GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: passant on 29 October 2014, 18:30
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So after paying between £30,000 - £35,000 on a brand new golf R you'd expect Volkswagen dealerships to worship your car like it was their own.
If you think this ... You're wrong.
Took my MK6 to a dealership ( stealers ) in the North West couple of weeks ago whilst some work was carried out on my car, the work was only due to take an hour or two, so I've gone for a wander around to try and find a burger van.
As I've gone for my mooch, I noticed a Golf R in the garage and decided to snap a photo ( my mate had just ordered one from the same dealership so I was basically just sending him a photo to wind him up because he has to wait until 2015 for his ).
Whilst snapping my photo, the 'mechanic' has taken the opportunity to rev hard ( from cold ) to impress his colleagues and myself, I've still got the photo of the car on the ramps, with the number plate leaning on the brand new unprotected paintwork.
After this, I decided to stick around to see what else they would do to this brand new £35,000 car, If you've ordered one of these and your awaiting delivery . . . you probably want to stop reading.
The mechanic decided to slap the trade plates on and take it for a little spin ( part of the PDI I'm told ). The mechanic roared out of the garage and out of the dealership, to the main road, at this point, the mechanic turned onto the main road, stopped and I presume put it in race mode and floored it as if to test the 0 - 62 for himself ( on a car still in the wrapping ). As he did this I stood with my head in my hands, wondering how I was going to explain this to my friend who had JUST moments before been advised that his order had been delayed.
I text him to tell him what I was witnessing and awaited the mechanics return, the mechanic screamed into the car park, much to the amusement of his colleagues and proceeded to bump the car up a high kerb at approx 10 MPH, I must stress that this kerb is something that a new car should never see, even in my 2009 car, a speed of 1/2 a mile an hour is probably too much and proceeded to drive the car at around 10MPH down a muddy hill to where Volkswagen seem to deem it appropriate to leave brand new cars.
I must add at this point, the trade plates that were hanging on the back of the vehicle were slamming against the car, potentially damaging the vehicle, however I didn't check the condition of the vehicle after the mechanic had stopped the abuse.
At the bottom of the hill, and after not finding a space big enough to fit the car in, the mechanic turned the car round rather aggressively and proceeded to accelerate back to the top of this hill, whilst near the top, the mechanic hopped out and left the car ( still running ) whilst he walked approx 75 ft back to the main building.
The mechanic left the car running for approx 10 minutes before his return, much to my annoyance, someone has been waiting for that car for months, and it could have gone in seconds due to the sheer laziness of this mechanic. The mechanic then proceeded to get back in the car, and bump it back down the raised kerb, again, at a speed that no car should ever have to endure whilst going down a kerb.
One or two of these photos have already been leaked onto this forum by my friend, but a user said they were 'over exaggerated' I can assure you these where not.
I have spoken to Stephen Elliot ( cscretailercontacts@volkswagen.co.uk ) in Volkswagen Head office who is aware of the abuse these cars are enduring so he is aware, but didn't seem concerned in the slightest, adding that each dealership operates individually and that there is nothing we can do, so in essence, your buying a Volkswagen car, paying £35,000, and in return, Volkswagen trained mechanics are thrashing your car about during the breaking in period, and smashing it around the dealerships in a time attack style.
My friend put on his delivery notes that Volkswagen were not to touch the car ( not wash it not anything ) however, after seeing the photos I've taken and having listened to me, he has since contacted Volkswagen and has advised the dealership that he wants to be there when the vehicle is unloaded from the transporter, and he wants to be there for the pdi check, and has instructed them that he will arrange transport from the dealership to his home for the car so he can unwrap it himself.
Just be warned guys and probably have a word with the dealership you've got your car on order from and I'd recommend taking a day off work just so you know that your car isn't being abused.
