Since you now know who I am, VW…

Just figured I’d clarify for you..

I am the daughter of the owners of this 2006 VW Jetta TDI.  Up until recently, I would have happily said that I am a loyal and proud Volkswagen owner, both my sisters are/were as well.

I am beyond unhappy about the way that my family has been treated for the past 6 months.  Further to that, I am also very unhappy about the way the VW has treated the dealership, Sonnen Motorcars, who have been great throughout this ordeal.  I have been a loyal customer at Sonnen for 3 years, specifically going back because of how much I love my service guy.  He was treated unfairly and it’s no surprise to me that he chose to find a position in the industry elsewhere.  This is a man who knows all there is to know about Volkswagen, who travels to Germany each year to continue learning more and who will do everything he can to fix a customer’s car.  I am absolutely sickened by the way that he and the rest of the staff have been treated.

I am one of the last people that would want to have to speak out against cars that I have loved my whole life, but the lack of accountability by anyone at Volkswagen Group of America has shown me that I was sorely mistaken about my opinion of this company.

I really hope that they can figure out how to rectify this situation immediately, because at this point, I’m sad to say, my next car will not be a Volkswagen.

Currently filing a complaint with BBB

Since I know you’re reading this, VW, I thought you might like to know….

Case Successfully Submitted

Your case has been submitted. Click here to return to the BBB website

In the next few days you will be receiving a packet of information (including a Customer Claim Form with the information you provided to us) in the mail. Please gather the following items and return them to us with the signed (by all titled owners) Customer Claim Form:

1. copies of your repair orders;

2. copies of your current vehicle registration;

3. a copy of your sales/lease agreement (not the finance agreement); and

4. any other letters, correspondence, etc. related to your claim.

A copy of your complaint will be shared with the automobile company. A company representative may contact you to discuss your claim and offer a solution.

A dispute resolution specialist from the BBB will contact you upon receipt and review of your Customer Claim Form and support documentation. Our role will be to:

1. determine the eligibility of your claim for the BBB AUTO LINE program;

2. explain the BBB AUTO LINE process;

3. facilitate settlement discussions between you and the company;

4. prepare eligible cases that are not resolved for an arbitration hearing; and

5. process the arbitrator’s decision to you and the company at the conclusion of the arbitration hearing.

Our goal is to resolve all disputes within 40 days from the date the case is opened in the BBB AUTO LINE program.

For more information on the process, program eligibility or your state lemon law, please return to (www.bbb.org/us/auto-line-lemon-law) and review the information applicable to you.

Thank you for sharing your complaint with your Better Business Bureau System.

Another update… DRIVING the car to Westlake?!

Just got a brilliant voice mail from Kathrene Fox (executive specialist at VW)…

As mentioned previously, VW would like to take the car down to their factory in Westlake (LA area) to put some sort of “special fuel” in the car; which will apparently fix the smog/emissions problems.  Aside from the fact that the idea of special fuel is completely ASININE (what general consumer has access special fuel), we have now been told that rather than trucking the car down to Westlake, they would like to have someone drive the car down.  As a reminder, that this car is not ROAD LEGAL.  Why the hell has the car been at the dealership for six months?!  Because it’s not road legal.  It cannot be driven on the road in the state of California.  Plus, it’s been so damn long that this has been going on, the insurance has lapsed because the car is ILLEGAL.   HELLO FOR THE LAST TIME, IT’s ILLEGAL TO DRIVE THIS CAR IN THE STATE CALIFORNIA.

Further to that, Kathrene Fox has decided that it is too expensive to truck the car down.  Apparently, VW thinks it’s too expensive to do the right thing…what a surprise.  Let’s illegally drive the car 600 miles, in the state of California, to save a few dollars.  But since they are so nice (ahem extreme sarcasm here), they’ve offered us a big whopping $200 to cover adding the insurance costs.  I imagine though, that AAA will not insure an illegal car anyway.  Not to mention, it would be insured for us to drive, not some odd bod (any moron for all we know).  Maybe, they are planning are having some dude drive it into the ocean, so then we’ll have to claim it on our insurance that we conveniently would have just renewed – since they’ve finally admitted that the car is unfixable.  Hmm, isn’t that nice?! Couldn’t you imagine that phone call “we just decided to take the scenic route down Route 1 and accidentally just drove off the cliff….oops”.

We thought we were making progress as of yesterday, since Kathrene was very apologetic after reading this blog and she informed us that a mediator would be calling to discuss the car.  Apparently not.

