n3wcar Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 I purchased an approved used VW Golf R32 from a VW dealer in London in August, I was told that the car was on the VW Long Life schedule and since the car had then done just over 23,000 miles I was told that the next service is likely to be due anything between about 28,000 and 34,000 miles (last LongLife oil change was done at 14,000). I was happy with that although I did notice that the oil on the dipstick was very black!? 2 weeks later as I was reading all the documents handed to me by the garage I noticed a comment on their prechecks invoice that said "reset to T&D". I immediately knew this means someone has changed the ECU from LongLife (2 years) to T&D (1 year or 10,000miles) service intervals. I rang the dealer's servicing department and they were confused by this as well and then said it was probably a misprint and the car should still be on LongLife. I was unconvinced so I took the car into my nearest dealer in Newbury. They put the VAGCOM on and told me that the car was in fact on T&D!!! I rang the original dealer back and they then said that they must have therefore done an oil & filter change then set to T&D (at 23,000). This is where I disagree, firstly the oil was black the day I collected the car, secondly the invoice I had from them for their prechecks shows only 1 litre of oil used and no oil filter. This means I am in the bizzare situation where I have just spend £1000s on a new car and yet don't believe that it's even been serviced correctly. My worries are that they set the car to T&D WITHOUT doing an oil change and thus the car could (will) now run to 33,000 miles without the spanner service light coming on when in reality the oil needs a change (this is because on T&D I have been told that the ECU does not check the oil quality (viscosity) and just counts the miles / time). What I want is an immediate free service from them to change the oil, is that too much to ask. So far VW UK have written back to me with a gibberish reply saying that all is OK with the car - I am still not convinced, am I overly paranoid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R32North Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Sod the dealers and change the oil yourself! Better to get it done than haggle and wait for a dealer to own up to a mistake (not going to happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n3wcar Posted October 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Yes I plan to do that - I just want to vent my frustration at how useless dealers seem to be.... I assume changing the oil in the R32 is no more difficult that with my previous VR6? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swil00 Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Personally, I'd keep at them to get the free service. You shouldn't need to change oil yourself after spending £££££'s on a supposed "approved" used car. If someone asked me why I wouldn't buy another VW, top of the list would have to be the dealers who don't give a toss about your motor. Its bad enough that most dealers are so poor, but when the manufacturer starts fobbing you off When I used to have my Mk2 Golf years ago, If it had any problems a quick trip into the local dealer (without it being booked in) would normally see it fixed within a couple of hours. Sadly those days are long gone and now you normally need to wait atleast a week before they'll even look at it, never mind fixing it. R32. Top car, if only the dealers were as good as the car is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M5LLO Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 I totally agree with you,main dealers are pants, and if it was not for warranty purposes/service history, i would not bother with their over inflated hourly rates/part prices. My sister works for Listers Worcester and even she agrees with me!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oatz Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 [ QUOTE ] I purchased an approved used VW Golf R32 from a VW dealer in London in August, I was told that the car was on the VW Long Life schedule and since the car had then done just over 23,000 miles I was told that the next service is likely to be due anything between about 28,000 and 34,000 miles (last LongLife oil change was done at 14,000). I was happy with that although I did notice that the oil on the dipstick was very black!? 2 weeks later as I was reading all the documents handed to me by the garage I noticed a comment on their prechecks invoice that said "reset to T&D". I immediately knew this means someone has changed the ECU from LongLife (2 years) to T&D (1 year or 10,000miles) service intervals. I rang the dealer's servicing department and they were confused by this as well and then said it was probably a misprint and the car should still be on LongLife. I was unconvinced so I took the car into my nearest dealer in Newbury. They put the VAGCOM on and told me that the car was in fact on T&D!!! I rang the original dealer back and they then said that they must have therefore done an oil & filter change then set to T&D (at 23,000). This is where I disagree, firstly the oil was black the day I collected the car, secondly the invoice I had from them for their prechecks shows only 1 litre of oil used and no oil filter. This means I am in the bizzare situation where I have just spend £1000s on a new car and yet don't believe that it's even been serviced correctly. My worries are that they set the car to T&D WITHOUT doing an oil change and thus the car could (will) now run to 33,000 miles without the spanner service light coming on when in reality the oil needs a change (this is because on T&D I have been told that the ECU does not check the oil quality (viscosity) and just counts the miles / time). What I want is an immediate free service from them to change the oil, is that too much to ask. So far VW UK have written back to me with a gibberish reply saying that all is OK with the car - I am still not convinced, am I overly paranoid? [/ QUOTE ] Don't suppose this is Citygate? anyways if I were you would deff. persue a free longlife service at the least, dealers really are thick as and also talk so much half don't even understand the difference between T/D & Longlife (cheap suit salesmen for you). Maybe worth speaking to trading standards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1monty Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Name the dealer! All the VW dealers I have dealt with (at least 6) appear to have the same attitude that you have experienced. If they can get out of spending a money out of their huge profit on second-hand car sales they will! The only way we are going to change this is if we keep on mentioning their poor performance & naming names. You never know somebody with authority may just log on to this site. When I had a very poor deal from Mann Egerton in Swindon I mentioned this site to their salesman & told him to take a look at some of the comments! Who knows he might have looked & learnt something! Remember, being a car salesman is not rocket science! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oatz Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Name the dealer! All the VW dealers I have dealt with (at least 6) appear to have the same attitude that you have experienced. If they can get out of spending a money out of their huge profit on second-hand car sales they will! The only way we are going to change this is if we keep on mentioning their poor performance & naming names. You never know somebody with authority may just log on to this site. When I had a very poor deal from Mann Egerton in Swindon I mentioned this site to their salesman & told him to take a look at some of the comments! Who knows he might have looked & learnt something! Remember, being a car salesman is not rocket science! [/ QUOTE ] I actually work for a national newspaper and have good relations with VW Hq, during my next meeting I will certainly mention this site.