[Rajamass]

Prelude
Rewinding to Sep 2021, I just moved to the US for my post-doctoral research with my family. In this long thread, I discuss my US car purchasing experience and ownership experience with VW Passat Limited Edition. I owned a Ford Figo Aspire DCT in Bengaluru, which was sufficient for my needs. We also own a VW Vento TSI+DSG in our family.

Car Purchasing Experience in the US
I have a fair idea of public transport problems in the west, particularly last-mile connectivity. Hence, I planned to buy a car as soon as I moved, but the market scenario worsened so severely that I had to wait nearly five months to get a car. Moving to the US helped me as the prices of vehicles are a lot cheaper with few maintenance costs. People advised me to go with pre-owned vehicles as they are more affordable, but I realized most of them were driven crazily beyond 100k miles (>156k km). I was not comfortable. VW cars are my favorites, and I wished to buy a new VW Jetta SE variant which would fit my budget of less than 25000$. In Aug 2021, just before moving to the US, VW announced a refreshed Jetta for the North American market with an upgraded engine and other features. Due to the chip shortage, new cars that were supposed to arrive at the dealership in Oct got pushed to the March 2022 time frame. I started to look at used cars, but the prices of pre-owned vehicles had gone crazy by then. For example, a Toyota Corolla of 2015/16 model with 1 lakh miles (160k Kms) was selling for 17-18000$. The actual price of the car would have been around 20000$ back in 2015/16, insane!

Left with no other option, I had to wait a few months to save some money and buy a new car. Pre-owned cars sell quickly here, especially those with clean Carfax history and are well-priced. I had an opportunity to buy a pre-owned 2012 VW GTI in Nov 2021, but by the time I confirmed my deal, the car was sold in a few hours. I took Carfax 6-report subscription for 100$ before starting my search. This is something I wish to have in India. The Carfax reports will have most details related to ownership records, service, and accident history. It also mentions if any major parts are replaced, like the water pump, fuel injectors, etc.

In Jan 2022, I came across a white VW Passat R-line 2020 model offered as a certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle with an additional two-year or 24000 miles warranty. It has driven ~8500 miles (~13000 km) and was well maintained. The price was reasonable with 25000$ + Taxes and department of motor vehicle fees, a total of around ~28300$. I took personal time off and went to see the car on a weekday, traveling 75 miles (110 km) away from my place. The showroom was not of VW standards. I can vouch for the VW showrooms in Bengaluru, which are well maintained than this one. I checked the car and instantly liked it. The sound system was excellent with standard speakers. The spacious interiors were something I had not experienced before. I was ready to pay the advance and take the delivery on Saturday. The dealership asked me for a driving license, which I had not yet. I told him that California law does not require DL for buying a vehicle and there is no need for an international driving license. California law allows people to drive as long as they hold a valid driving license issued in their home country for up to a year. We negotiated the price and fixed the date and time for delivery. The next day the dealer called me and asked me to come and make the payment. The service advisor warned me they would sell the car to other customers if I didn't turn up. I was furious and frustrated. I decided to go the next day and called him before leaving. The service advisor told me the vehicle was sold by then. In hindsight, I realized that the dealership does not want to sell the car to someone who pays upfront in cash. They have tie-ups with banks and prefer to sell the vehicle to someone willing to take a loan and get more margin. I could not take a loan as I didn't have a good credit history built by then. Some banks offered interest rates as crazy as 40% APR. The wait continued, but I firmly decided to buy the VW Passat.

I came across another VW Passat listing in the first week of February. This time it was a top-of-the-line 2022 limited edition variant with Aurora Red metallic exterior. VW announced the retirement of Passat from the North American market and hence produced a few models with limited edition badges and exclusive features to the variant. My first glance at the ad made me suspicious. The mileage posted for the used car was just 198 (300kms), and it has a clean Carfax report showing Nov 2021 as the month vehicle was first registered. It was priced at 29491$ plus taxes and a DMV fee of around 32000$. The limited-edition Passat will cost me >35000$ if I buy a new one. The price was shocking, considering the demand and supply issues then. I looked at the seller, a Lexus dealer (Lexus of Fremont). I called them immediately and confirmed the car's availability. It was on Wednesday, and I was cynical about its availability until the weekend. I called them again on Friday, and it was still available. I immediately scheduled a visit for Saturday morning time. This time I prepared myself to buy it on the first visit if I liked it. I made sure that I had the required cash in my account. I cleared my driving license test by then but have yet to get the physical copy. I just got a provisional driving license.

