Need Advice. Dealership is refusing to honor warranty (car)

Ashtonator

Ashtonator

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I was hoping to get some tips on how to deal with this.

Bought a new Golf car from a 401 Dixie VW dealership (Mississauga) in October 2016. When i picked it up i noticed the brake made a bit of a weird grinding (or farting) noise. They told me its just because its new. Drive it a while and if it doesn't go away, dont worry about anything and just come back since its under warranty.

Went back a month ago. They acknowledged the issue and said it needs a brake booster. Ordered the part. 3 weeks later that part is finally in.

I go back and leave the car last week. After many delays (4 times for wrong part and busy schedule...) they finally said its fixed.

Went to pick up the car and its far FAR worse. The noise is at least 200%-300% louder while the report noted "road tested the car and the noise no longer persists". Showed it to the sales manager (since it was late and service dep was closed). He clearly acknowledged that this is wrong.

Next day i get a call from the service department saying that this noise is normal and there is nothing wrong with the car. i could t believe their blatant lie. (when the noise was far less, they acknowleged there was a problem. Now that its much worse they're saying its normal?! hmmm)

They said they checked a few other Golfs and they all make the same noise which is obviously a lie since i test drove a few before buying mine and they were all fine. The loaner i have from them (Jetta) also doesn't make that noise. I also own a RX8 which doesnt make this noise. Neither did any of my previous cars. This is not my first car and this is a very loud and unmistakably abnormal noise.

So they are basically trying to play dumb and say this is normal. Im supposed to go back today and talk to the service manager. Im planning to go in today and ask them to show me a few other cars to prove this noise is in no way normal.

But if it all fails and they just stick to their excuse, what is my course of action? I called VW Canada and they filed a complaint but i dont know if there's much they can do since a dealer is a private business.

Again, this is not some faint noise im being picky about. Its loud enough that even with the radio on, everyone in the car can hear it clearly every time you hit the brake and people noticed it before i even took it in. Now its far worse than it was.

So the dealership is trying to dodge fixing it and this car only has 12k on it.

Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this situation?
 
Go to a different dealer. The only car I ever bought from an actual dealer was a Subaru. Subaru Brampton service was terrible and told me every problem with the car was normal. Went to a different dealer which was way better and sorted out all my problems.

However most VW dealers are well known for being absolutely useless.

Also, Romper Room is the off topic (since this has nothing to do with bikes) section.
 
unL33T said:
Go to a different dealer. The only car I ever bought from an actual dealer was a Subaru. Subaru Brampton service was terrible and told me every problem with the car was normal. Went to a different dealer which was way better and sorted out all my problems.

However most VW dealers are well known for being absolutely useless.

Also, Romper Room is the off topic (since this has nothing to do with bikes) section.
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Thanks man.

My only worry is that ill take it to a different dealer, they will pull up the record and just go along with their colleague's excuse since they're all VW.

Also im planning to record a video of my entire interaction today plus show the noise the brake makes for further possible claims.

And good call on the Romper Room. How do i move the thread there?
 
Ashtonator said:
Thanks man.

My only worry is that ill take it to a different dealer, they will pull up the record and just go along with their colleague's excuse since they're all VW.

Also im planning to record a video of my entire interaction today plus show the noise the brake makes for further possible claims.

And good call on the Romper Room. How do i move the thread there?
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VW dealerships compete against each other(unless they owned by the same guy)there is no collusion between them. Find another VW store .
 
Jayv said:
VW dealerships compete against each other(unless they owned by the same guy)there is no collusion between them. Find another VW store .
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Good to know!

Hopefully i'll be able to get better service at another location.

So frustrating!
 
Surprised calling corporate had no effect. I kept getting the shaft from a dealership (multiple delays and terrible communication) for a head unit replacement that was supposed to be covered under warranty. Got tired of it one day and called the manufacturer's customer service line, literally within the hour the service manager from the dealership called me to see when I could drop off the car.
 
VAG not vagina is a disgusting corporate group and you will get shafted from all their products.

Volkswagen is the worst of the lot for support, You have been warned.

Try another dealer until you kind get better service.

BB
 
Went through this BS with my Jeep. Ended up filing for mediation through CAMVAP, which immediately made the manufacturer sit up and notice, which took care of the issue.

Document all communication with dealers and corporate with contact names and times. keep a detailed journal of the issue and how you tried to have it addressed. Ultimately it's best to deal with one dealership though, so I would try again with Dixie but contacting the Service Manager and working your way up the chain. If you are still getting blown off then file through CAMVAP.

Did you try searching for this issue on any VW forums like Vortex?
 
sevet said:
Surprised calling corporate had no effect. I kept getting the shaft from a dealership (multiple delays and terrible communication) for a head unit replacement that was supposed to be covered under warranty. Got tired of it one day and called the manufacturer's customer service line, literally within the hour the service manager from the dealership called me to see when I could drop off the car.
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Well i called the corporate and they said they will get back to me within 24 hours. But she kinda told me they have limited power of the dealership and was already trying to tell me to go to a different dealer since they might not be able to do much with this dealer.