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1monty Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Make sure the big boss & VW HQ sees it too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1monty Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Sorry, meant big boss at VW HQ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbubba Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I think it is imortant to remember that all dealers are certainly not the same. I work at a VW dealership, a small privatley owned business. Being a car sales man is not rocket science,you are right monty, however, beng a good car salesman is not easy. We don not have huge profits in used cars, especially approved used when you consider that we have to do a 194 check (£100), Service and MOT as needed (£200-£400), put a warranty on if needed (an R32 warranty can cost upto £800, pay VAT (£300), overheads etc..... At our dealership we wouldn't dare miss a service or try to get away with something like an oil change for two reasons. a) it will always come and bite you in the ass and b) we want you to be that happy with the service you got you will come back to buy another car from us. The main reason why customer service is so bad not just in this industry but also the country is us. We are more concerned by getting an extra £100 off a £25000 car than getting the service we deserve that we let the big dealerships get away with it. If we made a stand and only bought from the smaller business that are more customer service focussed then everyone would have to change. Just take a look at Motorpoint for example, sure you can get a very cheap car from them, but do you have the back up if there is a scratch on the car or if it breaks down. - Nope they dont care about you, they have your money, on to the next sale. Oatz, I dont own a cheap suit let alone wear one for work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin09 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I agree whole heartedly Bubba, bout time someone stood up for us salesmen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1monty Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 OK Bubba, <u>pm</u> (private message) us the name of the dealership & location & I am sure some of us, if it is conveniently located, will pay a visit & use it! I am just quoting from experience of myself & others. When a dealership takes in a less than 2 year old car still with full VW warranty for over a year with full service history & takes £4000 on the resale then I think they are doing OK! With your figures it has cost them about £100 (194 point check) + overheads. No service, MOT or warranty required. Car on forecourt for less than 2 weeks. Not a bad deal & I cannot feel sorry for them! I do appreciate that not all deals would be like that however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Well done Bubba! 5 posts & it looks like you've gone and got some business for your shop. (notice my sarcasm??) I sent you a PM (but you chose not to reply), now please, do as I ask, or I'll start deleting / editing your posts when required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbubba Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Thanks for your words of encouragment Smudge. I am not touting for business, just trying to stop generalisations. You should do stand up! I have sent you a PM. Bubba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin09 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Monty, this "you're making too much money" complaint is very common! However, you have to take the VAT out of the profit margin, and you really are under-estimating the overheads. Particularly for a franchised dealership. There are so many dealers who are losing money (not talking VW specifically), that you wouldn't believe me if I told you. At the end of the day, the price you take or offer for a vehicle is your business. Is it really your business how much a dealer makes out of a car after that? Would you do it in any other industry? PS this is meant to be read in a friendly tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n3wcar Posted October 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Well after some email exchanges with VW customer services they refuse to give me a free oil change and are standing by their dealer (yes - Citygate to those who guessed). So for the sake of about £50 costs to themselves they leave me with a bitter taste in my mouth. There is no way my oil should be black immediately after an oil service so it looks like I'll have to cough up myself and get it changed....it's the principle rather than the money that annoys me most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbubba Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Have you thought about getting an inspection done on the car by someone like the AA to see what else was missed off? Some dealers really give the trade a bad name. Ask to see the 194 report to see what they have commented on. Bubba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1monty Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 I am saying nothing!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swil00 Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Just wanted to add comment on the last few posts. These are not generalisations, These are views to owners actual experiences. I appreciate that there are "some" good dealers out there however. I can't say I been to any though so know where folks are coming from. Don't have any problems with dealers making money, if they provided top notch service. We shouldn't have the need to ask for good service from a Main agent it should be part of the experience. exCorrado has just parted with some serious cash on an "Approved" car, but gets refused a free oil change. Like he says it not the money, it the principal of the matter. especially when VW UK are involved. Yes, General Customer service in this country stinks, but I'm sure excorrado won't be recommending the dealer to anyone else in future, but would that really bother them ? I bought my R brand new from a main agent. After just 2 months the emmissions warning light came on, and as the handbook states I contacted the dealer the next morning only to be told that they couldn't look at it for another three days, not exactly what I wanted to here after speding £23K on a new motor. Rant over ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin09 Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 Yeah I agree, if the service is bad kick and scream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1monty Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 Thank you swil00, exactly my sentiments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulkbear Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 some dealers are useless but don't tar them with the same brush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin09 Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 IMHO its worth paying a bit more to get a car from a dealer that bends over backwards to look after you. It shouldn't have to be like that, but what can you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulkbear Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 My company trys there best to give the customer the best service posible by try to make the customer visit the dealership only once a year i.e If the car comes in for a service we will try and do any warranty work or common problems when the vehicle is in for service and if the brake pads/tyres/etc etc are not going to be servicable to next service we will advise the customer. Also all a used cars have a muti point inspection, if a service is due in the next 3-4 month we will do it before the car is sold to a customer and the vehicle has a two inspections (a visual check by a salesman and a check by a Techincian on the day the customer gets the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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