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(http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y540/passant125/34508FF3-5495-4043-A49F-040CF6D71B0C_zps5xz44an1.jpg) (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/passant125/media/34508FF3-5495-4043-A49F-040CF6D71B0C_zps5xz44an1.jpg.html)
(http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y540/passant125/0B8EAB4B-F4A0-4C53-B704-CA43FA4987F6_zpsuem2pvx7.png) (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/passant125/media/0B8EAB4B-F4A0-4C53-B704-CA43FA4987F6_zpsuem2pvx7.png.html)
(http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y540/passant125/AE911AAB-29DE-4BEC-B14A-B672A01CC484_zpssimo37nv.jpg) (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/passant125/media/AE911AAB-29DE-4BEC-B14A-B672A01CC484_zpssimo37nv.jpg.html)
(http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y540/passant125/A7E39BBF-D689-4E16-916A-57287ACD1440_zps675rmtbj.jpg) (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/passant125/media/A7E39BBF-D689-4E16-916A-57287ACD1440_zps675rmtbj.jpg.html)
(http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y540/passant125/8E2E6C6C-A6F4-4F37-8511-E8C1B0C72CB1_zpsmpvk42i3.jpg) (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/passant125/media/8E2E6C6C-A6F4-4F37-8511-E8C1B0C72CB1_zpsmpvk42i3.jpg.html)
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I expect whiplash when I get mine and mash that pedal into the floor. :whistle:
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I've had my GTD abused on a lunchtime when it was supposedly going to be available for pick-up following warranty work (28 miles extra on the clock and around 1.5 gallons used - 19mpg ave). You always hope that your car will be treated with respect rather than expect it these days.
Unfortunately there's not a lot of wrongdoing proven in those pics, video would be better.
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Mine was in at the dealers last week for a few issues, i noticed it flash past me going the other way on a dual carriageway near the dealer! :grin: i did tell the tech the exhaust only knocks when it's warm so he was probably 'warming' it up! Checked it over when i collected it and it's fine so i'm not really fussed, point is you'll rarely find out if it's been thrashed before collection so as long as it's mint when you take delivery i wouldn't worry.
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I must admit I would be less than pleased if my new motor had been treated in the way you say you witnessed. Having just placed my order for a Gti i would hope that the car will be treated with the respect and care that it (and my £££££) deserve, rather than some half wit thrashing the valves off it with it showing 10 miles on the clock
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I must admit I would be less than pleased if my new motor had been treated in the way you say you witnessed. Having just placed my order for a Gti i would hope that the car will be treated with the respect and care that it (and my £££££) deserve, rather than some half wit thrashing the valves off it with it showing 10 miles on the clock
Like MH says, you "hope" it's been treated with respect but you'll never know for sure unfortunately. :sad:
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Been happening at dealerships for decades nothing new.
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All you can really do is leave a post-it note on your steering wheel letting them know that you know what your mileage is and any mileage beyond moving it around the compound (if it's a job not requiring a lengthy test drive) will be reported to the service manager. They may still choose to take it out for a spin.
If the temptation is there to frig a GTD to get 15mpg less than i've ever gotten on a single short journey, let alone a 28 mile one, then an R must be pretty much irresistible to them.
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I used to sell cars at a Fiat dealership. Our new cars were delivered to our main dealership around 40 miles away, so we used to drive them back from there. Often we would bring 3 or 4 of them over at a time, so as you can imagine, the journey back often turned into a round of the Fiat Punto challenge.
Back then, you could reset the mileage to zero by pressing the trip reset button before it had got to 200 miles, so by the time they had been prepared for the customer, no one would have been any the wiser.
As Snoopy said, it's always happened and always will. Your £300 washing machine will have more care taken of if pre-delivery than your £30,000 car.
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Outrageous. But expected, unfortunately. One can only hope that the dealership we buy from doesn't have those kind of scum working there. If I'd witnessed that, there would be a full on 'name and shame' on twitter with those pictures - that's the only way VW will take action. I would have gone to town shaming these ar7eholes :angry:
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I am 100% sympathetic to this issue. But as was the response from VW head office - this is entirely a matter for the dealership - they are franchise, a private company and not VW themselves so unless the dealership in question is named there is little point in this thread.
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I am 100% sympathetic to this issue. But as was the response from VW head office - this is entirely a matter for the dealership - they are franchise, a private company and not VW themselves so unless the dealership in question is named there is little point in this thread.
I agree to a point - yes, it is a franchise but they are still operating under the banner of Volkswagen. Therefore VW should be taking some responsibility. By tweeting them direct and showing the pictures I'm pretty sure they'd take notice and do something about it - one thing VW hates, that's bad publicty online. And I totally agree about naming the dealership - like I say, if I'd seen that I would be posting those pictures on every social media outlet - its disgusting practise, and I'd want the scumbags sacked as well. Unnaceptable behaviour, and not because of the value of the car - its unacceptable to do that to anyone's new car regardless of price.
