2003 TDI Transmission problems

Hey everyone - new to the board but am an original owner of a 2003 Golf TDI. The manual transmission blew and according to the dealer, chunks of metal came out when they dropped the fluid. It has 82000 miles on it and is (was) on the original clutch. We purchased an extended warrantee that is still in effect (100k) and thought we were going to be ok. Unfortunately, how we are being treated by the dealer is getting a little strange.

• The dealer is saying that VW doesn't make that transmission anymore and that we would have to go with a remanufactured transmission. Is this true?
• In addition, they said that we have to go with one that is not remanufactured by VW because the core can't be exchanged as it was damaged along with the rest of the transmission.
• Lastly, if we insisted on a transmission remanufactured by VW, we would be forced to pay the $700 difference because there isn't a transmission core to exchange.

This all seems a bit fishy regardless of the warrantee company because I can't believe that VW is no longer manufacturing a transmission that is only 6 years old. Any help would be greatly appreciated but I'm getting a bad feeling about this - especially when we asked them if we would be penalized on trade in since they knew the transmission wasn't original and they gave a smartass answer. I'm going in to the dealership tomorrow as this was dumped on us at 4:30 on Friday while we were leaving for the weekend.

As background, we just had the timing belt/water pump replaced 20 days ago and have never modded the vehicle.

Thanks!

Is this Gurnee, Il? How about getting it away from the dealer and dealing with someone reputable? They will probably tell yo uthat they need to rebuild yours or install a rebuilt one as well, but the price will be less. You may also be able to find and install a used transmission for a fraction of the price.

Your transmssion is probably a EGR (that's the 3 letter code for it). It is not made anymore. However, JDM is. Your dealer should find VW part number 02J 300 052 L designated as the new transmission for JDM and EGR.

VW remanufactured units are just as good as new for less cost. That part number is 02J 300 047 MX.

You can go to sites such as www.worldimpex.com or www.1stvwparts.com plug in the part numbers and get prices.

It is typical in the auto industry to charge a "core charge" for major parts. If no usable "core" can be sent back, then the higher cost is charged. VW calls it "Exchange service".

EXPLANATION OF THE EXCHANGE SERVICE

The idea of the exchange service

The exchange idea originates from the early years of Volkswagen production. At that time, there was a demand for material savings through economic use of vehicle parts. The logical conclusion was to repair what could be reused. Re-use, further usage and repairing of units and parts has been successfully practised by Volkswagen AG for almost 50 years. Because of this, valuable raw materials and expensive energy required for the production of new units and parts have been saved. This is not only good for the environment - the customer also benefits from favourable prices. The first engines were reconditioned in the factory in 1947.

Not all individual parts of an old assembly have been subjected to the same wear and tear. Many parts suffer practically no wear at all (e.g. cover plates); others again show only slight wear (e.g. crankshafts), and are suitable for reconditioning. There are of course parts which cannot be re-used (e.g. wiring).

In the case of factory reconditioning each old assembly is completely dismantled. Each individual part is checked for re-use and either factory reconditioned or replaced by a new part if it cannot be re-used.

These parts, factory reconditioned and new parts, are reassembled into Genuine exchange units.

Advantages to the customer
-[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Shorter repair times. Parts are only exchanged. The customer gets his vehicle quicker.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Low costs. The saving in costs of exchange parts as compared to new parts is more than 50% in many cases, as the old part is returned. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]High quality. Engines, gearboxes and individual parts are factory reconditioned and checked by the VW factory for quality, fit and performance. Reconditioned parts are technically as new.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Technical improvement. The customer often profits from this, as a unit or part of the corresponding model could in the meantime have been modified.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Warranty. Reconditioned mechanical units and parts are just as good as new parts.
Hence the same warranty guidelines apply to exchange parts as for new parts.
Warranty claims will be honoured by every Volkswagen/Audi dealer.
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Vehicle value. Reconditioned units and parts are technically as new. They not only lengthen the life of the vehicle but also increase the resale value of the vehicle.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Financing. The customer can obtain credit under favourable conditions, matched to his own personal economic situation, from the Volkswagen Kreditbank to finance his exchange engine. (The Volkswagen Kreditbank only exists in Germany.) [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]-[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Value related repair. With Genuine exchange parts, Genuine short engine or engine block assemblies a repair in accordance with the value of the older vehicle is possible.[/FONT]

Thanks everyone for your responses. To answer - Whitedog, yes I live in Gurnee, IL but no, it is not Gurnee VW.
MO - thanks for all the help. I now understand and am better educated. I am going to discuss with the service advisor tomorrow to ensure we know what they are installing in the car.

We've had very little problems with this dealer and they have been very good to us over the years. However, I understand that when the economy gets bad, some bad habits in the past start to surface as I experienced with my MINI at another dealer.

Thanks!

There are some people here that can source you a BRAND NEW transmission for less that what anything the dealer would want.

www.bleachedbora.com for starters...

Thanks Brian!
Give me a call and I'll hook you up--number is in my signature.
Cheers and good luck!
-Aaron