And so… the saga continues…

Posts from some friends on Twitter

From @vwjettalovers:

“Woow. That would get me upset as well. I feel for that owner. They should give them a new car at this point!”

 

From @carcomplaints:

“What a mess! Thanks for sharing your story, hope that gets resolved soon. Can’t believe VW won’t give you KBB value!”

Contacting the media

I have now contacted the media:

7 On Your Side – ABC7 News San Francisco

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/channel?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=7109212

and

CBS5 ConsumerWatch

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/tag/consumer-watch/

The latest repair attempt!

The latest piece of information we’ve received is that Volkswagen would like to take our car from Sonnen Motorcars in San Rafael, CA down to the VW factory in Westlake (near LA).  According to Kathrene Fox (executive assistant/specialist to Jonathan Browning, President and CEO), they would like to try out a different kind of fuel in the car to see if that prevents black smoke from puffing out the tailpipe.  The completely asinine thing about that is, what regular consumer is going to have access to “special fuel” – I mean, do we have to drive down to LA to pick up the “special fuel”?! No one in their right mind would purchase the car from us knowing that it requires special fuel in order to pass the smog test required by CA State Law.  What a joke…!

To reiterate, all we want is to be completely uninvolved at this point.  VW can play around all they like, once the car is purchased from us.  the end.

THE BIG PICTURE

The main reason that this is whole thing is such a big issue is that back in January we wanted to sell the car, but are unable to per CA State Law that requires the car to have an active smog certificate.  Essentially, we are being strung along for months without resolution unable to do much of anything.  At this point, I’m seriously PISSED OFF!

If Volkswagen wants to continue to test on our car (since they are incapable of fixing it) that’s fine, but it has nothing to do with us.

Buy back the car so we can move on with our lives.  It’s as simple as that.

Now, why is VW being so reluctant to give us the money for the value of our car?  We’re asking for $13,200 – KBB value.  What’s that to them?? Peanuts.  Especially considering their current sales numbers, copied below.

Volkswagen reports sales numbers from March

Volkswagen of America reported 27,176 units sold in March, a 22.7% increase over prior year sales. The company also announced 16,969 Jetta models sold – more than any other month in company history. The company sold 67,039 vehicles in the first quarter, a 15% increase over 2010.  Lead by clean diesel TDI technology, Volkswagen Golf sales increased 29% over prior year.  CC and Tiguan models also experienced strong gains of 16.9% and 12.5%, respectively.

For a company that makes how ever many billions of dollars a year, in the US alone, what’s $13.2K to them?  Especially now, since they’ve lost a loyal customer.  For me, and I can’t speak for the rest of my family, I’m done.  No more.  The only cars I’ve ever driven are VW’s but this experience alone has put such a poor taste in my mouth that my next car will not be a Volkswagen. 

AND I’m the one who convinced, not 1 but 2 friends, to purchase, within the last year, a brand new Jetta TDI. 

Other cars with the same problem…

It’s starting to emerge that other Volkwagen’s are running into similar problems in other states that require emissions tests.  We know of at least 2 in the state of Washington.

As our car is effectively “CAR ZERO”, we are sick of Volkswagen using our car as their test car without any compensation.  All we are asking for is the present value of the car, per Kelly Blue Book, and some sort of compensation for the 6 months that we have been without the car – is that unreasonable?? We think not.

 

Repairs, thus far…

Repairs so far :

new camshaft and valve lifters

new turbocharger

new injectors

new ECM – believe it or not, the car’s computer was originally programmed at manufacture as a Passat, with regular fuel instead of a Jetta with diesel fuel…  could things get any worse???

Also, the entire fuel system on the car has been flushed numerous times, and I imagine it is sparkling clean now!

On another note – this car gets THE best gas mileage around, around 55mpg city driving.  What’s sad is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this car, aside from the smog issues, it’s a brilliant car – or was…

Regional Manager Correspondence

Prior to our letter/email to Jonathan Browning, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., we had been corresponding with Darrell Z, Regional Case Manager.

For your enjoyment, here is some his useless emails…

From: “VWoA Customer CARE” <VWCustomerCARE@vw.com>

Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:25:23 -0400

Subject: Volkswagen Customer CARE Case

Thank you for speaking with me regarding the recent repairs for your Jetta.  In follow-up to my most recent phone conversation with your wife, I am e-mailing you to advise of our current position on this matter.