The Lexus of Fremont is one of the largest dealerships I have ever seen. They were at the heart of the Bay Area and Lexus, having an excellent reputation in the US, helped them. They had a vast catalog of Lexus and other branded cars, which they got as trade-ins, including the BMW i8. The showroom was excellent and had class interiors all over. The sales associates told me that they sell 20-30 cars daily! The service advisor then took me to the parking lot and showed me the red beauty. This one looked more beautiful than the white one I saw earlier. I will discuss the features shortly. I test-drove and found everything okay, nothing suspicious. Since it was almost brand new with barely any mileage on the car, it carried all OEM car benefits, which included a 7-yr perforation warranty, 5-yr VW car-net subscription, 4-year/50000 miles warranty, 3-year roadside assistance, 2-year free maintenance. I knew I was making the right decision. I could bargain a few hundred dollars and proceed to the formalities.

VW Passat Limited Edition Features
VW announced that this would be the last iteration of Passat for the North American market. The current model is a seventh-generation car based on the old platform named Passat NMS (NMS for new midsize sedan built on A32/33 platform). It's a downscaled version of the premium Passat offered in the European market but larger. Currently, the Passat sold in Europe, and China is built on the popular MQB modular platform. Being an older platform, it missed features like the fully digital display offered in the lower model Jetta. VW North America had no plans to update the existing platform. Hence decommissioned, the model with a few limited-edition cars (1973 in number). The number reflects the year VW Passat was first launched in Germany. The red one I own is made only 411 in number. Limited edition cars come with special interiors which pay homage to the city of Chattanooga in Tennessee, where the Passat is built. Being a top variant, it has an extensive list of features. The technical specifications are listed here. For variant wise comparison check the attachment 2022_Passat_Pricing_Sheet_Final.pdf. I will list my favorite features and why.

The ten great features I liked

1. Top Safety with Level 2 ADAS features: The car has all level 2 ADAS safety features, including adaptive cruise control, lane assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear-traffic cross alert, forward collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and automatic emergency braking. It also has automatic braking post-collision and an intelligent crash response system that makes emergency calls and unlocks doors. The braking is also powerful with all-wheel ABS disc brakes.

2. Steering wheel: The multifunction steering wheel is a leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel I have always wished to have. IMHO, it looks beautiful and more practical than the round steering wheel.

3. Audio: A 400W Fender® premium audio powers the car with a dedicated subwoofer. Fender® is a Californian music instruments company headquartered in Los Angeles. They are well known for electric guitars. Several VW vehicles sold in the US were associated with the Fender premium sound system. The sound is explosive, and the audio quality is superb, with excellent bass. The audiophile in me always smiles while driving the car.

4. Roominess: The Passat has a wheelbase of 2804mm. The interior legroom is extraordinarily spacious—friends and relatives who boarded rave about the car's roominess.

5. Seats: The car has comfortable sports seats with a perforated Vienna leather seating surface. Both driver and passenger seats are electronically powered with adequate lumbar support. The driver's side is 12-way adjustable with 3-seat memory, while the passenger side is 8-way adjustable without seat memory. Even the ORVMs position gets saved. The front and rear seats have a heating function, a rare feature in this segment. Most cars are offered with only heated front seats. Before buying, I never realized how important this feature is. The winters here in the central valley of California go as low as 0° C and chill in the morning. The heated seat aids in the comfort pretty quickly.

6. Lighting: The car is equipped with VW light assist (or adaptive front-lighting system), which includes an array of features like curve adaptive beams, incoming traffic adaptive, auto headlamps, auto high beams, and low beams. The low beams are projector LEDs, but reflective mirrors assist the high beams. Driving at night is a joy, but the sensor for the incoming traffic light is too sensitive and switches to low beam much before. During ignition, the lights display a pretty cool basic start sequence. The LED projectors are steering-sensitive or curve-adaptive. The rear brake and turn lights are also LED but not dynamic.

7. Interiors: The interiors are all black with wooden accents and piano black inserts. The dashboard is made of carbon fiber and invokes a sense of feeling when touched.

The switch controls for windows are chrome-tipped, enhancing the vehicle's look and premium feel. The gas and brake pedals are made of stainless steel. They are classy and give the car a sporty look.

8. Wheels: The car has 18" special edition dual-tone 15-spoke alloy wheels with dimensions 235/45/R18. They look stylish.

