Volkswagen After Sales Service

sbraj · 9th February 2010, 10:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Bean

I think VW should stick to Skoda A.S.S. ...

Also this would give quite a good indication of what is in store for the customer when they purchase a VW vehicle

That would be truly sad. VW vehicles are a class apart, but Skoda A.S.S. would repel many potential customers.

BTW, when you say proper, what exactly do you mean?

Quote:

... this way they could ensure proper service to their customers..

imp! · 9th February 2010, 11:09

Hi Folks,

Generally speaking, After Sales Service lies in the hands of individual dealers. Unless something major goes wrong with the car and the manufacturer needs to step in, the dealer is entirely responsible for the way the car is treated once it enters his showroom, gets sold and eventually returns for a service.
In Bangalore, up until the time Dakshin Honda opened shop, Whitefield honda had an arrogant and rather abrogative view of service issues. Dakshin improved things when they started up. Now that we have three Honda dealers in Bangalore, they are all very rather wary of each other and generally do a good job of servicing.
It is my humble opinion that considering the 4 year warranty that VW is offering on their cars in India (compared to 2 by Skoda) one need not be overly concerned by VW A$$; they are aware of how important the Polo is, and they are bent on creating a good image for themselves.

Cheers !
imp!

P.S My view of the dealerships mentioned relate entirely to service departments, not sales, which is a different issue.

desidino · 31st October 2010, 12:15

I have rated the Pre-Sales experience as Mediocre. The only reason why I did not rate it as "Poor" is that compared to many others, I was not treated rudely by the SEs.

As I have already narrated my experience in the Vento test drive thread, here it is in brief:

1. None of the people I interacted with at Bhasin Motors South Ex were rude.
2. Once the car was available at showroom for TD, there was no major delay in arranging for a TD.
3. Overall experience till the time of actual booking was fine.
4. During booking, I was told that the promised corporate discount of 14k will not be mentioned in writing.
5. They were also not willing to put in writing their verbal promise of discount on Insurance.
6. I was told that PDI at stockyard will not be possible.
7. I was not given a firm date for delivery. Was told that it would take 60-70 days.
8. Their Booking system crashed, so I was given a handwritten booking receipt.
9. The handwritten booking receipt did not have any dealership letterhead. Also missing was the name "Vento".
10. I was promised that soft copy of the system generated booking receipt would be emailed to me the same day and the hard copy would be couriered in a few days.
11. I received the soft copy 25 days after booking, only when I sent them a nasty email and gave a good hearing to the SE who had called me to enquire whether I would be booking the Vento ! Errr... I already had.
12. I have not yet received hard copy of the booking receipt even one month after the booking.

Thankfully, it's my dad who is buying the Vento and he wont be in town for quite a while, so we are not in a hurry to get the Vento. I shudder to imagine the mental state of those who are buying Vento as their only vehicle.

DieselFan · 31st October 2010, 14:57

If sales experience is so bad I wonder how VW service would be. It would be nice if some of the VW owners provide a comprehensive service review in this thread.

jyobeb · 31st October 2010, 19:00

My friends Vento in Madurai went to the workshop 4 days after he bought it, with a crashed front end. Bonnet was totally damaged and so were a few front bits. (no damage to engine)
That however, was 40 days ago. His car is still not back on the road for want of parts!!! The dealer says about 10 more days before the car gets ready!

fz_rider · 31st October 2010, 19:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyobeb

That however, was 40 days ago. His car is still not back on the road for want of parts!!! The dealer says about 10 more days before the car gets ready!

That was bound to happen with a company which is relatively new , and launched back to back two new cars , which has 50 % localisation !

mac187 · 31st October 2010, 19:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyobeb

My friends Vento in Madurai went to the workshop 4 days after he bought it, with a crashed front end. Bonnet was totally damaged and so were a few front bits. (no damage to engine)
That however, was 40 days ago. His car is still not back on the road for want of parts!!! The dealer says about 10 more days before the car gets ready!

This is expected with a new company... I had a similar experience when i bought my bike way back in 2002. I crashed it and there were no parts available for a month.... Can remember the days when people used to ask me where is my new ride... "At the service station", worst feeling...

njh · 1st November 2010, 08:30

I have owned two Passats, and I intend on buying the 1.8 Petrol in a few days, and I must say that I have always had very good service from VW. Being that the Polo and Vento are new cars in the Indian market, it does take time to have parts available simply because they are made here. Until the local vendors produce parts as spares and not production parts, there will be a short supply.
As far as parts for the Passat are concerned, I have never had to wait, even for my first Passat.

