Defective New Scirocco R

[f2wohf]

You dont know the half Gnome... they've put me in an Audi A4 courtesy car yesterday. I asked the rental company what was the cost of the car per day and its R1700...

Its entirely possible that VWSA has a contract with the rental companies for this exact purpose but they're wasting money on unecessary repairs and this expensive rental vehicle yet refuse to replace the defective Scirocco.

Another inconvenience is that the "Service Due" light is on. I told Hertz Rental this morning and the car is being swapped out. So technically this is my fourth courtesy car in this saga.

Actually, on corporate rental, my company gets A4s at 12/13k per month, I would expect VWSA to have at least this kind of rates.

 

[Nospheratu]

@f2wohf I suspected as much, VWSA must be using these rental companies on a daily basis.

The tweet is up here #VWServiceSucks

Once again, I am really grateful for the time you guys have taken/are taking to help me

 

[Rouxenator]

I find it so funny that the peons in charge of customer service and after service apparently dont get it - in the court of public opinion, you are already wrong.

If you look at customer satisfaction levels with regards to after sales service you will notice that GMSA scores quite well in most surveys. In the past decade of having dealt with them I have found that they are very committed to customers needs. So they must have learnt something from that court case - one can only hope

Must say I am impressed with Roux's postings in this thread.

Thanks, I am a bit puzzled because I am mostly just offering support like the rest of the posters, not sure why that impresses you - but I'm glad it does

 

[Wall]

@f2wohf I suspected as much, VWSA must be using these rental companies on a daily basis.

The tweet is up here #VWServiceSucks

Once again, I am really grateful for the time you guys have taken/are taking to help me

I've RT tweet

 

[ID_10_T]

@f2wohf I suspected as much, VWSA must be using these rental companies on a daily basis.

The tweet is up here #VWServiceSucks

Once again, I am really grateful for the time you guys have taken/are taking to help me

There is a spelling mistake in your tweet - VW twitter account is @VolkswagenSA you typed @VolkwagenSA

 

[Nospheratu]

Thanks for the RT @Wall

Thanks for the heads up ID_19_T.... cant believe I did something so stupid. I'll tweet it again so VWSA is aware.

 

[wolverine_dcp]

Thanks for the RT @Wall

Thanks for the heads up ID_19_T.... cant believe I did something so stupid. I'll tweet it again so VWSA is aware.

Just retweeted and gonna get my buddies to also help

 

[Sonic2k]

Roux's post is similar to a FIAT driving around PE, it has stickers all over it saying how poor the service is and also showing that FIAT stands for "Fix It All the Time". Hi whole car s branded with negative remarks towards FIAT.

Mate of mine spoke to him once, said the guy couldn't stop talking about all the problems he had with them and he wants to make sure people know just how bad they are :F

Actually FIAT stands for "Fix It Again, Tony"

 

[Sapcat]

So sad that car companies make us jump through hoops just to get a fair deal. Sometimes I am secretly glad when unions stick it to them.

 

[Gnome]

In solidarity with Nospheratu, I will not be buying a new VW until he receives a replacement vehicle.

Wow, you'll still buy a VW?

You realize if they replace his car, it'll only be because of the noise he has made.

The very same thing has happened before with Audi IIRC were they wrote off some guys brand new Audi and basically told him to go f#@k himself.

VW has a long history of go f#@k yourself. Starting with the VW City Golf up to now where they sold old engines with their new cars instead of the same engines used in their European counterparts.

Opel did pretty much the same thing.

Every now and then you hear some noise from the VW camp. It isn't even just SA, VW at it's core is a typical, the customer is our enemy company.

That concept has a long history but there are plenty of modern companies that have emerged with the more appropriate keep the customer happy approach.

Nothing is worse for a company than doing a Google for example for "Scirocco R" and then you find something like this.

 

[Sonic2k]

Wow, you'll still buy a VW?

You realize if they replace his car, it'll only be because of the noise he has made.

The very same thing has happened before with Audi IIRC were they wrote off some guys brand new Audi and basically told him to go f#@k himself.

