jboyslick 0 Posted June 6, 2006 Background :- 4 replaced heater control panels on warranty from vw due to faulty workmanship or lack of knowledge on corrados. The story goes :- After not using the air con in the car for several months, i found that it wasnt working and only hot air was coming out??!! So i decided to go to the local vw dealership and find out what was wrong with the air con. After an investigation into the problem the stealers decided that i would need a heater box for the car at a cost of £893.05 inc vat!! (quote enclosed). The chap did say that if i bought the part i could get it fitted elsewhere, but the part would be warrantied (12 hours of labour required). On the off chance i thought i would contact Keith at A/C engineering in Surrey as he had previously done some work for me to see what he thought. Drove up there saw him, analysed fault and asked me to come back and leave the car for the day. Got back there the next week and left the car with him. Keith phones up 2 hours later and says the car is finished!! Some slight adjusting and evaporator needed re-mounting at a total cost of £60, plus 2 tanks of petrol (receipt enclosed). How the fuck can the dealers get away with over charging by this much? surely this is something that shouldnt be happening & how can people get the prognosis for a job so wrong? Big shout out for Keith at A/C Engineering in Chertsey, Surrey, he is the man and really knows his stuff. Really not sure where i should go from here, but i dont think that i should let it lie, what do you think? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrbeige 0 Posted June 6, 2006 I'd take your receipt back to the dealer, and have a word with the manager and just bring his attention to the fact that his staff don't know there ar$e from their elbow!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy 0 Posted June 6, 2006 Imo its the fact that the dealers don't want the work on the older cars, they price it so high that it's their compensation for doing a job they'd rather not do. Outrageous though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 6, 2006 (sorry to repeat this story, I'll give you a condensed version) -car misfiring, will hardly run -goto VW (about the longest distance it could travel) VW: Head Gasket, £3,600 please sir Me: FU -get mate around, never dealt with VR before but says he'll have a look for free Mate: did VW do a compression test? Me: ??? -Passes compression test -he checks engine -dizzy cap falls off (it did actually fall off when he touched it), HT leads look ropey -replace dizzy cap and HT leads -car runs fine conclusion- If VW had have done the head gasket on mine then the problem would have still been there (same dizzy cap and leads), only I would have been the best part of 4k down. moral- VW = c**ts you'll get no joy at all shouting at them (except for the joy in shouting), the guy just shrugged when I told him Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
double-6s 0 Posted June 6, 2006 4k for a head gasket???? Is that with a free engine!! Thats about 80 hours labour or something! WTF!!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 6, 2006 36 hours labour (95 quid an hour), but that wouldn't include parts, which being VW, they would charge a fortune for Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil K 0 Posted June 6, 2006 tbh I don't know why anyone would consider taking their C to a dealer now it's over 10 years old! They're not interested in these cars anymore (OK maybe not all of them) and most of the workshop people are more 'fitters' rather than mechanics... A lot of the work the dealers do is on new cars with more advanced diagnostic systems and a lot of work is warranty repair or servicing... they therefore don't need a huge knowledge of the older cars and I can only assume their high prices are a reflection of them not really wanting the work! I take my car to The Phirm for anything that needs doing and can be confident that it's in safe hands - ones that aren't interested in emptying my wallet before they get to the bottom of my problems 8) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
double-6s 0 Posted June 6, 2006 36 hours labour! To change a head gasket! Someone is having a real laugh.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 6, 2006 as I said, the steal0r was the only option the Rado was hardly running, and the steal0r was literally 10 yards around the corner. they ended up charging me 120 quid for a new set of plugs o_O They couldn't take them off as they were oiled up cos the engine wasn't running properly (see the circle I got stuck in? :() Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MK1Campaign 0 Posted June 6, 2006 Thats the worst quote ive ever heard. Wonder how many people have actually paid that?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 6, 2006 Oxford is expensive anyways, so VW have a giggle there Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