I will not comment on Skoda service as I don't own a Skoda. As for VW, no complains at all.

volkman10 · 20th March 2013, 09:10

Guess all the horrid experiences of the VW's service/parts availabilty has resulted in some action by VW management.

Volkswagen To Focus On Service, Finally!

Quote:

Volkswagen Group now plans to focus big on dealer expansion, service and spare parts areas. According to the company, Volkswagen will significantly expand their dealership network and invest big in training for sales and service staff as well as in genuine parts logistics.

http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/volksw...rvice-finally/

san2 · 20th March 2013, 10:34

all our colleagues view the after sales experience with patience when it comes to VW, however they do not show that much understanding to our home grown manufacturers

djpeesh · 20th March 2013, 10:45

it's about time. My friend has a Polo and when he was looking to get a sedan, he decided to go for the Elantra.

His Polo always sounded like a truck but now even brakes like one. The VW guys said that if you pay for imported brakes, the squealing would stop. So he plonked 40K for new brakes. After a week, they sound exactly the same as before the so-called German brakes. VW now blames it on his washing fellow, who's washed his 13 year old Baleno for about as long as he's had it.

Oh well. I guess VW needs to train washing fellows too!!!

CANPUSH · 20th March 2013, 17:21

I agree with imp!

After Sales Experience is more dependent on dealer rather than company.

My experience of last 2.5 years - Dealer - very lethargic, not so well trained SAs. Promises were tall. At the time of delivery of first lot of Polos almost 3 years ago, the owner of dealership happily announced that with VW typical service will happen in 2-1/2 hrs flat. The Reality - May three experiences - It takes at least 2-1/2 days.

Company - Quite prompt but can not pass that promptness down the line to the dealer.

Balaji31582 · 4th November 2013, 12:25

Read through this Link Via Facebook share from one of my friends. I am not related to the owner of this link but if this is true, he has faced nightmares...

http://blog.sukh.us/2013/10/planning...-in-india.html

Thad E Ginathom · 4th November 2013, 13:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

After Sales Experience is more dependent on dealer rather than company.

probably true ...but it should not be. The dealer carries the brand, plasters it all over its premises, and is seen by the customer as representing that brand. The company should take responsibility for the customer experience.

OK, yes, I know I'm dreaming!

jkdas · 5th November 2013, 14:51

Can someone post scanned copies with details of car/person masked of VW and Skoda?

I have such a report of VW and its funny. Will post in few days.

Also, can people with VW & Skoda cars which are outside warranty comment in this thread?

9th February 2010, 11:09	#17
imp! BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 776 Thanked: 468 Times	Hi Folks, Generally speaking, After Sales Service lies in the hands of individual dealers. Unless something major goes wrong with the car and the manufacturer needs to step in, the dealer is entirely responsible for the way the car is treated once it enters his showroom, gets sold and eventually returns for a service. In Bangalore, up until the time Dakshin Honda opened shop, Whitefield honda had an arrogant and rather abrogative view of service issues. Dakshin improved things when they started up. Now that we have three Honda dealers in Bangalore, they are all very rather wary of each other and generally do a good job of servicing. It is my humble opinion that considering the 4 year warranty that VW is offering on their cars in India (compared to 2 by Skoda) one need not be overly concerned by VW A$$; they are aware of how important the Polo is, and they are bent on creating a good image for themselves. Cheers ! imp! P.S My view of the dealerships mentioned relate entirely to service departments, not sales, which is a different issue.
	() Thanks