Allow me to first apologize for the extensive inconvenience you’ve experienced as a result of the concerns with your car, as well as the length of time for your most recent repair.  Sonnen Motorcars will be replacing your cylinder head, and we are confident this will address the issue.  In appreciation of your loyalty to the Volkswagen family and patience throughout this situation, Volkswagen will cover 100% of the costs associated with this repair.  In communicating with Kevin Johnson, the Service Manager at the dealer, I understand that your repairs are scheduled to be completed by the end of this week.

Volkswagen of America will also have a $1,000 Customer Loyalty Certificate on file for you upon your return from Africa.  The certificate can be used as part or all of a down payment towards the purchase or lease of any new Volkswagen product.

I look forward to seeing your car repaired, so you can begin enjoying the fun and efficiency the Jetta TDI was built to deliver.  I will contact you again on April 27^th to confirm your concerns are completely resolved.

If I may be of further assistance regarding this, or any other matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me again by e-mail reply or through our Customer CARE Center at (800) 822-8987.

Sincerely,

Darrell Z.

Regional Case Manager

From: “VWoA Customer CARE” <VWCustomerCARE@vw.com>

Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:59:23 -0400

Thank you for your patience as Sonnen Motorcars continues to address the engine concerns you are experiencing with your Jetta.

I apologize for the time it has taken to address these concerns.  I am happy to consider your requests; however, I will not be able to provide any decisions until we know when your Jetta will be fixed.  We are having more engineers looking into this concern and I am waiting to hear back from them on the status of the repairs.  I will follow up with you via e-mail by this coming Friday, May 6^th with another update.  I will do what I can to turn this experience into a positive one for you.

If I may be of further assistance regarding this, or any other matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me again by e-mail atwww.vw.com or through our Customer CARE Center at (800) 822-8987.  If I am not available, one of my colleagues will be able to assist you.

Sincerely,

Darrell Z.

Regional Case Manager

From: “VWoA Customer CARE” <VWCustomerCARE@vw.com>

Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 20:55:59 -0400

Thank you for your continued patience as Sonnen Motorcars is still evaluating the situation regarding the engine concerns you are experiencing with your Jetta.

Again, I apologize for the extensive time it has taken to resolve your concerns.  The dealership will be performing additional testing and repairs next week.  It is my intention to follow up with you by Monday, May 23.  If I have information prior to that date, I will be in contact with you sooner.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me again by e-mail.  I am grateful for your patience while I research your concerns and follow up with the dealer.

Sincerely,

Darrell Z.

Regional Case Manager

From: “VWoA Customer CARE” <VWCustomerCARE@vw.com>

Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 16:11:14 -0400

I apologize for the length of time since you first contacted us.  I have been following up with the dealer regularly and informing you of your case’s standing as promised.  Your concerns have been discussed at length with members of Volkswagen’s leadership team at CCC and in the field.  I am obligated to wait until your vehicle’s repairs are completed before a decision can be rendered regarding your wish for compensation.

If you would like to contact the CEO of Volkswagen of America, his name is Jonathan Browning.  You can send him a letter at the following address:

Volkswagen Group of America

2200 Ferdinand Porsche Drive

Herndon, VA 20171

Again, I apologize for the length of time the repairs are taking for your vehicle.  Please know it is my wish to get you a final answer ASAP.

I will continue to monitor the progress of your vehicle and follow up with you no later than Monday, May 23.

Sincerely,

Darrell Z.

Customer CARE Advocate

From: “VWoA Customer CARE” <VWCustomerCARE@vw.com>

Date: May 23, 2011 1:21:37 PM PDT

Again, thank you for your patience while I continue to remain in contact with Sonnen Motorcars regarding the engine concerns with your Jetta.

I spoke with the dealership today, and they let me know they have replaced four injectors on your vehicle.  I apologize, but there is still black smoke emerging from the tailpipe of your car.  Sonnen Motorcars has informed me they are continuing to work with Volkswagen engineers to reach a solution for the concern with your Jetta.  I will remain in contact with the dealer during this process and follow up with you no later than Tuesday, May 31.  If I learn of any new developments prior to that date, I will be in touch with you sooner.

Again, I apologize for the amount of time it is taking to diagnose and repair this concern with your vehicle.  I am grateful for your continued patience.  If you have any questions between now and May 31, please feel free to reply to this e-mail. 

Sincerely,

Darrell Z.

Regional Case Manager