double-6s 0 Posted June 6, 2006 ['H3R4POR]as I said, the steal0r was the only option the Rado was hardly running, and the steal0r was literally 10 yards around the corner. they ended up charging me 120 quid for a new set of plugs o_O They couldn't take them off as they were oiled up cos the engine wasn't running properly (see the circle I got stuck in? :() out of interest, what made the plugs oil up? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt_corradovr6 0 Posted June 6, 2006 in the history of my rado are the warranties and bills fo 4 repalacement water pumps. however not long after i had the car the coolant drasined out all the time. thermosta housing knackered (the loss of water had actually rounded off the plastic like a pebbel on a beach). seems they didn;t have a clue and just replaced the wrong part! also, dealers near me picked up some problems on my friends 25anv gti. rear tyres knackerd 200+ each. he asked if they only pick up the expensive jobs or problems on their checks as he had removed the bulbs from the rear clusters before the car was dropped off and the hadn't even mentioned it!! after spending a s*** load with them they said my rear brake hoses were shot, £248 please. mot the next day, which picked up worn lines last year but was only surface dirt, passed straight through. i think that they are just like the sales departments and on targets etc to make money. after all if all the cars they work on don't have to come back between services they would be empty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 6, 2006 out of interest, what made the plugs oil up? My HT leads were shot, so it just fudged them up after a few seconds of running cos it wasn't firing, maybe not oil, but then that was VWs thoughts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 6, 2006 I can't open pdf format. Can someone tell me which dealer this was.. just out of interest as I'm Bristol too. Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jboyslick 0 Posted June 7, 2006 VW in Bath, Locksbrook Road Bit stuck for decent garages around this way im afraid, hence why i went to surrey to get it sorted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craigowl 0 Posted June 7, 2006 Phil K wrote tbh I don't know why anyone would consider taking their C to a dealer now it's over 10 years old! They're not interested in these cars anymore (OK maybe not all of them) and most of the workshop people are more 'fitters' rather than mechanics... A lot of the work the dealers do is on new cars with more advanced diagnostic systems and a lot of work is warranty repair or servicing... they therefore don't need a huge knowledge of the older cars and I can only assume their high prices are a reflection of them not really wanting the work! Very true, I believe. My local non franchised garage has experience of everything from Ferrari (owner has had them) to every bog standard small car you can name. I believe the wide experience of a garage like this - assuming the guys are all competent - gives you a better chance of having things fixed at a reasonable price. I even buy the parts and pay them for the labour. Have been using them for 20 years but have not needed anything too complex done on Corrado, but would trust them to make a reasonable job of most things. In my experience, some VW "technicians" are liable to phone you up and ask you how the spare you supplied for your C should be fitted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chubbybrown 0 Posted June 7, 2006 They are probably just interested in stuff we all can do like drop oil and plugs etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 7, 2006 I haven't been back to VW since that episode, and that was my first time there. I get a mate in a mobile van to sort my stuff out, 20 quid an hour, and if he doesn't know what the problem is (not much experience with VRs) then he'll tell me, and not charge me. Unlike the dry fisting I recieve at the hands of the steal0rs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ReekieVR 0 Posted June 7, 2006 craigowl - who do you use ? i am stuck for a good garage for the c since Autowerke went titsup. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted June 7, 2006 The silly thing about it is there is nothing complicated about the VR6 engine at all. What's slightly concerning is, if they can't cope with simple 80s/90s cars, what chance do we stand if we ever own MK5s with 4WD and DSG??? They'll probably send you on your way a clutch plate down, not realising the DSG has two of them..... I can see it now, LOL! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crdo16v 0 Posted June 7, 2006 these dealers should not be able to trade like this as they are obviously either completely crap/incompetent/rip-off merchants. anybody in the exeter area i can recommend vws tel 01392 493737, when i was there recently there were plenty of hot dubs there including a rado where the charger had "let go" at 120 mph :shock: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craigowl 0 Posted June 7, 2006 ReekieVR pm sent Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickVR6 0 Posted June 7, 2006 every dealer ive ever been to has been uterly discusting, and even when they do do a job for that kind of money they feck it up. Wasnt allways like this. The old man has had vws for 30 years, walking in every 4 yrs and paying cash for a new car. Dream customer you would think. But after the way he's been treated since having his 1.8t gti he will never ever touch another vw again. Which is sad i think, and whos loss!? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
veeDuB_Rado 0 Posted June 7, 2006 NickVR6, that sucks :( an avid VW enthusiast gets thrown another way because of wankerish dealers :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