31st October 2010, 12:15	#18
desidino BHPian Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Dehradun Posts: 98 Thanked: 518 Times	I have rated the Pre-Sales experience as Mediocre. The only reason why I did not rate it as "Poor" is that compared to many others, I was not treated rudely by the SEs. As I have already narrated my experience in the Vento test drive thread, here it is in brief: 1. None of the people I interacted with at Bhasin Motors South Ex were rude. 2. Once the car was available at showroom for TD, there was no major delay in arranging for a TD. 3. Overall experience till the time of actual booking was fine. 4. During booking, I was told that the promised corporate discount of 14k will not be mentioned in writing. 5. They were also not willing to put in writing their verbal promise of discount on Insurance. 6. I was told that PDI at stockyard will not be possible. 7. I was not given a firm date for delivery. Was told that it would take 60-70 days. 8. Their Booking system crashed, so I was given a handwritten booking receipt. 9. The handwritten booking receipt did not have any dealership letterhead. Also missing was the name "Vento". 10. I was promised that soft copy of the system generated booking receipt would be emailed to me the same day and the hard copy would be couriered in a few days. 11. I received the soft copy 25 days after booking, only when I sent them a nasty email and gave a good hearing to the SE who had called me to enquire whether I would be booking the Vento ! Errr... I already had. 12. I have not yet received hard copy of the booking receipt even one month after the booking. Thankfully, it's my dad who is buying the Vento and he wont be in town for quite a while, so we are not in a hurry to get the Vento. I shudder to imagine the mental state of those who are buying Vento as their only vehicle.
	() Thanks

31st October 2010, 14:57	#19
DieselFan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,584 Thanked: 259 Times	If sales experience is so bad I wonder how VW service would be. It would be nice if some of the VW owners provide a comprehensive service review in this thread.
	() Thanks

31st October 2010, 19:00	#20
jyobeb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Madurai Posts: 1,010 Thanked: 704 Times	My friends Vento in Madurai went to the workshop 4 days after he bought it, with a crashed front end. Bonnet was totally damaged and so were a few front bits. (no damage to engine) That however, was 40 days ago. His car is still not back on the road for want of parts!!! The dealer says about 10 more days before the car gets ready!
	() Thanks

1st November 2010, 08:30	#23
njh BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Poona Posts: 32 Thanked: Once	I have owned two Passats, and I intend on buying the 1.8 Petrol in a few days, and I must say that I have always had very good service from VW. Being that the Polo and Vento are new cars in the Indian market, it does take time to have parts available simply because they are made here. Until the local vendors produce parts as spares and not production parts, there will be a short supply. As far as parts for the Passat are concerned, I have never had to wait, even for my first Passat. I will not comment on Skoda service as I don't own a Skoda. As for VW, no complains at all.
	(1) Thanks

20th March 2013, 10:34	#25
san2 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bharuch Posts: 145 Thanked: 33 Times	Re: Volkswagen VW after sales service A.S.S. all our colleagues view the after sales experience with patience when it comes to VW, however they do not show that much understanding to our home grown manufacturers Last edited by san2 : 20th March 2013 at 10:35. Reason: grammar mistake
	(1) Thanks

20th March 2013, 10:45	#26
djpeesh BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: London Posts: 621 Thanked: 777 Times	Re: Volkswagen VW after sales service A.S.S. it's about time. My friend has a Polo and when he was looking to get a sedan, he decided to go for the Elantra. His Polo always sounded like a truck but now even brakes like one. The VW guys said that if you pay for imported brakes, the squealing would stop. So he plonked 40K for new brakes. After a week, they sound exactly the same as before the so-called German brakes. VW now blames it on his washing fellow, who's washed his 13 year old Baleno for about as long as he's had it. Oh well. I guess VW needs to train washing fellows too!!!
	(1) Thanks

20th March 2013, 17:21	#27
CANPUSH BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: pune Posts: 400 Thanked: 207 Times	Re: Volkswagen VW after sales service A.S.S. I agree with imp! After Sales Experience is more dependent on dealer rather than company. My experience of last 2.5 years - Dealer - very lethargic, not so well trained SAs. Promises were tall. At the time of delivery of first lot of Polos almost 3 years ago, the owner of dealership happily announced that with VW typical service will happen in 2-1/2 hrs flat. The Reality - May three experiences - It takes at least 2-1/2 days. Company - Quite prompt but can not pass that promptness down the line to the dealer.
	() Thanks

4th November 2013, 12:25	#28
Balaji31582 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: chennai Posts: 275 Thanked: 208 Times	Re: Volkswagen VW after sales service A.S.S. Read through this Link Via Facebook share from one of my friends. I am not related to the owner of this link but if this is true, he has faced nightmares... http://blog.sukh.us/2013/10/planning...-in-india.html
	(2) Thanks

5th November 2013, 14:51	#30
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,492 Times View My Garage	Re: Volkswagen After Sales Service Can someone post scanned copies with details of car/person masked of VW and Skoda? I have such a report of VW and its funny. Will post in few days. Also, can people with VW & Skoda cars which are outside warranty comment in this thread?
	() Thanks