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Bad service experience

I purchased a 99 Passat recently. 2.8L V6 5 speed. 49K miles. The car ran great, I loved it. Since it was close to 50K miles, I decided to get maintenance done, and took it to Stevens Creek Volkswagen, in Santa Clara, CA.

They kept my car for 2 days, and now after spending more than $1000, it feels so broken.

Before the service:

- No warning lights on and the engine idle speed was stable.

- Shifting was smooth and I could "feel" plenty of power.

- The only problems I reported were a) broken headlamp and b) coolant temp. gauge not working

After the service:

- The check engine light is ON

- The engine idle speed is very unstable. Especially when I stop at a light, the idle goes up and down between 1100 and 600, before settling down to about 800.

- Shifting doesn't seem as smooth now.

- The coolant temp. gauge works, but there's a flashing red coolant temp. warning (after driving for about 10 mins. in the morning, it starts flashing and there's a loud beep). The gauge however stays at around 190 (half way) and I don't see any heat or leakage anywhere.

While they kept my car for the 40K mile service, they called and said few items need to be replaced, like the Serpentine Belt and Valve cover gasket. I OK'ed. Then they called and said they are seeing some "fault codes" from the Throttle body, and need to perform additional diagnostics ($120). I OK'ed that too. Then they called and said the TB needs to be replaced (estimate: $850) but didn't have the parts in stock. The 40K mile service + additional repairs costed me abuot $1100.

Did anyone else experience similar issues with Stevens Creek VW ? I am so damn frustrated with them right now... they took my perfectly fine car, made me pay more than a grand, and returned it broken...

Thanks,

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Sorry, it sounds like the owner has a new boat and his payment is due.

I would check with your state's Attorney General. See if they have anything on this guy. Contacting the regional VW people may help.

I am sorry to say, it is unlikely you are going to get any of your money back, but you may be able to get them to fix it right without paying any more.

The moral of this story is don't go to a dealer (almost any dealer) for service other than that paid for by the original warrantee. You can have all required service performed by a third party mechanic, just keep your receipts. A good INDEPENDENT mechanic will almost always do as well (likely better in this case) and charge a lot less.

It may be that everything listed needed to be done, but at the very least they should not have returned it to you in that condition (light on) and they should have warned you about the derivability issue that may or may not go away after a couple of days. I would bet against it.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Reply to
Woodchuck

You are talking to a global audience here. Few will be able to respond knowledgeably regarding that particular service facility.

Reply to
Papa

Good independent shop in Santa Clara is New Dimensions on De La Cruz Avenue near the airport. I've been going to them for years. They recently changed ownership and got a new service manager, so jury is still out on how they'll do going forward. But I can vouch for their work over the past eight years--always very good.

Reply to
CSS

I know them, and several of the local dealerships and shops. Small world, isn't it?

Reply to
CSS

Agreed, and conveniently New Dimensions is right next door the the Stevens Creek VW service facility. For parts, I like Sunnyvale VW on El Camino. The parts guy (Trent) is very knowledgeable and helpful.

Reply to
Randolph

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