VW has a long history of go f#@k yourself. Starting with the VW City Golf up to now where they sold old engines with their new cars instead of the same engines used in their European counterparts.

Opel did pretty much the same thing.

As covered in Noseweek a few years back...
GMSA also did pretty much the same thing, although they have turned it around, not completely, because I had a **** fit with Fury Rivonia over my wife's car being serviced like their arses.

 

[Rouxenator]

Service varies from dealer to dealer. I know people that are very happy with Reeds but I avoid it like the plague and am very happy with Thorp. I also know of people that have been through hell with Thorp at another dealership.

This thread is about the national head office and their attitude towards the client. GMSA have burnt their fingers before (in court) so as of late they are less cocky in situations like these, but sales volumes can do strange things to the way companies treat buyers after a sale...

 

[Gnome]

Service varies from dealer to dealer. I know people that are very happy with Reeds but I avoid it like the plague and am very happy with Thorp. I also know of people that have been through hell with Thorp at another dealership.

This thread is about the national head office and their attitude towards the client. GMSA have burnt their fingers before (in court) so as of late they are less cocky in situations like these, but sales volumes can do strange things to the way companies treat buyers after a sale...

Yeah they are less cocky, agree 100% but they only got there by losing a lot of sales.

Sadly we have the sheep crowd buying VW the whole time and for that reason alone I wouldn't buy it. As soon as everyone is buying you car there is no incentive to care.

 

[Captain Beer]

Remember that chap who did over a million clicks in his Polo. VWSA gave him a new instrument cluster and a polish :erm: Morons.

 

[LV Deluxe1]

And people complain about Hyundai and Kia's service ...
Typical South African "it's not my problem - so go away" attitude.

The only manufacturer who I've heard has good local service is BMW. Just a pity I can't afford one.

BMW is the KING of service delivery. I have one and its awesome, they'll replace your entire engine just to keep a smile on your face and give you one of their showroom vehicles to go home with. No stories whatsoever! I've had a problematic Beemer and their resolving of the matter was so good that ill buy another beemer.

The only crappy service manufacturer I forgive is Toyota coz their vehicles are so damn reliable and if you complain of breakage, they always look shocked, and I don't blame them. Toyotas seldom ever give up.

As for the OP, You own a Golf R and as sad as this may sound, trade in your vehicle.

Since your a guy who obviously loves speed and German. Go to BMW and get yourself a new BMW 328i with 180kw and 350Nm 0 - 100 in 5.8 seconds, Rear Wheel Drive with 50/50 perfect weight distribution and comes with the option of 3 different gearboxes, Manual, Automatic or Sport Auto. The vehicle comes with a Full 5 Year/ 100 000km Maintenance Plan that replaces everything except for tyres.

You deserve an environment where you will be respected, even in the waiting room you will be surrounded with smart classy fellow BMW owners of whome carry good networking opportunities for you to explore.

You own a VW worth almost half a million and with extras it hits the half a million mark easily. You have contained yourself in as environment that sees you exactly the same way as a walk over Vivo owner.

I hope your experience has taught you that a cars value must stretch far beyond its showroom tag. Service is a must, so leave and go where you will be appreciated.

 

[LV Deluxe1]

The 2014 BMW 328i Costs R480K and seems within the scales of affordability for a person who owns a Scirocco R.

Something to think about coz challenging VW will be a long bureaucratic expensive process of which as a large company, they will absorb for as long as possible.

The customer/consumer complanits "commission" is an organisation that receives a thousand issues daily and will take FOREVER in dealing with your case whilst the bank debits your hard earned cash and the car depreciates at the same or even faster rate.

Get out the hole while its still early enough to recoup and before the DSG also starts to act up thus making ownership and frustration worse.

 

[LV Deluxe1]

One of my colleagues bought a brand new 1 series last year, he's had endless problems since month 2. Engine warning light coming on every couple weeks, many trips and plenty days at a time at dealerships. After a year they still haven't found the problem, and they refuse to replace the vehicle.

Every brand can produce a lemon. And every brand in SA has the same attitude.

