GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Fisher2022 on 07 January 2022, 19:37
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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
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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.
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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 :undecided:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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...
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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.
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30 days or 1000 miles... Whichever comes first.
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Warranty is irrelevant in these scenarios.
You have specific consumer rights irrespective of what the warranty says.
If a dealer sells you a £25k car, you should not need to spend another £1200 within weeks of buying it in order make it roadworthy.
In your position I would dump the car back at the Birmingham dealer and tell them to sort it out or give my money back.
I also think the Manchester dealer is talking rubbish.
There’s never incentive to properly investigate and resolve a problem, they just advise unnecessary work and expense.
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Actually Yusee raises a fair point.
I would put the warranty to one side for now and pursue a repair under your consumer rights.
The dealer you bought the car from can't just say there was no problem when they sold you the car, they have to prove this.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights-aAnMC5b0ZzJb
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I'd also be seeking help from Consumer Advice/Trading Standards/Citizens Advice if they refuse to budge. I would recommend collecting up as much evidence as possible in writing. If you local garage is on your side as much as you say, get them to email you or write a letter confirming that the car should not have been sold to you with brakes that bad and it should've been picked on before sale.
Obviously this is a worst case scenario but it's worth gathering stuff up now while you can.... just in case
My GTi needed new brake lines after 12 months because the garage fitted them wrong and they were rubbing, obviously you don't mess around with brakes so they had to be replaced. Cost something like £150 and I regret not pushing harder to get the money back. I emailed the garage and they ignored me, so just left a 1 star review instead
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Got my car in December 20 at 9 months old. Early in January last year I noticed heavy marking on one of the rear discs. Took the car to an indie down the road who said it will need new rear discs and pads. I took the car into my local VW which is the same group as where I got the car from. I asked them to inspect it and let me know what they find. The service manager came back quite quickly with the pad that had a huge chunk missing which was scoring the disc. Told him I'd only had the car a month and must of been like that when I bought it.
He took photos etc and said would ring the other dealer to see if it can be repaired. I was expecting to have to ring the dealer I bought the car from and have a right good moan but surprisingly got a call saying it will be repaired under warranty.
Doesn't really help the OP but there are some decent dealers out there. I also found a big scuff on the front bumper which they repaired. No idea how everyone missed it when viewing the car!
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Feel for you mate. My car bought from new from Inchcape 3 years ago suffered an oil leak at 2300 miles and the Inchcape VW at Bolton (shocking company to deal with) tried every trick in the book in cutting corners to correct the problem. They had 3 attempts in trying to correct and only conceded in replacing the gearbox for new when i started to cause a fuss / VW twitter feeds.
Keep at it with them and make a fuss.
Good luck
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Rather than start a new thread, does anyone know the exact part number for the solid rear discs for the non performance pack GTI (2018) with 230ps, along with the matching pads please ? I believe the discs are 300mm diameter ?
Im looking to possibly replace them as since before Christmas my discs look like this at the back and no amount of braking seems to clear them up, so I’m thinking the pads must have picked up some debris ? Shame is the pads as loads of life left in them as per second pic., and just a few months ago, the whole swept surface of the disc was nice and shiny with no grooves at all (as per 3rd pic)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51810065241_7f5e0d20de_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mWh8mV)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51810074851_ecb5aaa572_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mWhbdB)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51273425207_57dc69153e_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m7RGYx)
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Rather than start a new thread, does anyone know the exact part number for the solid rear discs for the non performance pack GTI (2018) with 230ps, along with the matching pads please ? I believe the discs are 300mm diameter ?
Im looking to possibly replace them as since before Christmas my discs look like this at the back and no amount of braking seems to clear them up, so I’m thinking the pads must have picked up some debris ? Shame is the pads as loads of life left in them as per second pic., and just a few months ago, the whole swept surface of the disc was nice and shiny with no grooves at all (as per 3rd pic)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51810065241_7f5e0d20de_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mWh8mV)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51810074851_ecb5aaa572_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mWhbdB)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51273425207_57dc69153e_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m7RGYx)
Do me a favour pal and stick this in a new thread. I want to keep this one about the issues I'm having so that everyone can see and I can reference it back to VW, or whoever, I might need to
Cheers
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Coming back to this problem...
The loud clunk.... was it when you pulled away first thing pulling away from your house after not using the car over night or for a few days?
That is usually the rear calipers releasing after having been rusted onto the discs over night - hot brakes and damp conditions causes oxidisation. The handbrake leaves the brakes engaged on the rear when you park...
If it wasn't a first thing, then its something else.
But brake seizing like that is perfectly normal for the reasons I desribe above. Its not even harmful, just a bit of a loud noise!
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Coming back to this problem...
The loud clunk.... was it when you pulled away first thing pulling away from your house after not using the car over night or for a few days?
