[dezrskb]

Thanks PlatzdaTurbo,
I was finding it strange that VW India website mentions about EW till 4yrs/1L Kms but dealers denied existence of any such thing. I mailed VW India and got a reply few min back that they are working on a revised EW policy right now and will make it available by Sep'12. I now have decided that MT is the way to go probably not because it would save me money but in absence of an extended warranty covering clutches (may be clutch plate is the one which is excluded, then there are two of them in a DSG box. Am I correct?). Heard it is expensive to replace out of warranty. Also I know nobody cares much about resale value in this segment of cars and you shouldnt be expecting much. But I guess an AT out of warranty should be fetching much less than a simpler MT anyday.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by dezrskb

Thanks PlatzdaTurbo,
I was finding it strange that VW India website mentions about EW till 4yrs/1L Kms but dealers denied existence of any such thing. I mailed VW India and got a reply few min back that they are working on a revised EW policy right now and will make it available by Sep'12. I now have decided that MT is the way to go probably not because it would save me money but in absence of an extended warranty covering clutches (may be clutch plate is the one which is excluded, then there are two of them in a DSG box. Am I correct?). Heard it is expensive to replace out of warranty. Also I know nobody cares much about resale value in this segment of cars and you shouldnt be expecting much. But I guess an AT out of warranty should be fetching much less than a simpler MT anyday.

DSG doesn't have separate clutch plates inside - if there is a problem with it then the entire gearbox needs to be replaced which is around 3-4L So a extended warranty on VW/skoda DSG cars is a must for peace of mind.

[ajmat]

Drove to Goa and back. Car easily kept up with the X5 and Q5 in the convoy.

Observations

- It is a real mile eater, I averaged 14km/l on the way and 17km/l (was drivng slower) on return.
- Wipers cope very well in the rain
-Stereo copes with 3 40 something ladies singing '70's songs in your ear
- A/c takes a long time to cope with hot humid weather. The Audi passengers also suffered a a similar fate.

On the return trip, some trucker left his breakdown stones on the road. Result damage wheel, slightly damaged bottom sill and the plastic panelling under the car was torn. The spare wheel although on a steel rim is the exact size so one could continue at the same pace.

Heaven help me if it was a BMW!

Registered claim as soon as I reached home. The next day, I rang VW Downtown.

"Sorry, I cannot take your car, no room!"

"Can you take it in to assess it, and I will take itback until you get parts"

"No sir! I cannot even give you space for that, I will make an appointment for next week"

Bajaj Alliance called me and I told them that the car will be in next week and they said they will wait

Next week, that was yesterday came along. I went in at 10 am as requested. No room to park so "illegally" parked on road

A lot of folks waiting for one lady to key in details for each service request. Since mine was a body shop case, I was assigned to another person who looked at car, prepared service card and then I had to wait for the service advisor.

The others waiting for a routine service were getting angry since there were very few service advisors to cope with the appointments. A glance around the back revealed around 15-20service bays and 50 cars.

Meanwhile the insurance surveyor had turned up to see my car as planned. The service advisor reviewed my car and I remarked that he must be having a tough time. I got him started

"Not even girls call me, only customers and that too, they only shout at me, new facility should take the pressure but no one knows when it will open, the management dont seem to care! VW open three dealerships but only one accessible service centre!"

He checked car out and mentioned that it all depends on the parts availability since Jetta is a "rare" car for stocking parts. Surveyor completed his work. Car needs to get on ramp for inspection (getting to the ramp will be a task in itself!)

I told the advisor, if the car is sitting and awaiting parts, I will take it back and return when the actual repair takes place.

Walking out, I felt sorry for the folks working there under stressed conditions. The only alternative would be the repair centre in Hessarghata but I do not even want to think of the travel there to follow up on it

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by ajmat

He checked car out and mentioned that it all depends on the parts availability since Jetta is a "rare" car for stocking parts. Surveyor completed his work. Car needs to get on ramp for inspection (getting to the ramp will be a task in itself!)

Now this part is a bit disturbing. In a city like Bangalore, if the Jetta is considered as a ‘rare’ car (and hence no immediate parts availability), the situation could be even worst in smaller cities.
A car in this segment is not expected to do monthly volume of 2000 nos. By this logic, any accident (which need some parts replacement) will result in a lengthy idle time.

[ajmat]

Having owned a rare car like an RS, VW will get the part- it does means ordering the part in for Aurangabad

[androdev]

Originally Posted by ajmat

On the return trip, some trucker left his breakdown stones on the road. Result damage wheel, slightly damaged bottom sill and the plastic panelling under the car was torn. The spare wheel although on a steel rim is the exact size so one could continue at the same pace.

Heaven help me if it was a BMW!