Hope she gets back to me with some good news today.
 
DJM said:
Went through this BS with my Jeep. Ended up filing for mediation through CAMVAP, which immediately made the manufacturer sit up and notice, which took care of the issue.

Document all communication with dealers and corporate with contact names and times. keep a detailed journal of the issue and how you tried to have it addressed. Ultimately it's best to deal with one dealership though, so I would try again with Dixie but contacting the Service Manager and working your way up the chain. If you are still getting blown off then file through CAMVAP.

Did you try searching for this issue on any VW forums like Vortex?
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Ok good. Glad to know there is some recourse in case all else fails.
 
sevet said:
Surprised calling corporate had no effect. I kept getting the shaft from a dealership (multiple delays and terrible communication) for a head unit replacement that was supposed to be covered under warranty. Got tired of it one day and called the manufacturer's customer service line, literally within the hour the service manager from the dealership called me to see when I could drop off the car.
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Subaru Brampton screwed me badly and all corporate did was spend 2 years "investigating" and then told me they found no wrongdoing.
 
Ashtonator said:
Ok good. Glad to know there is some recourse in case all else fails.
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If it gets to the CAMVAP stage you'll be assigned an abitrator, that's where all the documentation helps. They will also have an inspector check out the issue to see if it's genuine so make sure you understand the issues with your VW as much as possible. VW Corporate will probably intervene once it's filed to avoid a judgement, which is kept on record.

I had an option of proceeding with arbitration or FCA offered to have the vehicle looked at through another dealership. Since I was pretty sure what the issue was I had it inspected and repaired at another dealership on FCA's dime and cancelled the request for binding arbitration.

Keep us informed how you progress on this.
 
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DJM said:
If it gets to the CAMVAP stage you'll be assigned an abitrator, that's where all the documentation helps. They will also have an inspector check out the issue to see if it's genuine so make sure you understand the issues with your VW as much as possible. VW Corporate will probably intervene once it's filed to avoid a judgement, which is kept on record.

I had an option of proceeding with arbitration or FCA offered to have the vehicle looked at through another dealership. Since I was pretty sure what the issue was I had it inspected and repaired at another dealership on FCA's dime and cancelled the request for binding arbitration.

Keep us informed how you progress on this.
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Thanks again. I just went back and wrote down everything in detail and started a log. I hope it doesnt come to it but if it does, ill have it ready.

As mentioned beofre, im planning to video record my interaction today with them. Also i will record the video/audio of the sound the brake pedal makes and also when i try other cars on the lot to show this is not a normal sound.

How do you go about filing at CAMVAP? Whats the process like?

I was also thinking of taking this to CBC Market place is all else fails
 
Dont trust stealerships

Also not a fan of german cars.
 
Got a call back from VW Canada and as predicted they were useless.

They said they had contacted the dealer and the dealer told them what they told me. That this noise is normal and how all Golfs are manufactured (a mass recall then?). I said even if that was true, then why is the noise far worse now than before i even took it in. I said which level of noise is "normal" then because my car is far louder now than before i took it in.

i also asked her what VW doing to protect its customers against a shady dealer since it sounds like they are taking the dealer's word and completely ignoring the concerns of the customer. To which i was told " we are docuemnting everything". Thanks a lot. Your document wont fix my car!

Going to go back to the dealer tonight as previously planned and see if they had changed anything and aldo to try a few other Golfs and see if they all make the same sound (which is in no way the case since i drove 3 others already) But just to prove my point.
 
Go back to the dealer, and get the service advisor AND service manager to go into the car with you for a test drive. Then once they acknowledge it, get a service tech to also come along for the sound. When you get back, point to a car on the lot that's the same, and take for a test drive with them as well. Then you will be able to get them a baseline for 'normal'. If you're not happy, keep going up the chain, and possibly make some noise about it.

I've had a dealership, Honda, tell me that my car needed a new clutch, then with the help of GTAM I went through some recommendations, took it to another dealer, and lo and behold...master cylinder needed replacing under warranty!

Lastly, try another dealer but as others have said, documentation will make or break your case once you move up to a formal complaint.
 
mimico_polak said:
Go back to the dealer, and get the service advisor AND service manager to go into the car with you for a test drive. Then once they acknowledge it, get a service tech to also come along for the sound. When you get back, point to a car on the lot that's the same, and take for a test drive with them as well. Then you will be able to get them a baseline for 'normal'. If you're not happy, keep going up the chain, and possibly make some noise about it.

I've had a dealership, Honda, tell me that my car needed a new clutch, then with the help of GTAM I went through some recommendations, took it to another dealer, and lo and behold...master cylinder needed replacing under warranty!

Lastly, try another dealer but as others have said, documentation will make or break your case once you move up to a formal complaint.
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Thanks Mimico. I'll keep that in mind.

I'm definitley going to get them to go inside another new Golf with me on the lot to show them none of this noise is normal.

But im getting a lot of good advice here.

If tonight fails, my first attempt will be a different dealer but im not going to let 401 Dixie VW go without consequence if they keep giving me the run around to save themselves from fixing a very new car.
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