VW stealers and the hassle I went through to get a decent tyre

[2007GTI]

I need to get this out of my system.   This is the tale of buying a secondhand TDI for my sister......

I found the car she wanted and did the deal.  The deal included the refurbishment of a damaged alloy wheel.  There was 6 days, 5 working days, between when I put the deposit down and when I wanted to pick the car up.

I phoned a few days before and checked it was under way, I was told it was in hand.  The day I was meant to pick the car up I was told the wheel hadn't been fixed.  I wasn't happy.  Why I asked, you have had 5 days for god's sake!  I couldn't get a straight answer.  Anyway, I asked if they could change the wheel from another car, with the same alloys.  They told me no.  I went ape sh!t and explained they had 5 days to sort this out and I wanted to pick the car up that evening as planned.  The guy spoke to his manager and said they would do it.

I made the journey to the dealer and turned up, looked round the car, it had an undamaged alloy, but the tyre didn't match the rest of the car and to make matters worse it was a cheap Jap one, Kanook or something.  I was livid.  The dealer tried to fob me off, and tried to make out that I hadn't said I wanted the same tyre, even tough it had 4 matching Goodyears when I gave the deposit!  I said if you dont change it, I'll reject the car.
So he said he would get the alloy repaired and put that wheel back on the car with the goodyear tyre on it.

I got a call the following day saying that they couldn't get the wheel fixed, so they were going to swop the tyre with the original that was on the car.  Then he phoned me back and said kwik fit wouldn't do it and they would put a new tyre on the wheel and what make of tyre did I want, as they didnt have Goodyear. so it was either Dunlop (heard bad things on here about them), Continentals or Michelin.  I went with a Conti.

So it was a load of hassle for what should of been an easy job.

Also, f&ck me, there was so much sales bullsh!t trying to get me to buy GAP and service plans etc, I nearly walked out. 

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Report the k***s to VW Customer Services.

A franchised dealer must ONLY use OEM bits, and that includes tyres.  They must also replace them in matched axle pairs.

Seriously, VWCS really need to know about these muppets.

I am now dealing with them regarding issues with both the GTI, AND the useless lieing fatherless sons that were the supplying dealer, AND the utterly incompetent VW Assist.  My complaint seems to be being taken very seriously.

[2007GTI]

thanks for the advice. 

Does this apply to second hand cars (its a 56 plate)?  Is there something I can quote them?

I wasnt happy with a non matching tyre, but I was sick and tired of the bullsh!t and needed to take delivery. I will try VWCS.

cheers!

[Creepy Coupe]

They really can be sh!te at times, when I bought my GT TDi from Caffyns of Polegate, I asked them to replace/repair a kerbed alloy, so upon collection I could see from 100 yards away the repaired wheel was three shades darker then the original

So after a heated debate, they agreed to give me £200 so I arrange my own repair.

When I got my GTi Home I noticed the transport blocks were sill fitted, I phone to complain about excessive tyre wear and got a £180 refund.

Now I've noticed a paint defect on the R32 tailgate, and after many phone call's, and visit to my local dealers bodyshop, some 30 miles away, and still waiting after 2 weeks for the go ahead, I wrote a snooty letter to the supplying dealer, who has agreed for me to take it to a bodyshop of my choice, and they will pay the £275 for repair.

They really need to get their act together.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

thanks for the advice.

OK, no worries!

Does this apply to second hand cars (its a 56 plate)?  Is there something I can quote them?

Righty, first, regarding fitting tyres in matched axle pairs, there are many different "professional bodies" which strongly endorse this practice.  They range from the "European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation": www.etrto.org, the UK "Tyre Industry Council: www.tyresafe.org, the "Department for Transport": www.DfT.gov.uk, the British Standards Institute (BS AU 50), the British Rubber Manufacturers' Association (BRMA), the Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE), the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA), the National Tyre Distributors' Association, and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Secondly, ANY car supplied through the VW franchised dealer network must comply with certain quality standards.  One of those standards would state that only OEM, or original fit tyres (unless a customer specifically requests something different), AND, using matched axle pairs.  It would be perfectly reasonable for a high performance car to be fitted with quality high performance tyres, and not with some cheap korean or asian sh!t rubber!

I wasnt happy with a non matching tyre, but I was sick and tired of the bullsh!t and needed to take delivery. I will try VWCS.

Keep at it - don't let the ba$tards grind you down, as they say! 

[2007GTI]

UPDATE:

Called VWCS yesterday and got a call back today.

They said they had spoken to the dealer and they would need to "see" the car to do anything about it.  I explained that they were the ones who delivered the car in that state so there was no need for them to see the car, all they had to do was admit their mistake and rectifiy it ASAP.

They didnt seem to bat an eyelid with regards to the fact a dealer had done this to me and seemed to give the impression they had called the dealer for advice!

They even said the guy in the service dept had said it might be dangerous, I nearly fell over!

Anyway, I put it all in writing and said I'm not going to take the car near the dealer until they put it in writing that they will replace the tyre with the correct one, end of story.

I'll await their response.   

[2007GTI]

UPDATE:

They haven't received my letter yet, but they called and said the dealer said there had been a misunderstanding and they wouldn't do anything about it.  Total w&nkers!

I wasn't going to say which dealer, but I think I should warn others what unhelpful lying gits the have been.  The stealer was Citygate in South Ruislip.   

[2007GTI]

VWCS got my letter and called to say the dealer would not do anything about it and said the car was road legal.  I didnt argue on the phone agian as I'm bored of explaining to someone who is effectively a paper pusher and has no idea of the hazards of fitting non matching tyres to a car.

VW themselves dont seem to give a sh!t that their dealers are fitting non matching tyres to their cars. 

What should I do?

 

[2007GTI]

shall I give up then folks?   

[Phil mcavity]

by the sounds of it, they are not going to budge, they are right what they are saying, the car IS road legal whether it has different manufactures of tyres on it, and i know its not popular with most VW addicts, it wont crash if it has got different tyres on it, just will dig in your mind when your driving it.