9. Park-distance control: The car has parking sensors on all sides that can detect static objects within five feet. A handy feature and the wife's most-liked feature of the car. The passenger side ORVM positions itself when the reverse gear is engaged to assist in parking.

10. Extraordinary Mileage: Mileage is something I never bothered in India. Here in the US, petrol is a lot cheaper. So never looked at the mileage aspects before buying the car. The EPA rating for the 2022 Passat was 24 miles per gallon (MPG) for city driving and 36 MPG for highway driving. This translates to 10.2kmpl for the city and 15.30kmpl for the highway. The city mileage is a little less than this, but the freeway driving yields me close to the 38-40mpg range (16-17kmpl). Sometimes I get more than 40mpg depending on wind direction. During my last trip, when I descended from 6500-500ft altitude, the trip meter showed >70mpg (>25kmpl) for close to 45mins and a 40-mile drive. Considering this is a 2-liter turbo engine, I feel the mileage is extremely efficient without sacrificing power. Also, I make fewer trips to the gas stations as the fuel tank capacity is 18.5 gallons (70 litres), giving me a range of 600-700 miles (900-1100kms) on a full tank freeway ride.

Mileage displayed on the MFD while I was descending from a hill station

Missing Features

1. Electronic parking brake: Despite the topline variant, VW could not provide an electronic parking brake. The hand brake lever and the asymmetrical dummy buttons in the gear shift panel make an eye sore.

2. Heated steering wheel: The steering gets chilly in the winter and sometimes to the extent that we can't hold it for more than a few seconds.

3. Ventilated seats: Last summer taught me that ventilated seats are essential in hot Californian weather. The summer goes as high as 45° C with nearly 100 days of hot weather over 35° C.

4. Wireless Android auto or Apple car play: VW offers wireless Android auto or Apple car play in the top two variants of the lower model Jetta. No excuse here!

A few things I did not like in the car and need improvement

1. Tire noise: Not sure of the source, i.e., whether bad roads or tire themselves. The noise insulation is average. The tires are also from an OEM I never heard of (Giti). I also observed that the freeways are not laid with smooth tarmac like the ones in India but have excellent markings and no potholes or speed breakers. I recently traveled in a friend's Merc C300 on the same road I frequently use and noticed that the noise is way better insulated in my Passat.

2. Indirect tire pressure monitoring system: The car can sense the loss of tire pressure in all the wheels based on the wheel rotation data generated by the ABS sensors. Though not as accurate as the ones with sensors on the wheels, it does get the job done.

3. Backup Camera: The rearview camera resolution sometimes appears good, but it needs improvement.

4. VW Car-Net App: The car came with a 5-year free subscription to the VW Car-net app. The vehicle is connected (Verizon network) and can be locked or unlocked with the app. The app also shows odometer readings, parking locations, etc. It has driving behavior scores based on acceleration, hard braking data, etc. But this never worked for me. The app never updated any scores. I spoke to VW customer care for several days and gave up. The app and its features are managed by a third-party provider (Bosch), and VW offers no support. I contacted Bosch several times but failed to get any resolution. I will not pay for this subscription once the freebie is over.

Features I felt redundant and never used

1. Navigation: The car has inbuilt navigation powered by Tom Tom, but pretty useless. The reason is that maps need to be updated manually once in a while. Live traffic update requires a Sirius XM subscription. Moreover, searching for a point of interest is a pain. The android auto excels here with various media integration.

2. Semi-automatic parking: The car has semi-automatic parking that can control steering, but acceleration and braking need user input. So far, I have never tested this feature.

3. Sunroof: The sunroof is not panoramic, and I rarely use it.

4. Remote Start: The key fob has a remote start option to cool or heat the car (depending on the outside temperature) before we get in. But the range is minimal, often less than 30m without any obstacles or interference. VW does offer a long-range key fob (300m range) but at an additional cost.

5. Auto high beam control: The sensor for auto high beams adjustment for the incoming traffic is too sensitive and turns to low beams when the incoming car is even at a ½ mile distance. Most of the time, I manually switch between high beams and low beams.

Accessories Installed
Thanks to being in the US, I can buy stuff from AliExpress. As soon as I got the car, I started searching for a good dash cam, and VW being a popular brand in China, also helped me with many options. I came across this model, which does not require tweaking any wires. It's a plug-and-play model that harnesses power from the rain sensor wiring for automatic wiper activation. The installation was simple, with no cables in and around the dash. The quality is decent enough but nowhere near the claimed 4K resolution. It has automatic recording capability in case of any suspicious activity. The app support is the worst, or fair to say non-existent. The advertised Wi-Fi direct also never worked. I have to remove the SD card every time to copy the footage.

