VW automotives treat their (European) customers like shit.

The BBQ Pit
21

Update.

I sent VW a letter of complaint. It effectively asked: why are we getting crappy customer care in Europe, when the same known fault is getting fixed for free in the USA?

Well today I got a phone call. They said that they are going to offer me a 50% contribution towards the cost of parts and labour as a gesture of good will. That is worth £300 to me.

Well, I am quite a bit happier now. But I am not happy. So, I will wait till I get the money and then I will send them a letter of thanks.

My letter of thanks is going to contain a not very subtle threat to get in touch with Watchdog if I don’t get the rest of the money refunded. Watchdog is a BBC consumer rights program that loves to raise issues like this. Mentioning them in a letter was a suggestion of a marketing manager I know. She said being featured on Watchdog can be very damaging to large organisations, and that they take the threat of being featured very seriously.

I might even get in touch with Wathdog in reality. I would probably be even more satisfied to see VW featured on their program than getting the rest of my money back!

22

Half price? That’s lame. The window regulators should by all rights have been a recall. I don’t even understand how an auto manufacturer can get away with not recalling something that’s a known defect like that, much less refuse to fully reimburse customers for it when asked point blank.

23

My US VW hasn’t been any better. The window thing happened to me too: it just clunked down one day. And it rained that night, and it was Saturday evening, and the repairmen weren’t open until Monday…

And then a month or so later the transmission died.

And then the headlights went crazy.

And before that, the engine went nuts, along with something I can’t remember having to do with the gears.

And I just had to take it for repairs a couple of weeks or so ago because the brake pads were shot and something was wrong with the suspension.

I can’t believe I love that car as much as I do, but I do love it. Otherwise I’d trade it in.

24

You know you love our old Chevy! It rattles, it makes odd noises, a lot of it is barely functional, but you love it. Besides, the Bug has … character