That is usually the rear calipers releasing after having been rusted onto the discs over night - hot brakes and damp conditions causes oxidisation. The handbrake leaves the brakes engaged on the rear when you park...
If it wasn't a first thing, then its something else.
But brake seizing like that is perfectly normal for the reasons I desribe above. Its not even harmful, just a bit of a loud noise!
Yes but I'm not convinced you're right. This is the 4th car I've had with an auto handbrake and never had the same before
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Honestly, both of my mk7's did it sometimes and my mk8 does it too.
Not every time but quite often.
Always did, from new occasionally.
I'm sure other people will tell you the same...
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Honestly, both of my mk7's did it sometimes and my mk8 does it too.
Not every time but quite often.
Always did, from new occasionally.
I'm sure other people will tell you the same...
The technician at VW Warrington didn't say that though
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I honestly can't believe anyone who has driven a mk7 for any length of time hasn't experienced it...
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I get the loud clunk on my mk8 occasionally,just the brakes binding…quite normal I’d say.
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Mine will do that the morning after I’ve washed it. Almost always.
If you’ve not noticed a problem with the braking, honestly I wouldn’t worry about it.
I think if you feel there is a problem, you will have to give the supplying dealer opportunity to investigate.
I’ve had my car 3 years- and in that time have been wrongly advised to replace parts on 2 occasions- once i was advised I needed a new clutch ( and that it wasn’t covered under warranty)- when all that was required was gear linkage adjustment, and recently the dealer advised I needed 2 new tyres- I still haven’t been able to find the 2 “ cuts” that the technician found- and neither did the MOT tester I took it to immediately afterwards.
Could be misdiagnosis, could be difference opinion/ judgment- in truth, they are heavily incentivised to replace as much stuff as they can- so they often do so when work isn’t needed.
I wouldn’t trust them at all.
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I honestly can't believe anyone who has driven a mk7 for any length of time hasn't experienced it...
Mine does it especially after a wash if I just leave it but sometimes does after it's been raining. Certainly seems more notceable than other autohandbrake cars I've had.
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I honestly can't believe anyone who has driven a mk7 for any length of time hasn't experienced it...
Mine does it especially after a wash if I just leave it but sometimes does after it's been raining. Certainly seems more notceable than other autohandbrake cars I've had.
I have noticed this after a wash as well. Having a manual, I now put it in the garage and leave it in gear with the handbrake off. Not had the problem since.
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I honestly can't believe anyone who has driven a mk7 for any length of time hasn't experienced it...
Mine does it especially after a wash if I just leave it but sometimes does after it's been raining. Certainly seems more notceable than other autohandbrake cars I've had.
I have noticed this after a wash as well. Having a manual, I now put it in the garage and leave it in gear with the handbrake off. Not had the problem since.
Yep, same here, its just the disc rusting after a wash and sticking to the pads, every car with rear discs ive had has done it.
Should be ok if you rotate, read move the car, soon after a wash.
Problems can arise when you wash it and leave for an extended period of time where the "bond" becomes strong and could lead to damage, ie, the pad material being pulled off the backing plate, or the rust causes an area of the disc to become quite rusty where the pads been in contact and you may experience some judder.
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I'm gonna be leaving mine parked up for 10 days in June. When I had a manual hand brake I would put the the car in gear and leave it off. I'm thinking I should put the DSG in P and switch the auto brake off. Any thoughts?
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I'm gonna be leaving mine parked up for 10 days in June. When I had a manual hand brake I would put the the car in gear and leave it off. I'm thinking I should put the DSG in P and switch the auto brake off. Any thoughts?
Bilt Hamber - Auto Mac at 5% strength helps stop brake discs from oxidising, I use it during washes and it does work and is safe for disc and pads, started to use if I know the car will sit for a few days at home with the recent salt on the roads as well.
If you're driving to the airport you'll be fine, unless it's right by the sea. Plus from memory I think I read on a post on here you should do Auto Brake then put the DSG into park so it's not resting on gearbox don't know why though, I'd always park in gear in a manual car and had no issues.
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I'm gonna be leaving mine parked up for 10 days in June. When I had a manual hand brake I would put the the car in gear and leave it off. I'm thinking I should put the DSG in P and switch the auto brake off. Any thoughts?
That'll be fine if you're parked on flat ground. You don't want to stress the pin (?) in the gearbox.
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For what it’s worth mine has always done it with (touching wood) no issues in over 3 years of ownership.
Is as Fredgroves describes - pads get soaked, corrode to the disk, pulling away breaks the bond with a loud crack - no harm done.
I had a Discovery 3 and 4 for nearly 14 years and they did exactly the same, but with a greater bond - they used to crouch like a sh!tting dog before the bond broke.
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So update on this is that VW Birmingham have chosen to just ignore me since Friday of last week, despite promising to call me back on Monday and then again on Tuesday!
