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Help! Dealing with VWOA re: sagging headliner

Blk1U

Blk1U

Passed Driver's Ed
So the headliner just came off around the rear dome light on my '13 GTI yesterday, and as luck would have it, my warranty ended . . . last week.

Called VWOA today and they're willing to "assist" with the cost, so long as I have it inspected by a VW dealership; they said once it's inspected, they'll let me know how much they can contribute to the repair.

I've read a few cases online where VWOA flat out denied assistance at first, and ended up covering 100% in the end, all of them out of warranty . . .

Anyone have helpful advice on how I can get this covered 100%?
 
sterkrazzy

sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
Nothing helpful here. I was well within my warranty still. My dealer immediately told me no, not covered under warranty, and gave me a number to an outside source that would give me a discount if I mentioned the dealership.
 
Blk1U

Blk1U

Passed Driver's Ed
sterkrazzy said:
Nothing helpful here. I was well within my warranty still. My dealer immediately told me no, not covered under warranty, and gave me a number to an outside source that would give me a discount if I mentioned the dealership.
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That's just cold!

Appreciate the reply, brother
 
zrickety

zrickety

The Fixer
You are probably SOL. A factory headliner will fail again. Your best bet is a good upholstery shop that can re-cover it, will probably last longer.
 
Blk1U

Blk1U

Passed Driver's Ed
zrickety said:
You are probably SOL. A factory headliner will fail again. Your best bet is a good upholstery shop that can re-cover it, will probably last longer.
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Appreciate it zrickety. You're no doubt right, saw the thread by focalpoint; he had to have it replaced again after 3 years. How has there never been a TSB on this issue?

You know the saying, "when it rains it pours," and right now it's a damn hurricane for me, so all I'm trying to do is get this covered. If things don't get better in 3 years time, $hit I'll be lucky to have a GTI to complain about.

If i'm truly SOL, is the fabric easy to match? I really like the OEM headliner feel with its texture;can't stand the normal fabric of most headliners since owning this car.

Thanks again for the replies
 
sterkrazzy

sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
Blk1U said:
If i'm truly SOL, is the fabric easy to match? I really like the OEM headliner feel with its texture;can't stand the normal fabric of most headliners since owning this car.

Thanks again for the replies
Click to expand...

I pulled my headliner out myself and took it to a shop to reupholster it. I brought a piece of the original material with me and they matched it exactly. I only paid $130 since I pulled the headliner out myself, but I didn't get a warranty or anything like that.

The first shop I called to get a quote from wouldn't even touch it. They said because I removed it myself they wouldn't give me a warranty after they reupholster, so I guess that was enough for them to not even want to deal with it.
 
Blk1U

Blk1U

Passed Driver's Ed
sterkrazzy said:
I pulled my headliner out myself and took it to a shop to reupholster it. I brought a piece of the original material with me and they matched it exactly. I only paid $130 since I pulled the headliner out myself, but I didn't get a warranty or anything like that.

The first shop I called to get a quote from wouldn't even touch it. They said because I removed it myself they wouldn't give me a warranty after they reupholster, so I guess that was enough for them to not even want to deal with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's good info right there. I don't mind doing some of the grunt work if it means keeping money in my pocket. Hopefully a shop near me can offer the same deal
 
Uberryan

Uberryan

Banned
I have a falling headliner every 3 years or so on VWs with the OEM fabric. The glue and material are both cheap and they've plagued the brand for years and years. One of my pet peeves that will drive me back to domestic on my next purchase.
 
Blk1U

Blk1U

Passed Driver's Ed
FocalPoint said:
I have a falling headliner every 3 years or so on VWs with the OEM fabric. The glue and material are both cheap and they've plagued the brand for years and years. One of my pet peeves that will drive me back to domestic on my next purchase.
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FocalPoint, reading your thread bummed me out man. I can't blame you for getting soured, this issue shouldn't exist on modern cars. I looked up upholstery shops down here, and 90% of the reviews were for VWs.

I didn't have much luck with my domestic, tho; 92 Explorer and after 6 years, the AC broke twice, the door handles broke off, the gas gauge stopped working, the transmission slipped, and the headliner started to go (admittedly, after 10 years of owning it, not 3!).

Most reliable cars we've owned have been Toyotas, that is until my sister gets her hands on them and crashes . . .
 
Uberryan

Uberryan

Banned
Blk1U said:
FocalPoint, reading your thread bummed me out man. I can't blame you for getting soured, this issue shouldn't exist on modern cars. I looked up upholstery shops down here, and 90% of the reviews were for VWs.

I didn't have much luck with my domestic, tho; 92 Explorer and after 6 years, the AC broke twice, the door handles broke off, the gas gauge stopped working, the transmission slipped, and the headliner started to go (admittedly, after 10 years of owning it, not 3!).

Most reliable cars we've owned have been Toyotas, that is until my sister gets her hands on them and crashes . . .
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Well it's unfortunate, but keeping any car outside of warranty has become a huge risk for the consumer. There's a reason these headliners fall at such an alarming rate, and aftermarkets don't. It's happened twice now on my MK6, and once on my MKV all before hitting 50k miles. The first time it happened, I was just outside of the bumper to bumper warranty for the car and they fixed it on VW, but now I'm shit outta luck if I want another OEM job done. I'll go aftermarket for sure, given the huge price discount $300~ for aftermarket vs $750+ for OEM done at the dealer.

For what it's worth though, my transmission has issues, and my A/C is busted as well, so quality isn't too much worse, but at least domestics are cheaper to repair.
 
Blk1U

Blk1U

Passed Driver's Ed
Update for anyone interested. Here at the dealership, close to three hour wait, and the service advisor tells me VWOA is willing to split cost of $1004 (which is at the dealer rate of cost, consumer rate would be about $1400).

I let him know it was a nice offer, just not feasible, knowing I'll just be back in here in 3 years for the same mess. SA urged me to call VWOA on the spot to negotiate, but I think I'll have better luck if I wait. From other posts, seems like VWOA contacts you with a follow up offer. Any thoughts?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 
snobrdrdan

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
Blk1U said:
seems like VWOA contacts you with a follow up offer.
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Why would they bargain with you to lose money? :iono:

They accepted to cover 1/2 the cost, which they didn't have to, and you didn't take it....kinda foolish, if you truly want it fixed.
They have no obligation whatsoever, nor will they pick up the whole bill like you were originally thinking, to replace it on their dime

Take their offer, while you can, or find a different shop to do it. Either way, you're paying for it


good luck
 
D

dinnoo23

New member
I have the same issue with my headliner and I talked to VW Cares and they said the headliner is covered under the 3yr/36k mile warranty. If you're outside of that then you're out of luck. So stupid. Idk how others got them to cover the cost, I'd love to know.
 
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