So just to start this little rant out, I am thoroughly enjoying my GTI, great car, but the VW service departments I have encountered absolutely blow! For some of you this may be a tl;dr...
I travel quite a bit for work and have been in the midst of a relocation to San Diego, so it is not unusual to be away for 1-2 full weeks at a time. So I had a little problem crop up on my '11 GTI and have been unsuccessfully been trying to get it fixed for almost 2 months.
I originally purchased my car from a dealership in Ardmore, PA (a little over an hour from my house) with no issues and an overall great transaction. About 3 months after the purchase I begin to see the monster mats covered in condensation in the mornings (this tells me there is a leak somewhere). Since the dealer I purchased from is a little far away, I decided to take a chance on the local dealer about 10 min away instead... BIG mistake.
The local dealer is Faulkner-Ciocca, I previously had favorable interaction with this dealer when it was under its original owner (Mr. Zito was a family friend, and still is). But I have never experienced such a horrendous experience when dealing with warranty work as I have recently with this new ownership's service department. So here it goes:
I called to schedule an appointment to have my car looked at for a condensation issue (note that this is progressively getting worse as time goes by). I was told a specialist needs to be there and only Tuesday's work, fine. My first appointment is scheduled for 9am the following Tuesday so I decided to go in before work. When I arrive I explain the issue, hand them my key and take a seat. They immediately stop me and ask what I am doing... "Waiting" I said; they reply "the "leaks" guy doesn't have a schedule so we don't know when he will be here. So I could be waiting all day, even though I had scheduled a specific time to arrive for my appointment, no offer for a loaner (I find out later they only have a couple for the entire service department). So I leave and reschedule, unhappy that I have wasted my time...
Fast forward three weeks later (the earliest time I could come in), I scheduled a rental car with them this time - since they had no loaners to give up that day (I was stuck with a shit-tacular chevy HHR, the cheapest car you can rent). I also emphasize that this is warranty work and need to get this fixed asap. I figured that since my car was already at the dealer, I would have them do some non-warranty work as well (install coilovers) they quoted me an average price (roughly $350 installed) so I said let's just kill 2 birds with one stone (I know, I know, use a real shop...)
I get to the dealership, deal with the rude/unfriendly people at the front desk, and go over all of the details of the work to be done that day multiple times (they do not hire the sharpest tools in the box there). I arrive on time, yet still need to wait 45 minutes for my rental car to arrive. I leave and go on with my day.
FIVE hours later they call me about the suspension. I answer the phone, and the service lady says "we misquoted your suspension install, it should have been two additional hours.", my reply was "not my problem, you had quoted me a fair number and it was agreed upon", she returns "we also forgot to tell you that the price quoted did not include ADJUSTMENTS to the suspension, and it would just be installed as is out of the box, and doing the adjustments would cost an additional $200".
Flabbergasted I say "so, basically what you are telling me is that you want to recoup the costs from the misquote? The height adjustments are no more than 20 min of work."... "No, no" she replied, "That is the standard install costs"
But it gets better... When I ask how much it would cost now, she totals up over $600 for the suspension install AND the cost of the rental car.... "Wait a minute" I said, "The reason I came in today was to fix the LEAK in my car - warranty work"... She replied "I don't have anything on here for a leak fix and our specialist is not coming in today". UNBELIEVABLE. I had to restrain myself from yelling, the only reason I came to their crappy dealership in the first place was some simple warranty work. I told her there was no way I was paying for the rental, and I was coming back to pick up my car immediately and I will never return. When I returned, no apologies, no smiles, they didn't even ask if I wanted to reschedule. Stay far away from the morons running the service dept. at this place!
So, maybe I have been spoiled by the service on my BMW's, but this is unbelievable. My car is still not fixed as of today, and after a week in Denver the interior now smells musty to the point where I think I have some serious mold problems. I love this car and want to keep it, but I am now very close to getting rid of it because of the shitty experiences I have had in simply trying to fix a factory defect.
Moral of the story stay far, far away from Faulkner-Ciocca VW in Allentown, PA. VW should fire the entire service department if they know what is good for them (I certainly would, I know for sure the previous owner would). Excuse me while I go pollute my lungs with mold spores during my daily commute...