Bad Experiences

1. Alloy wheel scratches: The dual-tone alloy wheels are elegant but prone to scratches due to the tire size provided. I already had scratches on a couple of wheels

2. Windshield Damage: One fine morning when I was on a day trip to the nearest beach. I suddenly heard a sharp sound. I was on a phone call and was not sure what had happened. After a few minutes, my wife noticed a crack in the lower part of the windshield. Lack of knowledge and awareness, I kept going and later realized at the end of the day that the crack had grown considerably big. I thought my insurance would cover it, but I kept a 1000$ deductible for this event in the comprehensive plan. I did not expect this to happen, as even in India, with lorries carrying asphalt, it never had an issue. I visited the windshield repair facility Safelite® in Sacramento. The technician told me it couldn't be fixed with a gel and needed replacement. I called the nearest VW body shop for help, but they don't repair windshields and suggested Safelite®. I asked Safelite® for a quote, and they took details of the model and came to me with a 980$ bill. I asked them why it costs so much for a windshield installation when the price of the part itself is around 400$.

Here came the depressing news from them telling me that since the car has a lane assist feature with a camera mounted on the windshield, every time it's replaced, the camera needs calibration with lased guided checkerboards on a flat surface. This itself costs close to 500$ outside (VW quoted 800$ for calibration!). Since my deductible is 1000$, I decided to go with out-of-pocket expenses. I found an excellent technician named Shaud in Palo Alto who is an expert in windshield work. He quoted me 500$ for installation and sensor calibration, provided I bring the windshield. Luckily, I got a good deal on the OEM part at Stevens Creek VW, San Jose, and fixed it at his workshop.

Passat front camera being calibrated with a laser guided checker board after the windshield replacement

Hard lesson learned, and I immediately changed the deductible to 0$ by paying more premium.

3. Car Vandalism: The next day, after fixing the windshield, another heartbreaking incident. I parked my car at the workplace within the university but outside the paid parking zone. When I returned to take the car in the afternoon, I noticed a big dent on the driver-side front door and minor dents on the driver-side rear door. When I first saw it, my intuition was this was not an accident or rear-ending, but I did not have anything to prove. I called my insurance agent, and they said it comes under collision and has 500$ deductible as per my plan. I voiced my frustration and said I don't collide with any vehicle, but they could not help. The next day I received mail from my building manager that they had video footage of someone kicking a red car in the parking lot and asked us to identify ourselves. I immediately approached them and saw the footage, and was heartbroken. Some stranger kicked my precious red beauty mercilessly multiple times out of frustration or mental health issues. A moment later, I was surprised at how they got the footage. They said one of the Janitor had sent them the video. I met the Janitor and asked him how he got the video. He said his car had recorded. I asked him which car, A Telsa Model S! Tesla cars have sentry mode: 360 cameras monitor the surroundings all the time (if enabled) for suspicious activity. The trick here is it will save the pre-5mins footage only if it involves a Tesla car.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wqdE-VlqE_c?feature=share

The person who vandalized my car also kicked the Tesla while leaving, so it automatically saved the 5min footage before he kicked it. All gods on my side, a very rare chance of occurrence, I got the footage of the incident. I immediately approached the insurance, and they converted the case to vandalism with a 0$ deductible. My insurance approved a quote of 1500$ for the work. I gave the car to the nearest VW-approved collision center (Niello Collison center) and got it repaired with an eye-watering bill of 6400$ for the two-door metal panels with parts accounting for 2000$ and 4000$ for labor. The cost is only for the metal sheets and does not include the doors' electronics or glass panels, which were not damaged. They refused to remove the dent and went ahead with the replacement of both door panels. The rear door has a small dent which I struggled to image for insurance purposes. I honestly felt bad for the insurance company and was surprised that they approved all this with photos. This would have been repaired in India for a mere 400$ for the work in the VW showroom.

4. Engine Oil Consumption: In less than 13500 miles (~20000kms), I had to top up the engine oil four times. This is annoying, but the VW service advisor assured me it's quite common for a new engine to consume oil. The issue persists even after the first service at the 10000 miles mark.

In conclusion, I am a happy VW Passat owner. I made the right decision when the market prices were volatile and super expensive. There is always a smile on my face whenever I am driving it. It has more features than I had wished. I hope to keep the car with me as long as I stay in the US. I am looking forward to an incredible journey together. Thanks for reading my post.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[vredesbyrd]

Congratulations and please sue that man to hell and back!

