Icing on the cake

Got my car back from it's 3 day timing belt change on Wednesday. I got up early Saturday morning to pick up my Mother and Aunt to drive to Detroit Mi. (3 hours away.) When I arrived at my Mothers house I put the windows up and turned on the AC to cool things off for the Ladies. Well, I turned the blower to 3 and pushed the AC button,,,,,,,,, NOTHING. I had no A.C. I looked under the hood for the obvious ie. disconnected compressor clutch wire, disconnected pressure switch wire, blown fuse, leak etc... I couldn't find anything. To make a long story short I had a big fight with the dealer on Monday and they told me to take my business elsewhere. I did, and just got a call that the A.C. system had been DRAINED. The mechanic who has it now recharged it and all is fine. What the hell! I did notice that one of the caps on the recharge valves was loose but I figured it could have always been that way. Why would the dealer drain the A.C. system to change the timing belt? If you did drain the A.C. system how could you forget to recharge it?

Didn't have to touch the A/C on my T-belt change.

Could be coincidence. Could be a dumb dealership. I'd try to make the dealership pay for the A/C. It worked fine BEFORE they touched it. Now it doesn't.

They probably disconnected the A/C line to remove the huge engine mount. Sad thing is you don't need too. There is a trick to getting it out if you twist it and turn it just right.

I would also suggest checking for leaks in the area of the timing belt in case they damaged the A/C line removing the mount. Check for scrapes, dents etc.

DB

I explained everything to the garage and they said that they would investigate everyting to see if it was something the dealer did / damaged. They said that the system was definitely drained and that there are no leaks. I think the mechanic at the dealer drained it not knowing that you don't have to and then forgot to refill it. It took him much longer than it should have to make the repair and they told me "Your car is giving him a hard time." They are getting the letter from hell very soon.

OK , I am curious...

What boneheaded dealer is rich enough that they don't need your business?

Let us know so they won't get ours either!

Northeast Ohio TDIers BEWARE!!!!

I's Ganley Westside Imports in N. Olmsted. (suburb of Cleveland) I wrote a letter to them two years ago regarding shoddy service. I was assured that things have changed and they introduced me to the new service manager etc... The only reason I took it to the dealer for this repair was due to the fact that if the timing belt should fail prematurely VW can't blame it on the fact that I didn't use a VW dealer. Their service department really does suck though. I gave them another chance and they f----d me again. The part that really got me was that after I called the service manager a liar he was going to charge me to look at my car just because I called him a liar. And guess what,,, He is a LIAR!!!!!!! He will lie right to your face without any shame. He will make up and twist the story to the point that it makes no sence and when you correct him he will claim that he never said that. It is totally wild. I thought I was in the twilight zone.

Hi,
I am about to schedule first TB replacement at Gunther VW in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Has anybody done that in this dealership, and if so impressions please. Also, what is average $$$ for that pleasure.
Thanks,
Dubravko

There are no good vw dealerships I've pretty much given up.

Originally posted by msaeger:
There are no good vw dealerships I've pretty much given up.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes there is. You just have to look around.

Gorman-McCracken in Longview, Texas

Metro VW in Irving, Texas

The Volkswagen Store in Richardson, Texas.

Offenberg VW, O'Fallen IL and I had a good experience at St. Charles Automotive in St. Charles MO a couple years ago.

Originally posted by ProjektZwoTDI:
Yes there is. You just have to look around.

Gorman-McCracken in Longview, Texas

Metro VW in Irving, Texas

The Volkswagen Store in Richardson, Texas.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You've just been lucky I'm sure they will screw something up.

Originally posted by msaeger:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by ProjektZwoTDI:
Yes there is. You just have to look around.

Gorman-McCracken in Longview, Texas

Metro VW in Irving, Texas

The Volkswagen Store in Richardson, Texas.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You've just been lucky I'm sure they will screw something up.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Luck has nothing to do with it. Knowing the service managers and several VW techs does help you get better service though.

More brilliant "Dealer Tech" stories!

The A/C has nothing to do with changing a timing belt. Obviously, the tech was an incompetent boob.

-mickey

In case anyone is in the Atlanta area, NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES should anyone take their car to a Jim Ellis dealership. These people will butcher your car !!! Even if you breakdown, have it towed elsewhere.....a shadetree mechanic has more of a chance for getting things done right.

Never been to Gunther VW, but I can tell you Lokey has no idea how to work on anything.

BUT- Aristocrat VW in Sanford will take good care of you. Little far for you though.