I raised a complaint with VW UK on Monday afternoon who called me back yesterday stating they would look into it.
Yesterday I took a call from VW Warrington telling me that VW Birmingham wanted the car back in so Warrington could inspect again as Birmingham wanted a video of the brakes and for Warrington to measure the thicknesses on the video as proof. Clearly Birmingham don't even trust another VW branch who are part of the same franchise!!!
VW Warrington collected my car earlier and I was expecting a call to say that having reviewed a second time all was now ok and no work needed to be done after all. To my surprise Warrington called and again stated the vehicle should not have been sold in that condition and Birmingham have now agreed to cover the cost of the replacement discs and pads all round. These have been changed today and my car has just been delivered back.
I've got to say that VW Warrington have been fantastic. They have supported me as a customer (despite not buying the vehicle from them or knowing me as a prior customer) and in my argument that the brakes were poor when the vehicle was sold. VW Birmingham have still not even had the courtesy to contacted me.
Moral of the story - stay away from VW Birmingham!
And just to add, a mate of mine had a very similar issue with them on a used car he bought just 2-3 months ago, so this isn't an isolated incident with them.
Thanks for everyone's input :smiley:
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Result.
Just goes to show there are some decent dealers out there.
Trouble is you don't know how good there after-sales service is until you have to make use of them.
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Have to let us know if you get any more clonking noises because while crap worn out brakes isn't good, I'll bet the new ones do it too...
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Good to hear you got it sorted. Nice to know there are decent dealers out there!
My 2 cents on the noise from the brakes - absolutely get a slight clunk after a wash and then leaving the car overnight , but it's really not that loud and only happens on first set-off.
Does sound like you had some bigger issues than the standard surface rust sticking everybody else has been referring to. Be interesting to hear how you find it on the new brakes!
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Great result. Glad it is sorted.
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Wow you have been very lucky for Warrington VW to treat you so well. I live 1.5 miles from their site and have bought 11 cars from them in 15 years, and I would rather travel 100 miles to another dealer than have them jokers put their hands on my car (very painful personal experiences). Such a shame they can’t treat everyone like they treated you it would seem.
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Wow you have been very lucky for Warrington VW to treat you so well. I live 1.5 miles from their site and have bought 11 cars from them in 15 years, and I would rather travel 100 miles to another dealer than have them jokers put their hands on my car (very painful personal experiences). Such a shame they can’t treat everyone like they treated you it would seem.
Well, 11 cars in 15 years, they mustn't be that bad?!
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Wow you have been very lucky for Warrington VW to treat you so well. I live 1.5 miles from their site and have bought 11 cars from them in 15 years, and I would rather travel 100 miles to another dealer than have them jokers put their hands on my car (very painful personal experiences). Such a shame they can’t treat everyone like they treated you it would seem.
Well, 11 cars in 15 years, they mustn't be that bad?!
buying a car from a dealership is totally different to having any service done at the same dealership!
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Wow you have been very lucky for Warrington VW to treat you so well. I live 1.5 miles from their site and have bought 11 cars from them in 15 years, and I would rather travel 100 miles to another dealer than have them jokers put their hands on my car (very painful personal experiences). Such a shame they can’t treat everyone like they treated you it would seem.
Well, 11 cars in 15 years, they mustn't be that bad?!
buying a car from a dealership is totally different to having any service done at the same dealership!
Agree; some dealerships have some very good sales people but a cr@p after sales / servicing team, and vice versa.
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Wow you have been very lucky for Warrington VW to treat you so well. I live 1.5 miles from their site and have bought 11 cars from them in 15 years, and I would rather travel 100 miles to another dealer than have them jokers put their hands on my car (very painful personal experiences). Such a shame they can’t treat everyone like they treated you it would seem.
Well, 11 cars in 15 years, they mustn't be that bad?!
buying a car from a dealership is totally different to having any service done at the same dealership!
Agree; some dealerships have some very good sales people but a cr@p after sales / servicing team, and vice versa.
Lol had an experience with a very large dodgy dealer the other day of a ruined BMW x3, never before have i seen a salesman and sales manager shouting at a customer to buy the car :grin:
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Wow you have been very lucky for Warrington VW to treat you so well. I live 1.5 miles from their site and have bought 11 cars from them in 15 years, and I would rather travel 100 miles to another dealer than have them jokers put their hands on my car (very painful personal experiences). Such a shame they can’t treat everyone like they treated you it would seem.
Well, 11 cars in 15 years, they mustn't be that bad?!
buying a car from a dealership is totally different to having any service done at the same dealership!
Exactly
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So far so good with the brakes. Not a single noise or sh#tting dog squat when I pull away :smiley:
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Just an update to this. Been a month now and I've covered over 1k miles in that time and still no squatting or sticking from the brakes at all, so I'm happy :smiley: