Brakes and main dealers

[Fisher2022]

Hi all

New here.  Back in the day I was a mk2 gti 16v big bumper guy but those years are long gone.  Anyway, after realising that electric cars were here to stay I decided to bite the bullet whilst I can and buy myself another GTI before it's too late! This time it's the 7.5 245 DSG.  It's 3 years old and has done 22k miles.  Lovely car but the problems have already started and wanting to rant a little and look for some advice....

So I bought the car up from VW Birmingham 5 weeks ago (I live near Manchester). The next day I noticed a problem and guessed it was the rear caliper sticking on (the car rose up at the back when pulling away followed by a load clunk as it released).  I contacted Birmingham who told me to book it in with my local VW garage, which I did.  Due to Xmas, Covid and lack of courtesy cars they could only see the car today

The dealer phoned me earlier and has basically said I need new brakes all round, discs and pads, and has quoted £1200!  They are saying that the rear discs are scored and the pads are 70% worn, which is somehow causing them to stick on.  And the front discs are also worn/scored and the pads are 90% worn

Given I'd had the car just days when I reported the issue and have done only 1k miles since I've had the car I was expecting them to sort this under warranty but Birmingham said immediately, without even speaking with my local VW branch, they wouldn't cover it!  Needless to say I'm not happy.  My local VW are saying that the brakes are clearly well worn and this should have been picked up and sorted as part of multi point check before the vehicle was sold.  Their service manager even went on to say that if the brakes were ok when I bought the car then I couldn't have worn them this quick even if I was driving on a track.  VW Birmingham are saying their records show everything was ok when they checked the car.

VW Birmingham have had a piece of my mind and I'm now waiting for them to speak with my local VW garage on Monday but I'm half expecting them to come back and say again that they won't cover it.  Hence this post.

Can anyone offer any help, advice or share their similar experiences?

Cheers

[coolhandluke123]

I'd have thought all that would have been covered especially buying from a vw dealer. Just a pity you didn't notice how bad they were when you were viewing it. Mines on 28,000 and front discs and pads all looking OK. If you're front pads were that worn I'd have expected a warning light on the dash.

[magic36]

Sounds like a typical dealer response to me and they will probably crack once you put a bit of pressure on them!

I viewed 3 GTIs before mine, all at dealers. One had been “smart repaired” which apparently the dealer hadn’t noticed in their check, despite the whole bumper being a different colour to the rest of the car. The second dealer tried to tell me that he was sure they did a 3 door mk8, despite me telling him that they don’t. And the final one that I ended up buying, had tyres below the legal limit, which they apparently had picked up on their “check” but somehow it had been missed……

I’m a serial pessimist at the best of times but I always feel that when I’m in a dealership they’re always doing whatever they can to pull the wool over my eyes 

[madstaff]

Should've all been picked up during the inspection, and subsequently rectified, for the car to be Das Welt Auto approved.

If the supplying dealer is not forthcoming, tell them your next call is to VWUK customer services.

[Guzzle]

I would ask the VW garage where you bought the car from to explain clearly why it is not covered.

They should have provided you with warranty documentation upon purchase that explains what is and what isn't covered. Ask them to highlight where in the documentation it states that it isn't covered.

If you've only had the car a few weeks then it isn't really good enough for them to simply wash their hands of the problem and not offer any help. If you can demonstrate that you've only covered a handful of miles in the period you've had the car then does the dealer have any record they will share with you of the checks they carried out, or is it just a ticksheet completed by a lackey?

If the car has gone beyond 3 years of age then I'm guessing it's a Das Welt warranty you have, which isn't as comprehensive as brand new car warranty.

For what it's worth my 7.5 is 4 years old with over 30k miles and is still on the original discs and pads. Passed its MOT in December with no advisories.

[joe6]

Presumably the dealer provided the 2 year vw warranty. There are minimum standards that the dealer has to adhere to for the warranty to be valid such as the multipoint check that should have picked this up. This does not appear to be the case. If no joy from Birmingham then I would escalate to vw complaints as Madstaff suggests and if possible get a written note from your local dealer on brake condition. There should be a digital record of the Birmingham garage completing the pre-sale inspection check that vw complaints should have access to as well as your local dealer.
I had an electrical fault on my 18 month old 7.5 after taking delivery - dealer sorted as should have been picked up pre-sale.

If the rear pads are sticking you could try silicon grease on the caliper pins. Does not solve your warranty problem though. Wet pads can stick as the electronic handbrake is a bit 'vicious' when applied.

[Fisher2022]

Thanks all for the replies

Birmingham are saying brakes aren't covered under warranry, simple as that, which is included with the terms and conditions of the warranty.  They are also saying that their records show minimum 5mm on each of the pads and that discs were acceptable.

I've said to Birmingham, why is it one dealer says everything is fine but the other says I need to change the whole lot and that they have shown everything to be in the red on their scale.  Birmingham's answer was again brakes aren't covered.  They then wanted me to ask my local VW garage to ring them, to which I said I'm not their PA and they need to speak to their own garage.  The best bit being that both dealers are even part of the same franchise!

I'm going to kick off on Monday if they don't sort and will involved VW Uk if needs be.

It just annoys me that they sell you this concept of they as dealers being amazing, they look after their customers, are all smiley, happy and offering you drinks, etc, but as soon as it goes against them they become Del Boy and the car sales man who I bought the car off runs to.the hills and involves his service manager

[fredgroves]

Sounds like the same bs about brakes they always try to pull...

I was told once I had 10% left on my rear brakes and seven days later when I was back to have a part fitted they didn't have the week before they told me I had 15% left... I asked "so it got better? That's magic"

I'm not convinced the brakes are actually your problem...

[Rudedog]

Have they changed the Das Welt approved warranty because I'm sure as part of it was a no quibble return with a full refund if there was anything you weren't happy with.... can't remember how long you had though.

[fredgroves]

30 days or 1000 miles... Whichever comes first.