Looking for a voice - Jetta TDI

I can see your point but give the dealer a chance to fix the problem. That's what warranty is all about. Yes it is odd to need a trans but anything can happen so wait and see what was done during the repair which will be stated on the repair order. If you're not happy then express your thoughts with the VW rep. Maybe the person was having a real bad day when putting that trans together or maybe something just broke inside. Now the trans in general is very durable but as they say "Sh*t happens"! BTW is it an auto or 5 speed?

1. What if this is the same guy that worked on something else in the car
2. The service center first said it was the linkage so I waited two days for parts, now they say it's the transmission. What is they just don't know what the hell they are doing.

note: just because it's covered by the warrenty doesn't make it write. This is a matter of pricapal, I paid a new car price for a b-stock item. (b-stock means it was sent back for repairs and resold)

Brian

That's what warranties are for. If you wanted perfection out of the gate, you should have bought a Toyota or a Lexus. The car is covered for four years. Drive it a little longer than two days before guessing who did what on your car. Does your state have a "lemon law"? You might want to find out.

And every computer program compiles perfectly the first time through, every carpenter always cuts pieces straight and to the correct length, and doctors always diagnose the illness fully at the first opportunity. Cut 'em some slack. Maybe "linkage" was the service writer's description and the actual mechanic found out differently.

Do you have any proof that your car was "B-stock"? If it was, they could not legally sell it without telling you that it was. My ex and I bought a Ford "company car" once and they were very clear on what the problem was, what they did to fix it, and how they warranted their work. We had to sign paperwork to that effect. We got a great deal on that car -- and never had a problem with the part they fixed.

I realize you're unhappy right now and it's frustrating to have something like that happen to a new car, but, seriously, it's only a car, and the problem didn't hurt anyone or anything. If you honestly are this put off by this problem, do yourself a favor and buy another brand. VWs just aren't appliances.

sd

Great points - I appreciate you got a great deal on your ford but I paid full price. I write code and true it doesn't always compile write the first time but that's why we have Unit Tests, we test fit lumber and trim, and the human body isn't even a good compairason. The car wan't b-stock when I baught but after 3hours of use it became b-stock. We all know once you drive the car off the lot it becomes a used car but were talking common sense here.

Ask your self this, would you like to be in my shoes and how would you feel? $23,453.43 for a used car.

Brian

Why is it a used car? It's only used if you used it or you bought it that way. It has a flaw. The flaw is being repaired. If the flaw is not repaired, give 'em hell.

--TW I'm perfect in evry respect.

Well it's apparently obvious I'm not going to get any sympathy from this group. Maybe you guys are right and I should just quit whining and suck it up. I just thought since I on VW #3 I would get special treatment from you folks.

One last note, if you walked into your local VW dealer and he had a 2003 Jetta Wagon with a newly installed transmission put in by his fine team of service technicians, would you expect to pay full price?

Thanks for your time, Brian

Well, that is an interesting one.

I (or my family) have had transmission rebuilds in four cars, two automatic and two manual. After the rebuilds both manuals felt "as new". One of the automatics was rebuilt at 160kmi and never did feel right again after 3 return visits. I finallly just traded it in at the dealer that did the rebuild towards a new car and he gave me substantial credit towards the new car (more than the value of car + rebuild), that new car was my first VW!. The other automatic rebuild occurred at 120kmi lasted an additional 50kmi before starting to act up, not that great a deal. Only one of the rebuilds (one of the manuals) was a VW, that rebuild happened at 185kmi, and I sold the car at 200kmi. The last time I heard anything about it was at 220kmi and going strong.

I have to admit I would be miffed to need a major repair that soon after purchase, though if it is a manual and they can fix it in a reasonable period of time I'd be OK. Do keep track of total days in the shop in case a lemon law kicks in.

It is probably worth contacting the VW regional omsbudsman for your area, they are supposed to help protect the customers.

Scott

We're being honest and not flaming the crap out of you, that is pretty special on USENET, but since you have exhibited this air of entitlement that appears to us to be beyond reason, you are now entitled to whatever you receive.

If the price was beyond what the market could bear? No. Not sure what you are asking; perhaps you should serialize your initial story more clearly.

"Sunday was the first time I tried to put it in reverse and I noticed a problem. I took it to the shop Monday and I haven't seen it since. Looks like they need to put in a new transmission. First it was a retainer clip on the shift linkage now it's a transmission."

--TW If you want lip service, go to the red light district.

Jim B.