[Gannu_1]

Any idea what map is this inside the cupholder in the center console? Shows the compass pointing to North.



Wishing many happy miles with the ride!

[GForceEnjoyer]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Any idea what map is this inside the cupholder in the center console? Shows the compass pointing to North.

It's an aerial map of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This pays homage to the VW plant which has been operational since May 2011. One of the tags on the seats of this edition also reads "VW Chattanooga Since 2011". The other figure in the bottom cupholder is an aerial line drawing of the plant itself.

[Rajamass]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Any idea what map is this inside the cupholder in the center console? Shows the compass pointing to North.

Attachment 2397718

Wishing many happy miles with the ride!

That's a great observation
I thought it will be too much to put all those details. As Gforceenjoyer mentioned, it's an aerial map of Chattanooga plant at Tennessee.

[m.arshad16@gmai]

Hi, thanks for detailed write-up. can you please tell us which dash cam you installed. If possible please share aliexpress link and any tips and tricks to install it? Thanks

[yashg]

Interesting write up. Owning a car in the US is a completely different experience. Specialist shops for different kinds of works, availability of OEM parts aftermarket, documented history of used cars. Owning, driving and maintaining cars there is a unique experience. Different deductibles for different types of damages is also something new.

[Rajamass]

Originally Posted by m.arshad16@gmai

Hi, thanks for detailed write-up. can you please tell us which dash cam you installed. If possible please share aliexpress link and any tips and tricks to install it? Thanks

Hi

This is the link for seller "AN Car Store" https://www.aliexpress.com/store/110...4fb41802Fw2Iya

This is the link for the product which is no longer available but has installation instructions. You can contact the seller before buying

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...andl_shipto=US


The installation is straight forward and non-destructive. The camera housing diameter is the same as the OEM part. The camera harnesses power from the rain viper sensor wiring connector. The camera wiring has a power splitter that can be connected to the viper sensor. You need to unplug the viper sensor and connect the camera.

[Rajamass]

Adieu to my VW Passat Limited Edition
My relationship with the VW Passat ended abruptly—a very tough past two weeks. My Passat met with a collision on Jul 5th and got damaged severely on the right front side. My car had hit a parked 1996 Ford F150 pickup truck with a solid steel cargo loading bed. So, all the impact got onto the right bumper, fender, door outer skin, or metal sheets. Her speed was around 20-25mph. I did not find any damage to the skeleton or the pillars so I thought it could be repaired easily.

I was shocked to see the car in such a state. I called VW roadside assistance, as the car has three years of coverage, and towed it to the nearest VW collision center (Niello collision center, Sacramento, California). To my shock, the collision center manager refused to accept the vehicle as the facility was 100% full at capacity. He did not even allow me to keep the car for an hour before I talked to my insurance The towing service also did not allow me to speak to my insurance. They threatened to take the vehicle to their yard or leave it on the streetside. After wasting my time with VW roadside assistance, I finally towed it back to my home by paying 145$. VW customer care, as usual, has no proper response on how to deal with it. Pretty much useless. All they said was that they are responsible only up to the nearest center, but when I asked how they deal with the collision center refusing to accept the car, they had no answer. I told them to tow it to any VW-approved collision center, so they put it on me, saying I asked for it. The nearest collision center other than this is at least 70 miles away.
In summary, their roadside assistance was not much use to me. This is the first time I ever availed of roadside assistance in India or the US, and it's a bitter experience. I should have availed the insurance towing service.

The insurance company Geico was kind to arrange another towing service immediately and suggested I give the vehicle to their approved center, Caliber Collision in Sacramento. Since the authorized center has no appointments for one month and considering the timelines, they take here even to generate an estimate, I agreed. I was unsure if they would estimate based on OEM, non-OEM, or refurbished parts. I called them several times, and every time they said they use only genuine OEM parts.

After close to 13 days (9 working days), I finally had an initial estimate of $20352 after my $500 deductible. A lot of parts were non-OEM and also refurbished. California law requires the repair facilities to state the source of parts clearly to the customer, so they cannot hide it. The labor charges alone came to around $10000! When I saw the estimate, I realized it would be a total loss since everything else in the vehicle is pristine and fetches an excellent residual value.

