[BrokenHW]

Volkswagen Polo owner shares his horrible dealership experience

Credit: Rushlane
@Moderators : Please move to relevant thread if required

[BrokenHW]

Originally Posted by BrokenHW

Volkswagen Polo owner shares his horrible dealership experience

As per Rushlane, VW India has resolved this issue.

[Xaos636]

VW Whitefield is nothing short of an ultimate disaster. My friends brand new 1.0 TSI got ABS + EPC error in his first 5 months and they demanded that we need to pay for the ABS sensors if we needed the car within a day. They took 4 days to replace the ABS sensor under warranty, no explanations why EPC error came(the car shut down in the middle of the road when EPC error came up and was a horrific experience).
To make things worse, we got the car back with a dent near the bonnet and they refused to accept that it was their mistake. They parked the car so close to a wall hiding the dent completely as we were checking the car after service, little they knew we were Bhpian's. VW helpline is absolutely of no use. We got them to work on it after we had to confront them and showed them pics at VW service before the service(Lucky here as we had the pics) that put them with no option and repaired it free of cost. They even edited out the service sheet to mark a dent near the bonnet and said it was already there. They cannot go any low here.

Later in a week, ABS error kicked in again. This time it was a huge sound every time we braked. We suspected some debris got in between the pads and we got down to look. Guess what, things became worse, car locked itself out, with engine running in Bangalore traffic(Car was still on the side, but evening traffic was settling in). I have never seen a car locking itself when engine running and is stationary. Maybe VW's do this, excuse us as it was our first VW. Our Maruti's, Toyota's and Hyundai's never did this. Immediately rung Apple Auto Whitefield at around 5pm and they said, they are closing at 6 and asked to call the next day at 10AM. We told them the car was running, on a corner of Bangalore traffic with full tank fuel and they responded that it will shut down when the fuel is empty. If things are bad, these guys have the ability to take it another level to make sure that the customer feels the things are not just bad, but worse.

Dialed up VW helpline, after 2 hours of to and fro conversation, they said they will lift the car and drop it on a flatbed before next day sunrise, but we have to first agree that we can claim insurance. I asked them why is insurance required for a flatbed. They responded that the car will be lifted, so all doors will be damaged and needs new doors, side skirts and also painting charges. These guys take things to a whole new level. They were 100% sure that the doors have to go and we have to claim insurance! As it was raining, we did not want to break the glass which is the better way than replacing all doors, we thought.
Dialed up VW Apple Auto again to see if they have glass in stock. Not only they did not receive the call, they took it to a new height and blocked me! With the help of a few Bhpian's, I got the phone number of a head of Apple Auto and he got to task and told me to break the passenger side window as they have only that in stock and nothing else. He too was unreachable soon after.

I wonder why they have an RSA, forget that, the VW helpline cracked me open when I informed them the registration number of our car. The helpline responded that it wasn't a Polo GT and the registration number is wrong and asked us to contact our RTO first, then contact them and they hung up on me. God, have never experienced such a disastrous car manufacturer/dealer ever in my life!

Luckily, after searching and standing in such horrific condition for 4 hours straight and contacting countless number of people, we found a mechanic who used the desi technique to open the driver side door for me! He took another hour to reach and then we were on our way.

Its not the fuel lost, its not the time we lost, its not how much we stood it rain, its the fact that VW Whitefield(Who were just 5 kms away from our location) said they cannot help and asked us to wait till next day morning(100% sure they wont do anything the next day morning as well). The mental agony that these fellows provide is second to none ! Never again VW, never again!

[TNAWAYAJ]

Horrific. Reminds me of my own ordeal with a completely dishonest dealer in Apple Auto. My perfectly fine DSG was opened up for no reason and supposedly "fixed" - it was evident that they had done some major tampering as immediately after the so-called repair, my gearbox failed and I spent months as a new father with a tiny infant without a car. Absolutely harrowing. Also found the attitude of the leadership at this dealer to be arrogant and condescending, something that the staff obviously takes cues from. All in all, never went back to VW, and not going back anytime soon either.

[frewper]

Came across this post on LinkedIn where a Bangalore resident's car was in the recent flood.

Volkswagen India (Apple Auto Whitefield) sent a bill of Rs. 45K just to estimate the cost of repairs to fix the car. To make things worse, estimate was Rs. 22 Lakh to fix a car bought for Rs. 11 Lakh.

Not at all surprising that VW group is the one involved.







In my opinion there should be no charge for an estimation. Not even a nominal charge. Given the loyalty to the brand, customer should be given a repair estimate for no charge. Specially when the entire city had to face such a grim situation where so many have lost their cars. Giving a quote like this is such a slap in the face.

Ref: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update...4891406090240/

[BrokenHW]

Please check post #48 and #49 in the below mentioned thread. VW India has resolved this issue

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5409755 (My Experience with VW Whitefield, Bangalore (Apple Auto))

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by BrokenHW

Please check post #48 and #49 in the below mentioned thread. VW India has resolved this issue

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5409755 (My Experience with VW Whitefield, Bangalore (Apple Auto))

Shouldn't have happened in the first place - they arent doing anyone a favour now. But then post #50 is another horror story! Never buying a VW or Skoda ever.