It is not unusual for "new" cars at the dealer to have been repaired there for manufacturing defects discovered there, recalls and TSBs, or shipping damage. For example, I used to often pass by a local auto body repair shop. It was not unusual to see new Toyotas still in shipping wrap on flatbed tow trucks in front of this auto body repair shop or being flatbedded to or from that shop (there was a Toyota dealer a few miles away).

Hell no you won't get any sympathy. You purchased a car, said car ends up having a problem, dealer is trying to fix problem. Dealer though they had found the problem but turns out they didn't and now are going to replace the tranny outrigth. You whine because you want a new car now when, by your own words, the dealer is fixing the car under warrrenty like they are suppose to.

At what point should the dealer NOT have to give a new car out to you? 72 hours? 6 months? Once the warrenty expires?

By law, once that title is signed over to you, the car is a used car. If you drove your car 3 feet and then traded it back into the dealer, they could not, by law, sell it as a new car anymore. Doesn't matter how many VWs you purchased. Wouldn't you be pissed if you found out the car you purchased was owned by some putz for 48 hours, traded back in and then sold as new to you?

If a dealer gets a car from the factory and during the PDI something is found wrong, for example, a cracked VR6 block on a Jetta, and the fine team of service technicians installs a brand new (not rebuilt as per law) engine, then why shouldn't the dealer be able to sell the car at full price? What is wrong with it now?

You mention you are a coder, which is good because you don't seem to have a grasp of the automotive world. I think sWINdle 2000 should run on a 386 computer with 4 megs of RAM and the footprint should only be 15megs when fully installed. I'd bet it could be done if sloppy code wasn't used (look at what Future Crew and Triton did). But what do I know....

Pencilneck blah blah blah

Now you have a used car with a new (free) tranny. Most of us have to pay $'s for new parts to appear on our vehicles.

You're ahead of the game. Your vehicle will most likely be fine.

Stupid question: have you consider telling the dealer "I have no problem with you taking as long as it needs to make this car right, but I will need a loaner car. Not a rental, but a loaner." and seeing what they say back?

Hey, I'm on VW #4, and would expect no different treatment from this group.

No -- but, then, I wouldn't be paying full price even if the car was perfect just as it rolled off the transporter. (Without trying to open another can of worms,) why did you pay full price? I mean, I can think of a dozen reasons, but pretty much all of them can be amended in your favor.

FWIW, VW #4 (see above) _is_ a 2003 Jetta Wagon (TDI), for which I paid nowhere near list price. I have no idea if they replaced any parts on it before delivery (though I got it with about seven miles on it, IIRC, so it didn't get a lot of test drives). But I have a four-year warranty and I have 6000+ miles on the car (only minor "I expect that on a VW" fixes so far) and we'll see what happens. I got a good deal on it, I have a good idea of what to expect from a VW, and who knows? I'd like to drive this car for 15 years if some idiot in a Neon with bald tires doesn't take it out someday. The fact that some parts will have to be replaced along the way? It's part of the game.

sd

I certainly can see both sides of this problem, but I have to agree with MreCoder here, even if it's because I'm extremely anal. The thing that I *didn't* miss in his post was it was the *first* time he had put it into reverse. This means that if he had tested each aspect of the vehicle before he drove off the lot (and don't tell me that

*you* would have) he never would have taken possession and would have demanded a new one! Would things have been different if he would have put it into reverse as they were writing up the paperwork on the car and he said he'd like another? Sure it would be. I would be *very* angry here too... plus I'd be scared every time I left my driveway for about the next 7 months. All of you are *very* correct though, he purchased a car that he now owns - and it's a car that needs a transmission. It's his problem and his only *real* course is warranty. It's just sad to see that an exception couldn't be made here for an obviously exceptional situation.

By the way, I had the option of rejecting my New Beetle when I bought it because of broken window switches, but I figured the 1.5 hours of paperwork re-write wasn't worth it... a decision I somewhat wish I would have considered.

TOE

Coder head did a lousy job of unit testing, which I have noted for my next VW Purchase. Any thoughts on what a new car buyer should do prior to taking delivery? I'm sure the dealer won't give me a 48hr test drive, and I don't think that is reasonable, but I'd like to hear from a tech's perspective what is reasonable testing for the assorted issues that VW is famous for.....and still I am itching to get a Passat TDI !

Mike wrote: but I'd like to hear from a tech's perspective

I drove a TDI Beetle for 300+ miles over a few days trying to duplicate a owner's complaint of the coolant light flashing red. Car had less than 600 miles on it when I got a hold of it. And of course it never screwed up when I drove it.

Jim B.