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Totally agree matchboy.
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i always check mileage and this does not surprise me, there again i would never by a demo manual given its probably had a hard life
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I delivered to a Maserati garage and they ragged a quattroporte I had slowly and carefully taken of my transporter. They obviously don't give a s---
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Absolutely disgraceful.
Putting my car into a dealer for a service or warranty work worries me no end.
Why when I look after my car 24/7 and for the period I own it, should they be allowed to undo all of this in a matter of minutes!!
Publicity is the only way to sort them out. Enough of it and people would stop using them. Especially those who maybe research the dealer before buying or putting work their way.
I've always been meaning to pick up one of these cheap trackers to use for when any of the families cars are going in for work.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracker-Vehicle-Theft-Protection-System-Black/dp/B003XDN58K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414727042&sr=8-2&keywords=tracker
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I don't think researching the dealer will prevent this happening, just because it's never been reported before doesn't mean it won't happen to yours - new employees with no respect for customers cars, people that have done it historically but never been pulled for it etc.
I'd say that leaving the car with them for the least amount of time (if possible) is the best way forward - i'd expect the service manager to be less willing for a tech to take it for a spin during works time (unless a test drive is absolutely required) than they would be for the techs to take it out on their lunch break or overnight (if it's going to be with them for a few days and it's roadworthy the whole time they have it). Letting them know that you know your mileage when you pass it over and you don't expect to see any frivolous miles on it is probably all you can do to let them know that someone taking your car for a joy ride won't go unchallenged. At the end of the day though, they still might not give a toss, especially if they're doing work that they'd just about be able to justify a test drive post-fix for.
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I was meaning if they get caught and were given bad press then the dealer would be forced to act rather than just ignoring your concerns as they may very well feel their business slide
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I was meaning if they get caught and were given bad press then the dealer would be forced to act rather than just ignoring your concerns as they may very well feel their business slide
+1
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All very well - but the trouble here is two-fold. Firstly they are abusing cars prior to delivery (which is nigh on impossible for the new owner to do anything about as he may not even be aware the car is actually at the dealership).
Secondly the issue is this dealerships use of what seems like a less than ideal open site (accessed over a kerb) to store new vehicles - again not much Joe Customer can do about that apart from research and avoid.
An Audi dealer very near me uses the Tesco car park immediately opposite them to store newly registered cars. These are all 64 plate Audis ranging up to A8's so not sure if they are there awaiting collection - but it does seem a little unusual. Having said that the dealers site is very confined so I understand they need the additional space...
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The photos of the dealership & location in the OP should have set the alarm bells ringing. Just go to a respectable dealer and you should be ok.
I ordered my new GTI with Lancaster VW in Letchworth which used to be called Jardine Motors and Wayside VW before it, they are a chain of dealers that are part of a family run business. I've never had any issues with my Mk5 GTI in the last 6 years and I have full confidence in them with the new car on order.
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The photos of the dealership & location in the OP should have set the alarm bells ringing. Just go to a respectable dealer and you should be ok.
I ordered my new GTI with Lancaster VW in Letchworth which used to be called Jardine Motors and Wayside VW before it, they are a chain of dealers that are part of a family run business. I've never had any issues with my Mk5 GTI in the last 6 years and I have full confidence in them with the new car on order.
I brought my gti from them & would totally agree they are a first class dealership, but word of warning don't let them wash it , you will end up with lots of swells in the paint.
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I used to sell cars at a Fiat dealership. Our new cars were delivered to our main dealership around 40 miles away, so we used to drive them back from there. Often we would bring 3 or 4 of them over at a time, so as you can imagine, the journey back often turned into a round of the Fiat Punto challenge.
Back then, you could reset the mileage to zero by pressing the trip reset button before it had got to 200 miles, so by the time they had been prepared for the customer, no one would have been any the wiser.
As Snoopy said, it's always happened and always will. Your £300 washing machine will have more care taken of if pre-delivery than your £30,000 car.
Nothings changed dealers are still the same today, the same things still happen, except you have to electronic reset i get to hear the story's daily from family and close friends that still work in main dealers. Reading this thread just goes to show me that most people have no clue what happens in dealerships at all levels and are simply fooled by them.