SanDasAuto

An open letter to Volkswagen- my horror story

My ordeal with Volkswagen started in May, 2011 when I bought my black polo highline from Frontier World in Gurgaon . Unlike, all other companies, Volkswagen didn’t have the time to send the car for a test drive at my house. I thought that was okay as polos were hot property at that time and the company might be shorthanded for staff and test cars.

Finally the day came when I was to receive the car.

Strike 1

The car delivered to me had scratches in multiple places along with the paint chipped near the side fenders and doors. The executive tried pushing the car on to me saying that a little rub and polish will fix everything. Only a miracle worker can fix a car with chipped paint by polishing it. Hence, I said no the first delivery.

Strike 2

This attempt was literally an attempt at fraud.

I was buying a car in May 2011 and I was handed over a 2010 model.

I will admit to one fault of mine. While signing the papers I didn’t check the chassis number which somewhere said 10 meaning 2010. The whole experience was surreal. I had signed the papers, posed for a picture, the executive got it framed within 2 minutes…the only time their turnaround time was quick.

I got into the car and had almost driven off when I realized certain features were missing. For a couple of seconds, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I checked, rechecked and finally got out of the car to tell the executive what had just happened. He seemed calm, said sorry and assured me that this was a genuine mistake and they will get me the 2011 model the next day.

When I visit my local vegetable vendor, he tells me ‘saab ye sabzi thora purana hai to do rupaiya kam dedena.’ I spend what 100, maybe 150 rupees in one transaction while buying vegetables. I WAS SPENDING 6.5 LACS AT THIS CAR AND THEY TRIED SCAMMING ME WITH AN OLDER MODEL. An older model which means not only that the car is worth a lot less than what I am paying for it but which also has inferior features than the newer model. Retrospectively, I think that I really should have sued the company at that point of time, but realistically who has time for the courts.

Hence, I accepted the new model a couple of days later. The executive was worried that I might complain and hence gave me compensatory rear parking sensors worth around 3k for free. As usual, though the executive had promised it, he didn’t have this accessory in stock. I had to follow up for a few weeks to get them to fix the sensors on my car.

Strike 3

One year hence, in May 2012, it’s time for the car’s first service.

Summary of service:

I had booked my weekend service over a week in advance to remain one of the first cars to be serviced. I was told that I’d get the car by evening but it took an entire two days for the workshop to hand me my car and even then it wasn’t fixed. Even at the end of the second day, I was made to wait for almost an hour at the workshop.

Two major problems with the car:

1        The car had been producing a squeaky sound from the left rear side of the car.

My brother in law owns a vento and in his case the squeaky sound used to come from the front left hand side of the car. When the driver came for the serivce pick up, I told him about this sound and he very casually said- ‘ye to sir known issue hai polo mein, kaafi gaadiyo mein ye complaint aarai hai.’ I was left speechless; again.

I was told during service that the left rear shock absorber would need to be re-mounted and the noise would go away after that. One day after the service, the noise started haunting me again.

When I sent the car back, the new service guy told me that the problem was actually with the rear left door and that they would fix it.

I got the car back and the irritating noise is still there. Not just that, but my rear left door is out of alignment now as well. Every little pothole reminds me of how I have been ripped off by one of the biggest automobile companies in the world just because I belong to a third world nation. Such issues in developed markets would have warranted an immediate recall.

         2. The car’s breaks were making a squealing sound when break-ed fully, even at lower speeds

Let me admit that I had forgotten to notify the service person of this problem at the time of the first service right until the time I had come to pick up the car.

At that time, I was told that brakes tend to make this sound when wet and that the sound would go away after the brakes dry out. This was a blatant lie as a couple of days later I was told by the service head that the brake plates in my car were of an older model and that according to government regulations, newer models are coming with improved brakes which don’t produce any sound. This essentially means that all this while I was driving with inferior brakes; thumbs up on safety Volkswagen.

Do note that on second service the newer brakes were allegedly installed. I wouldn’t know for sure of course until I get the car checked externally which would void my warranty.

Funny tid bits

During the first service I told the service head to upgrade my car software so that my central locking system locks the car automatically. Apparently, this feature doesn’t come as standard when you buy the car (go figure). I knew about the feature because of a few articles that I had read on team-bhp.

The service head came back to me saying that he has checked with his senior most technicians and that this feature is only available on Vento and not on Polo. When I got my car back though, to my pleasant surprise the auto lock feature had started workingJ.

The waiting room at the work shop had car owners literally sleeping because they had been waiting for so longJ.

The super awesome, technologically advanced, straight out of star wars lcd touch screen feedback screen had a giant error running on itJ.

Final words

Volkswagen India is taking people for a ride. They have crores to spend on innovative marketing campaigns but don’t give any attention on hiring quality talent who can take care of at least the most basic of customer needs.

If you have had a similar experience with Volkswagen, do share it here and let’s ensure that new buyers are made aware of such things.