long way to show how much they really care.



Forgive the angle, but it was kind of covert, so didn't get a clearer shot.

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by ahmadnaik

So - it's been a while, and it's back - about 94,000 kms into my ownership experience, and numerous hour long visits to the terribly managed service centre later, I am pleased to announce that Volkswagen continue to remain abysmal in every regard of of the word "service"..

Man! This is so very scary. Gives me shiver having booked the same car.
My sympathies with you and wish you get everything resolved quickly.
Is the vw service attitude any different in Bangalore? I'm almost sure if they don't care about Mumbai, Bangalore would be just another city.
I'd be relooking at my booking but it's the lack of alternatives that forces people like me to still buy vw and that kind of helps them continue with their indifferent attitude.

[GTO]

Sorry to hear about your experience, Ahmad. Moving your post to a new thread as these are very serious issues!

[R2D2]

Gosh! I feel so terrible reading this thread. My deepest sympathies, Ahmad. Don't know what I'd have done had I been in your place, probably sold off the bloody car in sheer exasperation. No car (and I mean no car) is worth a few minutes of driving pleasure and days/weeks of pain and frustration. Completely unacceptable.

My desire for the Skoda Octavia vRS is on a steep downhill slope after reading an initial ownership thread about that car and now this one. No wonder these VAG cars (including that pimped up VW, the Audi) get the short shrift from buyers.

EDIT: Come to think of it, my spouse would without a single doubt force me to get rid of a car that leaves us stranded despite regular maintenance. This is not done VW, not done. When other German cars work so much more reliably why can't yours?

[Col Mehta]

Oh what a shame this is! Such terrific cars but equally horrible service experiences with them. So sorry to hear about the nightmares you have had with your car. We own Vento petrol and have tasted similar bitterness with VW in the past (not as pathetic as yours though). And as you mentioned the car would shortly complete four years resulting in no warranty coverage, I would strongly suggest you selling it and get yourself a more reliable one.

Please keep us posted with the progress. Thanks.

[spyder_p8]

I own a 2013 Vento TDI. About to reach 60K. Extremely reliable and cheap to maintain as i do not use the company service station. The good road side mechanic is better. But, as i have some empathy for you, i would rather throw it away now. Its high time VAG should realize that they are not doing anything remotely satisfactory when it comes to service. It may also be the case that it doesn't matter to them any more despite such post frequently at least on this forum. It has actually reached saturation level. Those who have suffered will never buy a VAG again. And there are common minimum mass in the range ~2-3K customers per month which would anyway buy a VW. VAG seems to be happy with that number and it will never mend its ways.

[Turbohead]

I can empathize with you! What you've been through is a lot!

But wait!

Which service center is this?
Why haven't you named them?
Have you tried any other VW SC?
Have you ever tried going to some specialist FNG? I'm pretty sure there will be some in Mumbai!

My 2 cents: Never call the service center directly! Call the VW helpline at all times. Those calls are recorded and they avoid playing around! In fact no case is closed until you sign the form stating that you're satisfied with the solution- that's key. Also note down the complaint no.

We've been through some rough patches with VW and they're usually SLOW. Can completely understand!

I sincerely hope your issues get resolved ASAP! No customer should go through this!

[Asish_VK]

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with the service issues.

It just make my blood boil just reading this thread. I can feel that you have held back from expressing your true feelings through words, How can one be so cool ? Still can feel the frustrations you have.

Out of curiosity, Why did you stick to the same service center after all these troubles ? Is it because there is only one service center in your city ? Or did I miss something ?

[selfdrive]

Looks like VW has thrown the entire list of defects at you within three months, with the proverbial kitchen sink added for bad measure.
These added horror stories really spook the hell out of anyone who would want to have a reliable car. I think it is being proven all over again that the only reliability that VW can offer here in India is in extremely poor service standards. And this is before we even get into ethics, which as a word they seem to be hell bent to prove that does not exist in their dictionary.

I hope for your good sake that you have a better October. What would worry me more, as you rightly said, is that soon you would be out of the extended warranty period. perhaps you may be better off transferring your worries to someone else by selling off the car.

[i74js]

That's strange:

1. You have covered about 100K on this machine and have still not given up on VW ! There are about 8 dealers within Mumbai, Navi Mumbai & Thane. Are all of them same in offering you poor resolution to the issues discovered in your car? If you have patronized just one outlet, can you suggest why it is so - I would have definitely switched to another outlet if the satisfaction / resolution levels are poor at a specific service centre

2. Chewing of battery - Yes you had to fight; but after escalation replacement battery was provided @ 1K to you, which is very reasonable because it would have depreciated by that amount between purchase and the time when this incident happened

3. Engine light & car giving up on you are serious issues and should have been resolved by VW; I sympathize with you on the ordeal yet I am sure escalation can work. Be firm and polite with the service centre, escalate the matter to the extent possible. Have all records in place if this is a repeated occurrence. VW though part of VAG is not as bad as SKODA (there is one live case going on the forum with sale of standard variant against payment of black package) !

I hope you get a fair solution to the problem, TSI motor is a gem and it should run trouble free if maintained well (which I hope you will ensure).

All the best.

[shady8701]

Wow, I totally sympathize with your plight! Having just bought a Vento TSI myself, I can only hope that I don't fall prey to the same experience. Although, about the dealer not really caring about the user experience is something I felt for myself during the purchase period itself.
What I did was write an email to VW India detailing my woes and the only thing that happened after that was the CRM from the dealership calling me to apologize and then asking me to acknowledge their apology in an email. I am not sure but maybe try doing that and VW India could help somehow? (I'm sure other users of this forum with similar experiences can offer some insight here).

Abhi

[sleepyhead148]

It is sad to see a good car becoming prey to indifferent, inefficient and inept service standards. VAG has a long history of such incidents in India. This just adds to the pile. We've also had a very indifferent service experience on our Jetta. The ABS and airbag warnings would come off mid-drive and the SA (in true Volkswagen style) was clueless about the whole scenario. My uncle got so sick of the turnaround time that he requisitioned for an overhaul of the entire Airbag system and the ABS as well. And in the process, ended up footing the bill from his own pocket (expired extended warranty).

It is sad that such aspirational cars are let down by clueless technicians and indifferent floor managers. And let's not even get to the dealership experience. I'm hopeful of a resolution in your case, and despite not being quick, I do hope it'll significantly reduce your hassles.

[smuniswami]

Sir,
As an automobile forum Team Bhp has a great reputation in the country and elsewhere.
When our Ahmed's case is genuine and if the forum feels so, is it not possible to contact (by the head of our forum) some top brass people in VW India, notifying this issue?
Thanks.

[autohead666]

My sympathies with you Ahmad . I was considering selling off my old swift vxi and going for a pre-owned Skoda/VW , but with these kind of incidents I am changing my decision . I will purchase another Maruti/Hyundai/Ford/Honda but will never go for a VAG car , because end of the day I don't need a car that will give me headaches .

[neoonwheels]

Got taste of their so called "Expertise" during the service of my Jetta last month. I really hope I wont be regretting buying a VW. All these guys are good at is "Replacing the parts". They have zero troubleshooting skills with zero willingness to do so.

The Pune BUB has around 100 cars daily at its service center for service/repair work. You can imagine why they prefer 'Replacement' policy easily.