[shankar.balan]

Reading this has made me pretty angry at the kind of nasty and exploitative tactics used by these dirty dealers. I am glad that in todays world of strong social media and powerful fora, such as this, you have been able to get some relief direct from VW India.

I wonder why VW appears to be continuing to look down their noses at us in India and mete out such unfair treatment. Are we a ‘lesser market’ in their grand scheme of things? Or is this just aberrant behaviour?

On another note, if one wants to get an inspection and service history of a pre-owned BMW car, Navnit charges Rs 5000/- for it. When I bought my Mini Cooper second hand in 2019, I took it to Navnit just to have it checked ‘professionally’ at the authorised dealer.

They raised it on the two post lift, examined it and opened the bonnet and examined it, then they gave me a small list of things that needed doing and the service history printout and a neat little Rs 5000/- bill.

To their credit, they did inform me of the charge before hand. And I chose to go ahead and have them inspect the vehicle and give me the printed history just for my own peace of mind and to build the service record file.

Subsequently I go to Navnit only to buy parts, preferring to use a good quality FNG - Aeon Motors near Electronic City for all servicing and repairs.

Considering the general behaviour of these dealers, it is no wonder that most people frequent the FNG’s the moment the vehicle is out of warranty!

[Malyaj]

What will it take for the OEMs to crack down on such dealers. Why should anyone have to resort to social media outreach to ring bells? I stay walking distance away from VW Whitefield showroom and was tempted to book the Taigun instead of Kushaq as the VW service centre is behind the showroom while Skoda is further away. Now not booking either as I have been reading more horror stories about both the companies. Some things just don't change.

[Kosfactor]

I see Acko insurance mentioned in there, that to me is a red flag.

Also a flood affected car that was not started afterwards won't need a whole lot of money to be fixed that it exceeds the residual value of a car especially if it is not that old . This maybe an attempt to declare total loss and resell this otherwise good car for a really high margin in the used car market.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

I see Acko insurance mentioned in there, that to me is a red flag.

Also a flood affected car that was not started afterwards won't need a whole lot of money to be fixed that it exceeds the residual value of a car especially if it is not that old . This maybe an attempt to declare total loss and resell this otherwise good car for a really high margin in the used car market.

Not really - some components - especially the ECM Modules for various parts are ridiculously expensive.

Our Swift ZDi AMT was flooded in a basement & despite being towed out directly without starting, the estimate exceeded the cost of the new car - mainly because spares are always sold at a significant premium to their actual cost.

At that time (2020), I was told that various manufacturers have various policies to assess flood damaged vehicles, and if the water has crossed a certain height (say top of dashboard for instance), it is automatically written off.

The car would then be handed over to owner, and the insurance agency who would then invite bids from scrap dealers to sell the car to them; so the dealership doesn't have much to gain unless they swap out usable parts like body parts (alloys, bumpers, etc.) but that would be visible when the car is handed over to the owner / insurance agency.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by Xaos636

...
Guess what, things became worse, car locked itself out, with engine running in Bangalore traffic(Car was still on the side, but evening traffic was settling in). I have never seen a car locking itself when engine running and is stationary.
...

This is s crazy ordeal! But I went through something similar in the Madras - Bangalore highway, midway between both cities in mid 2000. My car had an aftermarket security system, and it locked me out when the engine was running

After some frantic cry for help to passerbys (phone was inside the car!), a mechanic stopped by - and promptly held the exhaust shut tightly. The engine choked and died din enough. And that wonderful clack of the doors unlocking followed

You should probably check to see if the VW security system unlocks itself when you turn off the engine. If it does, this trick might work...

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

This is s crazy ordeal! But I went through something similar in the Madras - Bangalore highway, midway between both cities in mid 2000. My car had an aftermarket security system, and it locked me out when the engine was running

After some frantic cry for help to passerbys (phone was inside the car!), a mechanic stopped by - and promptly held the exhaust shut tightly. The engine choked and died din enough. And that wonderful clack of the doors unlocking followed

You should probably check to see if the VW security system unlocks itself when you turn off the engine. If it does, this trick might work...

That's an interesting method, but I'm not sure how effective it is in cars these days. AFAIK, unless there's an option to change it in the MID settings or VCD, the Polo keeps the doors locked even when the engine is shut off. At least, that's the case with my Rapid.

[cryptarchy]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

That's an interesting method, but I'm not sure how effective it is in cars these days. AFAIK, unless there's an option to change it in the MID settings or VCD, the Polo keeps the doors locked even when the engine is shut off. At least, that's the case with my Rapid.

My Polo unlocks when the engine is switched off by turning the key but not when it stalls.

[RunGaDa]

No wonder in country like India where policy makers are busy filling their pockets, thousands and lakhs of such mini dictators will rise. Lack of any level of consumer protection laws, not even withstanding cases when bodily harm is likely is really sad and very disappointing scenario.

Reading several cases in this thread makes me angry. Things with RSA must be taken with serious non compliance when phones are not being answered and deserving service not being provided only because no one is going to take a fleeting contempt for not doing something.

I suggest we as consumers and car owners subscribe to all possible groups for our brands, have few friends on speed dial list who can help and drag these cunning dealers to courts when possible.