Complaint letter to our VW dealer.

[Drew Dowdell]

We're sending this to the general manager of our VW dealer:

I am writing to complain about the astonishingly abysmal service I received during a recent visit to the Day Volkswagen service center in Murrysville. I dropped my car off on Sunday the 12th of March. I filled out an envelope and dropped it (with my key inside) in the key slot at the Chevy service door. 

On Monday I received a call asking me why my car was sitting in the lot. I informed Jimmy that I had concerns about the transmission. He then asked me where the key was. I told him I dropped the key, in a manila envelope, into the key slot at the Chevy service door. He said he would go look for it and call me back.

He did call me back to inform me that he could not find the envelope or key and asked me if I could bring another key out. My only other key, the valet, was in the console of the car, so they had to get into my car to retrieve it. 

As it turns out, I need a clutch.  Day Volkswagen service department will not be performing the work and here is why:

The service department did not find the key until March 27th! Furthermore, they found the key in another vehicle on the lot!! I had no intention of paying for a $175+ key that the service department lost. The service manager did not offer to replace the missing key and had to be prodded to do so. I was informed that ordering a new key would take two weeks. The last time I ordered a new key it took two days, not two weeks. That was obviously not with Day. . . it was with Mikan. I don't think a key was ordered at all.

I understand that mistakes happen and keys can be lost. What disturbs me is the extremely poor customer service response. To not offer to replace the key and to take two weeks to replace the key once asked is completely unacceptable. Jimmy's careless and completely cavalier attitude regarding the lost key was astonishing. Even when the key was found and returned to me, I was not offered so much as an apology for my inconvenience.

With 92,000 miles on my Passat a new vehicle will be in my future. Since I have been very happy with my car, a  Volkswagen or Audi will be on my list of potential replacement vehicles. Imports by Day, however, is unlikely to be on my list of dealers to visit.

[Guest Josh]

Burned!

I would have thrown in that if they were a GM dealer they would have been all over T.V. because it's the "right thing to do now" but since they are an import dealer you feel the media would sweep it under the rug.

[Variance]

Proffesional and polite. I don't know if it'll make any difference in how the dealer conducts their business but it's good to give HQ a heads up.

VW and poor customer service seem to go hand-in-hand more times than not. It would certainly give me pause in buying a new one.

[Croc]

Keep it the way it is. Sounds good.

[tmp]

i would think that if they are going to be having keys that cost the better part of $200, that they have a better system in place to deal with after hours drop offs than whatever lame-ass way it is they're doing it now.

[Northstar]

i would think that if they are going to be having keys that cost the better part of $200, that they have a better system in place to deal with after hours drop offs than whatever lame-ass way it is they're doing it now.

Yeah... my GTO keys cost $200 each, and if you lose one they overnight a new key to you.

[pow]

The service department did not find the key until March 27th! Furthermore, they found the key in another vehicle on the lot!! I had no intention of paying for a $175+ key that the service department lost. The service manager did not offer to replace the missing key and had to be prodded to do so. I was informed that ordering a new key would take two weeks. The last time I ordered a new key it took two days, not two weeks. That was obviously not with Day. . . it was with Mikan. I don't think a key was ordered at all.

I'm a bit confused here... did they ever find the key? Or was the key "in another vehicle on the lot" something else?

And, yes, I agree, VW dealers are horrible. Whenever the Passat needs servicing, we drive 11 miles to a Phaeton-approved dealer instead of the local POWER HYUNDAI-VW one.

[Drew Dowdell]

I'm a bit confused here... did they ever find the key? Or was the key "in another vehicle on the lot" something else?

And, yes, I agree, VW dealers are horrible. Whenever the Passat needs servicing, we drive 11 miles to a Phaeton-approved dealer instead of the local POWER HYUNDAI-VW one.

They found our key in another vehicle on the lot... we don't know if it was a car for sale or another customer's car.

[Drew Dowdell]

I'm a bit confused here... did they ever find the key? Or was the key "in another vehicle on the lot" something else?

And, yes, I agree, VW dealers are horrible. Whenever the Passat needs servicing, we drive 11 miles to a Phaeton-approved dealer instead of the local POWER HYUNDAI-VW one.

We edited the letter for clarity. Thank you for your input

The service department did not find the lost key until March 27th! Furthermore, they found the key in another vehicle on the lot!! I had no intention of paying for a $175+ new key because the service department lost the original.

[ocnblu]

Good letter, Drew. Remember guys, this car has a switchblade key/keyless transmitter combo. That's why it's so expensive.

This is one reason I am hedging on a new GTI. I absolutely love the car, but the local dealership service department has a bad rep around these parts.

[Cadillacfan]

My aunt had two VW vehicles (a jetta, and a Passat) through two different dealerships and had nothing but problems.

First, the cars had transmission problems galore and other significant quality issues.

That wasn't the only problem. The dealers were rude and tried to rip her off constantly.

She finally gave up and went to Chevy. She loves her Trailblazer and hasn't had a problem since purchasing it.

VW has a notoriously bad dealer network, awful build quality, and boring styling.

Add up all those problems and you know that once Saturn turns into Opel completely, VW will hurt big time.

Why will people want to buy VW when they can get German engineering, good build quality, and great customer service at the Saturn dealership?

[AM6_Cutlass]

We're sending this to the general manager of our VW dealer:

Rock on! I never did like Day. They were still putting "Heartbeat of America" decals on thier new Chevys until 2003 (and charging $150 to do it).

BTW: don't know if you sent the letter yet, but Day is still technically in Monroeville. Sorry