How about a "dealers" forum?

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

Good idea, eh? A place to gripe or praise, share bad or good experiences, give a heads-up to let people know of scams and problems and the occasional good service.

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

This was asked in the past and it turns out that it was not popular enough as there are websites out there to grip about a dealer. I don't know the URL for it.

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

I'd be interested in the URL of those websites....

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

I like this idea. You could then search the forums based on dealership name/city to have some info on a dealership. It seems most like to slam the dealerships but I have to say I have had very good response from the one I deal with and would like to let others know.

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

I had a guy come over yesterday so that we could do his second 80K timing belt and water pump...Yeah he drives that much. Anyway the previous dealer that installed the belt stripped out the side engine mount bolt holes by overtorqueing, damaged all four harmonic balancer bolts, Mark and prayed the timing belt, had the and several other things.

To prevent this from turning into a slam fest I suggest the following. Since most dealers that pay to train their techs pay a lot of money they should be more than happy to provide a resume' of sorts listing all the TDI technicians training and experience. We can make up a form that will give us insight into the overall experience level of that dealership with TDI's.

Things to ask the dealer:
-What oil do you use in a TDI and please provide specifics, PN#, Oil viscocity, manufacturer etc
-Question: "I have a 1998 New Beetle, what's the part number of the timing belt that you would install on my car?"
-If I bring in my own oil will you use it?
-If I bring in my own oil what will you charge for the oil change and filter?
-How much do you charge for a timing adjustment? Will you set the timing to my specs?
-Provide a list in detail all the parts your dealer would use to change my timing belt.
-If I bring in my own OEM VW parts for the timing belt change will your service department provide the labor only?

-Who is the TDI technician(s) that have been to VW school for the TDI.
-When did the technician(s) last attend VW school for the TDI, list dates___
-What ASE Certification level will the TDI technician working on my car have?
-How long has the TDI Technician been working at this dealer?
-Talk with the TDI technicians and form an opinion of whether they display a good overall knowlege of the TDI.

-Does your dealer charge based on the VW flat rate labor allowances or do you charge by actual time?
-Does your dealer stock all the TDI specific tools for making timing, cam adjustments as well as timing belt changes?

-Does your dealership have a working relationship with an Authorized Bosch Service center in the event "I" need my injectors checked? Nozzles swapped? Cleaned? etc...
-Have the dealership list all other references pertinent to TDI applications.

Question for the Sales Staff:
-How many TDI's have you sold in each year for the last 5 years?
-How many of them are return customers having purchased a second TDI?

The way I see it if the dealership is above board and worth your money they should be more than happy to provide you with the above info. I know that if I were approached I would be happy to list everything above except for the fact I do not sell TDI's...

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

-Who is the TDI technician(s) that have been to VW school for the TDI.
-When did the technician(s) last attend VW school for the TDI, list dates___
-What ASE Certification level will the TDI technician working on my car have?

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I don't recall you ever working for VW but how does one obtain that kind of knowledge. I didn't know that a TDI school existed!

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

I'd be interested in the URL of those websites....

Click to expand...

I found this specific site www.myvwlemon.com but I know there is another site that is more general and had more information.

How about a \"dealers\" forum?

Thanks defbug for your reply. I went to the site that you mentioned. Actually I went there long before I even bought the car.

I am (so far) extremely pleased with the car. Could not have asked for more in any respect. It's just that I was not necessarily happy with my dealership experience. For such a wonderful car, I thought the dealer was extremely of low category. I have dealt with a few other Internet managers of other VW dealerships and they did not seem anything like the one where I bought my car from. Therefore, I think it is just this particular dealership that is the bad apple.

I called VWoA to find out if they sent questionnaires to find out about new car purchase experience and I was told that it was to the discretion of the dealership. In other words, they were not particularly interested in knowing about anything. I think this is particularly bad customer service. When I purchased my Honda or got my Lexus serviced at the dealership, I was always getting calls from the dealership / corp. office to find out if I was satisfied. And, I always was!

I love my VW, and after (almost two months a lil over 2k miles), I would definitely buy another VW, but not necessarily from the same dealership (hopefully).