The next day, I got a mail from my insurance company that the claim had been sent to the total loss team for review. I was worried about how the adjuster would evaluate the car's actual cash value (ACV) before the accident. My research showed that the Kelly blue book (KBB) offers a close match to the insurance claims in the US, with the insurance offerings being a little higher than KBB value. Now the insurance adjuster has called me and said they arrived at a value of $30831 after my $500 deductible. I should accept the offer. I paid $31808 for it when I bought it in Feb 2022; since then, I have driven 24500miles. So essentially, they are paying me almost all the money I invested, which is the only happy part of the story. When I initially bought it, I was lucky as the offer was good for me, with 3000-4000 less than the market value.

I am going to miss my beautiful red limited-edition Passat. No other car on the market offers the same features and luxury at the same price. It will be tough for me to find a replacement but I would like to stick to the VW group. I am also moving to a colder place (Wisconsin state) next month. So, I am divided on buying an all-wheel drive compact SUV like the Tiguan or the Taos or a performance-oriented sedan along the lines of the Jetta GLI.

[McLaren Rulez]

Sorry to hear of the accident. Did the ADAS not trigger any alarms or braking on its own?

[Rajamass]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Sorry to hear of the accident. Did the ADAS not trigger any alarms or braking on its own?

The car slowly went diagonally and hit the parked car outside the lane. It was a corner hit around the headlamp housing. The automatic emergency braking will work only if it's a straight collision. I think it's designed that way so that the car won't apply unnecessary brakes for parked vehicles or objects outside its path.

Lane Assist will be active only after 32mph or 50kmph speed, so the lanes were also not detected. I got the dashcam footage but did not upload it as I don't want embarrass my wife.

[Mr.Ogre]

Originally Posted by Rajamass

Adieu to my VW Passat Limited Edition

Sorry for your loss mate. Not sure how it works in the US, but my experience here in Australia had been easy. I crashed on my first over night trip on my motorbike 450 kilometers away from my home. I escaped with a few scratches however, the bike took the brunt. The casing cracked and the oil leaked. It didn't look good. Anyways, I crashed in a jungle with no cell phone reception.

Other people stopped and offered help, and one of them made sure to call the towing service once they got to a point where they got reception. Towing guy arrived, loaded the bike on to the truck and dropped me at my motel which was 80 kilometers from where I crashed.

Entire time he did not ask me about the insurance, and only after he dropped me at my motel he did tell me to not worry and call him once I had raised a claim with the insurance and he would take care of everything. He took the bike to his warehouse.

I took the train next day, and called up my insurance to raise a claim once I was home and at ease. Everything was so smooth and systematic and it looked like process's were in place to help you in time's like these.

The insurance paid for the towing and storing the bike at the warehouse, for my train ticket and eventually they decided to write off the bike with money in my account in less than 10 days from the crash.

In another incident, last week when I went for a breakfast ride one of the riders crashed in some rural area. Ambulance, police, fire truck all came within 10 minutes of calling. Luckily the rider escaped with minor bruises. Felt sorry for the rider but I could also see the system working the way it should.

[rsidd]

I do wonder why it is important to blame your wife on a public forum like this, and how it is relevant to your story. Whether she is to blame or not. Sorry if it seems OT but when I read that I do wonder if there is another side to the customer service story.

[Rajamass]

Originally Posted by rsidd

I do wonder why it is important to blame your wife on a public forum like this, and how it is relevant to your story. Whether she is to blame or not. Sorry if it seems OT but when I read that I do wonder if there is another side to the customer service story.

Hi

My intention was not really to blame her, I just stated what happened. But I will request the mods to edit the original post without any of those details.

And regarding the customer service from VW, you can have your sides whether to believe me or not but that's what happened.

Thanks for highlighting

Originally Posted by Mr.Ogre

Sorry for your loss mate. Not sure how it works in the US, but my experience here in Australia had been easy. I crashed on my first over night trip on my motorbike 450 kilometers away from my home. I escaped with a few scratches however, the bike took the brunt. The casing cracked and the oil leaked. It didn't look good. Anyways, I crashed in a jungle with no cell phone reception.

Glad you had a good experience in Australia. Here, the local police arrived and told me they would arrange for a towing service but immediately said that I needed to pay for the towing charges. I told him I called my roadside assistance, but he did not wait as the VW service took time. The police, too, called for their towing service, but the VW service-arranged truck arrived just a few mins before the police-arranged service. The incident happened in the middle of my city, but the VW service took almost 2hrs to arrive. So, the police were behind me for immediate action as they felt it was blocking the traffic. I tried to move the vehicle by turning it on, but something was holding the front wheels, and it was tough to move. I felt I might damage the car further, so I waited until the towing truck came.