Sorry to hear what happened. Hope things get sorted out quickly. Though I am sure you know I endured a painful breakdown, more damage and more delay :-)

Off late, I have become very reluctant to visit the A.S.S in person as the overall experience has degraded quite a bit. The staff is overworked and there is hardly any opportunity to build a relationship.

[ajmat]

Update - The surveyor wants to check the car on the ramp. He came today and waited. The workshop was so chock a block, they could not even get it near a ramp. He might pop in later today or tomorrow.

They have started ordering the parts. The supervisor told me that they will return car and once the parts have arrived, repairs will be completed in one shot.

[F50]

Originally Posted by ajmat

"Not even girls call me, only customers and that too, they only shout at me, new facility should take the pressure but no one knows when it will open, the management dont seem to care! VW open three dealerships but only one accessible service centre!"

Walking out, I felt sorry for the folks working there under stressed conditions. The only alternative would be the repair centre in Hessarghata but I do not even want to think of the travel there to follow up on it

This is absolutely sad.

A friend's VW Vento suffered fuel injector failure. He had to wait for a week before new one arrived. All this happened in Pune, so trips up and down were another story.

Mumbai has 5 dealers and just 2 workshops. Story should be same here too.

[negativeH]

Originally Posted by ajmat

On the return trip, some trucker left his breakdown stones on the road. Result damage wheel, slightly damaged bottom sill and the plastic panelling under the car was torn. The spare wheel although on a steel rim is the exact size so one could continue at the same pace.

Suffered something similar in my Vento, although a lot less serious.
Drove over an over sized boulder while driving out of a petrol pump at night. It was lying there on the road and I just couldn't spot it.
The resultant damage was that two of the under-body cladding's hook broke. The consequences were the cladding scratching the road everytine the car went over 60kmph and increased cabin noise.
The hooks are built into the cladding and cant be replaced and hence the repair was to get a new cladding. But the W/S mech managed to do a good ol' desi jugad and the cladding was put back in place. Has been fine for over a year now.

[issigonis]

>>>

I wish to put forward a few personal points, although these pertain to the old Mk5 Jetta.
The 6 speed DSG is quick and I do not find it any slower than the manual.
I have driven to Rajasthan, Goa, various places in Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttarakhand and have had no problems whatsoever with the ground clearance of a mere 152 mm.
My car has done about 37000 kms so far. I am planning another Bombay-Uttarakhand - Bombay run soon.

Regards
issigonis

[ajmat]

Update - Insurance assessment is over - after finally driving the car for challenging distance of 200 metres over 2 weeks, the car finally got on a ramp for the underbody survey.

I enquired about when the repirs will start, the bodyshop manager said the parts will take around 10 days to arrive. I offered to take the car back and park it (and he was willing!) but the insurance and the workshop manager will not allow it. They do not want the car to be driven.

Will check back in person early next week!

[VeyronSuperSprt]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I offered to take the car back and park it (and he was willing!) but the insurance and the workshop manager will not allow it. They do not want the car to be driven.

Here we go - the riskiest part of owning any car. Wonder why they should object as the insurance sanction is limited to the parts shown as damaged in the claim and accepted as such by the surveyor. Assuming the worst case scenario - the car meets with another accident while being driven - the insurance guys do not stand to lose anything as there cannot be two claims submitted within such a short interval. I would suggest you press for taking the car out - you should be able to get it.

[ajmat]

Went to see status of car and try and reclaim it last Saturday. Walked around the yard, no sign of it. Walked into service area and found it on a service ramp lording it over the other cars with a Polo parked underneath. It would take a week to get it out! Bodyshop manager was "all over the place",he told me that parts were on order but could not tell me when. Have been promised a call. Tried him once, parts person was not around. Got SMS's promising a return call, one at 930 pm.

If they are squeezing their folks like this, VW folks are going to have a tough time retaining good service staff. No one knows when the new facility will open, if it will open, whether it will open.

Despite having a Honda franchise, these folks have no idea on how to plan capacity for mass market cars.

I still wait for that phone call. Maybe I should have stumped up and bought a merc or a BMW corp edition!

[SmartCat]

Looks like these are just teething troubles VW has on the service front - they should go away after a few months. 5 or 6 years back, Chevrolet too had the exact same issues when the brand went mass market after being in the fringes for a long time.

What I'm keeping an eye on is VW's (Jetta in particular) part reliability, spare part costs and dealer ethics.

[Karan1981]

Hey Ajmat, sad to hear these issues...it looks like a problem across this brand and its group of companies (read Skoda...)

having said that I don't face any such issue with Audi till now. My car gets picked up and delivered back promptly and they only pick it up when the part is ready for fitment.

The only problem I have with them since start is their product knowledge, which continues to be an issue, but they are far far ahead in comparison to vw and skoda and absolutely in line with BMW or Merc after sales service.