I have owned a VW and a BMW and both have had their fair share of "Modern Car" problems.

VW treated me as an annoying workload increasing a##hole.
BMW acknowledged the problem and didn't question my "Driving Teqnique" or "Driving conditions" and immediately got down to fixing. They gave me a loan vehicle and I requested some fuel and they filled it up, no questions asked. BMW acknowledges that their customers are not only important to them but are also important figures in society, so pissing them off is the last thing they do coz a man might own a 7 Series and have friends in high places.

VW on the other hand sees their customers as "Citi.Com" kids who can't do anything to them, hence why they take chances coz the "Golf" boys let them easily off the hook.

"Woolworths Foods" vs" Shoprite" -
The staff behaves in a manner that the majority of customers accept.

 

[LV Deluxe1]

Well I just got off the phone with the VW CIC and this case has been escalated to the Managing Directors office. It has become a "sensitive matter" now... social media helps. The NetStar guys have scheduled an appointment with Barons to remove the tracking device for tomorrow morning.

VW is waiting for the tracking device to be removed as the result will determine which route this will go.

The core reason I'm not interested in repairing this car further is because unnecessary repairs have been carried out on the car. I'm generalising but I dont trust anything that has been opened up after manufacture, its never the same afterward. Another concern is that the engine has been running lean from day one. Do a quick google on what damage can be caused by a turbo engine running lean for more info. I dont want to be sitting with problems later on. I've wasted enough time as it is on this car.

@Koosi, thanks for the Noseweek suggestion. I'll drop them an email now.

Why lean makes more power but is dangerous
When discussing engine tuning the 'Air/Fuel Ratio' (AFR) is one of the main topics. Proper AFR calibration is critical to performance and durability of the engine and it's components. The AFR defines the ratio of the amount of air consumed by the engine compared to the amount of fuel.

A 'Stoichiometric' AFR has the correct amount of air and fuel to produce a chemically complete combustion event. For gasoline engines, the stoichiometric, A/F ratio is 14.7:1, which means 14.7 parts of air to one part of fuel. The stoichiometric AFR depends on fuel type-- for alcohol it is 6.4:1 and 14.5:1 for diesel.

So what is meant by a rich or lean AFR? A lower AFR number contains less air than the 14.7:1 stoichiometric AFR, therefore it is a richer mixture. Conversely, a higher AFR number contains more air and therefore it is a leaner mixture.

For Example:
15.0:1 = Lean
14.7:1 = Stoichiometric
13.0:1 = Rich

Leaner AFR results in higher temperatures as the mixture is combusted. Generally, normally-aspirated spark-ignition (SI) gasoline engines produce maximum power just slightly rich of stoichiometric. However, in practice it is kept between 12:1 and 13:1 in order to keep exhaust gas temperatures in check and to account for variances in fuel quality. This is a realistic full-load AFR on a normally-aspirated engine but can be dangerously lean with a highly-boosted engine.

Let's take a closer look. As the air-fuel mixture is ignited by the spark plug, a flame front propagates from the spark plug. The now-burning mixture raises the cylinder pressure and temperature, peaking at some point in the combustion process.

The turbocharger increases the density of the air resulting in a denser mixture. The denser mixture raises the peak cylinder pressure, therefore increasing the probability of knock. As the AFR is leaned out, the temperature of the burning gases increases, which also increases the probability of knock. This is why it is imperative to run richer AFR on a boosted engine at full load. Doing so will reduce the likelihood of knock, and will also keep temperatures under control.

There are actually three ways to reduce the probability of knock at full load on a turbocharged engine: reduce boost, adjust the AFR to richer mixture, and retard ignition timing. These three parameters need to be optimized together to yield the highest reliable power.

Source: www.turbobygarret.com

 

[LV Deluxe1]

In Short

If a turbo car runs too lean under boost and detonates heavily enough the result can be a hole in a piston and/or broken rings. Needless to say these things are not good for your engine.

 

[Colin62]

15 Posts in just over a year, and 5 of them are sequential walls of text in one thread. Someone's feeling chatty...