I travel quite a bit for work and have been in the midst of a relocation to San Diego, so it is not unusual to be away for 1-2 full weeks at a time. So I had a little problem crop up on my '11 GTI and have been unsuccessfully been trying to get it fixed for almost 2 months.
I originally purchased my car from a dealership in Ardmore, PA (a little over an hour from my house) with no issues and an overall great transaction. About 3 months after the purchase I begin to see the monster mats covered in condensation in the mornings (this tells me there is a leak somewhere). Since the dealer I purchased from is a little far away, I decided to take a chance on the local dealer about 10 min away instead... BIG mistake.
The local dealer is Faulkner-Ciocca, I previously had favorable interaction with this dealer when it was under its original owner (Mr. Zito was a family friend, and still is). But I have never experienced such a horrendous experience when dealing with warranty work as I have recently with this new ownership's service department. So here it goes:
I called to schedule an appointment to have my car looked at for a condensation issue (note that this is progressively getting worse as time goes by). I was told a specialist needs to be there and only Tuesday's work, fine. My first appointment is scheduled for 9am the following Tuesday so I decided to go in before work. When I arrive I explain the issue, hand them my key and take a seat. They immediately stop me and ask what I am doing... "Waiting" I said; they reply "the "leaks" guy doesn't have a schedule so we don't know when he will be here. So I could be waiting all day, even though I had scheduled a specific time to arrive for my appointment, no offer for a loaner (I find out later they only have a couple for the entire service department). So I leave and reschedule, unhappy that I have wasted my time...
Fast forward three weeks later (the earliest time I could come in), I scheduled a rental car with them this time - since they had no loaners to give up that day (I was stuck with a shit-tacular chevy HHR, the cheapest car you can rent). I also emphasize that this is warranty work and need to get this fixed asap. I figured that since my car was already at the dealer, I would have them do some non-warranty work as well (install coilovers) they quoted me an average price (roughly $350 installed) so I said let's just kill 2 birds with one stone (I know, I know, use a real shop...)
I get to the dealership, deal with the rude/unfriendly people at the front desk, and go over all of the details of the work to be done that day multiple times (they do not hire the sharpest tools in the box there). I arrive on time, yet still need to wait 45 minutes for my rental car to arrive. I leave and go on with my day.
FIVE hours later they call me about the suspension. I answer the phone, and the service lady says "we misquoted your suspension install, it should have been two additional hours.", my reply was "not my problem, you had quoted me a fair number and it was agreed upon", she returns "we also forgot to tell you that the price quoted did not include ADJUSTMENTS to the suspension, and it would just be installed as is out of the box, and doing the adjustments would cost an additional $200".
Flabbergasted I say "so, basically what you are telling me is that you want to recoup the costs from the misquote? The height adjustments are no more than 20 min of work."... "No, no" she replied, "That is the standard install costs"
But it gets better... When I ask how much it would cost now, she totals up over $600 for the suspension install AND the cost of the rental car.... "Wait a minute" I said, "The reason I came in today was to fix the LEAK in my car - warranty work"... She replied "I don't have anything on here for a leak fix and our specialist is not coming in today". UNBELIEVABLE. I had to restrain myself from yelling, the only reason I came to their crappy dealership in the first place was some simple warranty work. I told her there was no way I was paying for the rental, and I was coming back to pick up my car immediately and I will never return. When I returned, no apologies, no smiles, they didn't even ask if I wanted to reschedule. Stay far away from the morons running the service dept. at this place!
So, maybe I have been spoiled by the service on my BMW's, but this is unbelievable. My car is still not fixed as of today, and after a week in Denver the interior now smells musty to the point where I think I have some serious mold problems. I love this car and want to keep it, but I am now very close to getting rid of it because of the shitty experiences I have had in simply trying to fix a factory defect.
Moral of the story stay far, far away from Faulkner-Ciocca VW in Allentown, PA. VW should fire the entire service department if they know what is good for them (I certainly would, I know for sure the previous owner would). Excuse me while I go pollute my lungs with mold spores during my daily commute...
