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Comments
I do NOT have my car back yet. They told me it would be ready 2 days ago, but no calls yet. I am sitting here as we speak filling out the paper I got from the Attorney General's office in the mail yesterday and copying my service records. I also talked to a lawyer, and he said I am doing fine for now (sent a certified letter to VWoA as well about the car). We will see what they do about it.
I am still driving a loaner 2002 Protege DX. This is car number 227 this month.
I worked as a quality engineer for a manufacturing plant (power tools)....squeaks and rattles can be caused while it is being manufacturered.
There's many possible reasons why, from faulty assembly to too much tolerance allowance for the snap fits, to wear of the molds, causing the critical assembly features to be out of spec, etc.
Yes, I got a rattle coming from my dash, but I'm not really pissed about it, coming from personal experience.
The new vehicle warranty period is 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever occurs first
"This warranty covers any repair to correct a manufacturer's defect in material or workmanship except wheel alignment, tire balance, the repair or replacement of tires. The repair or replacement of wear items and tear items, such as manual transmission clutch friction material, brake pads worn below manufacturer's specifications, light bulbs (excluding Halogen headlights and instrument panel bulbs), seat covers, carpeting, and replacement of rubber wiper blade inserts, replaced for wear and tear are covred up to one year or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first."
Meade
~Carrie
like alyssazmom said, try another dealer.
If you're in a bad mood, maybe get the BBB involved.
While I still have my warranty manual handy
page 3, says if you're not satisfied with the warranty service you recieve.....go to page 25.....BBB Auto line. (800)955-5100
VW recommends this before you take legal action
Speaking of which, my car is supposedly ready today. The dealer called and said so. I can't wait to pick it up and see if it's fixed right or not. If not, it will sit there and I will leave with the loaner car.
I just certified my letter to the state's Attorney office this morning too. What timing!
it cracks me up how, if people read something, from a manufacturer or gas company especially, that they actually believe it without testing it first. VW and Exxon/Mobil are laughing all the way to the bank thanks to a lot of people.
So I guess I will not be getting the car back tonight after all.
Above is a link to the FTC's view on gas ratings. Yeah, they're lying too. I know. it's a clever ruse that Justin saw through.
As has been stated ad nauseum, yes your Jetta and other cars with high performance engines can get along with cheap gas (you wacky $100 savings a year folks) but the engine will tone down the performance a hair to compensate. I found someone else who wrote it perfectly, so here:
"The difference is not so much in quality, but in the gas's chemical property that determines it's flash point, or resistance to premature ignition under compression in your car's cylinders. If your manual says to use 92 it's because your beemer has a relatively high compression ratio, probably over 10:1. Using a lower octane will cause premature ignition problems which can result in pinging or knocking, which is bad for the engine over the long-run. Your car's computer can compensate for that problem to a certain extent by altering the timing, but this will have a negative effect on performance. So, since you sprung for a high-performance car to begin with, you probably don't want to compromise it's performance in the interest of saving a few cents per gallon of gas. If so, you might as well trade it in on a Camry, which burns 87 octane gas and gets better mileage to boot."
btroy "92 Octane Vs. 89 Octane...big difference?" Nov 4, 1999 2:39pm
Dr: Very funny!
I guess that is the whole argument. I would use that as one of the criteria when purchasing next time I think.
It shocks me that I must live with a rattle in a brand new car with only 1000 miles on it."
If it were me, I'd bring it in, ask for a loaner, and just keep the loaner. Drive it for the next 3 months, and when they call you back, tell them you want them to deliver it to your driveway. When they show up, make sure your wife or whatever is out in the loaner (but "will be right back"). In the meantime, test drive your original car to make sure all is OK. If it is, come home and pick up the kid driver, and go to your buddy's house where the loaner is (hey, where's the wife?) and let him take it away.
If your car is still "not ready", tell the kid your wife is still out, and you will have the loaner when he returns with the fixed car.
I have a 1997 Wrangler. Most body parts are either hinged, zippered, or completely removable. Of course, with the top down who really cares?
:-)
No, you said you were taking the plates off and leaving it there. Right?
"I just certified my letter to the state's Attorney office this morning too. What timing!
Just like watering your lawn and washing your car to make sure it rains.
My buddy who is big into 60's Mustangs would run it on maybe 89/91/92 octane, but then on weekends, he'd go for either premium, or octane booster additive, or maybe twice a year, aviation gas. Then he would just crank up the timing by grabbing the distributor (?) with both hands and giving it a turn. It really worked awesome!!!!!
My point is that I wouldn't want a car which PREVENTED me from running the gas of my choosing. I think they should be honest in their advertising, and people should be honest with themselves when buying.
Hi compression or high pressure usually requires higher octane. With higher pressure or compression comes more power(efficiency).
It is really pretty simple actually.
i know we take some liberties on this board with what we say to each other, but shouldn't you tone it down, just a little?
you remind me of my dad. i used to say, "Dad, i am not eating that spinach, i don't like spinach." Dad says, "yes Justin, you are eating that spinach, because you do, in fact, like spinach." see how silly that is???
have a good weekend.
Forget the experts, the science and the proof presented and whatnot, Justin declared it, so it must be so.
being a new guy, i am expecting a little more originality from you. some brainiacs in here already use the "planet justin" remark. sooooo last week.
"meet on launch pad # 6...." not amused.
since you are an active poster now, please tell me:
what year and model Jetta do you drive? how many miles on it? any problems? rattles?
you KNEW i was going to say that, didn't you? haha...
GOOD LUCK when you arrive at your dealership; I've been following your situation(s) since your first Protege.
He went to his insurance and got papers saying he never had an accident and was a good driver and all this. He got a call from VW the DAY BEFORE arbitration, and the postponed for another month. Then, get a load of this crap...
VW had taken pics of his car (unknown to him!) and presented them in court AGAINST him, saying he abused the car! They also called him a liar and said the insurance paper was false information! Can you believe a corporation would do such a thing? After 5 months of arguing, VW finally bought the car back from him.
Future buyers, this is the kind of car company you are thinking of buying. One that makes cars that are sub-standardly built, and who blame the consumer when they finally fall apart. Think LONG and HARD before buying a VW, be sure you know what you're gettng yourself into. I wish I had now.
that is sooooo sweet about taking the loaner back home. i have mentioned to at least 4 people that were thinking about getting vw's to not do it!!!!!
i myself was looking at the jetta but no way would i buy a vw now. i actually had a gti about 12 years ago and that thing was also a piece of junk. i shake my head when i see people have the same problems with their new jetta that i did (window regulators, molding falling off,etc).
i haven't seen a car company more despised recently then vw. but the sad thing is people will still buy them or not take the advise of others or claim that every car company makes a few lemons(true), but vw seems to have some really similar problem and allot of their cars (does not sound like a lemon more like quality issues)
a) the techs truly dont know enough to find and fix the rattle
b) the inherent design of the Jetta is flawed
Which do you think it is? I cant imagine how such a trivial-sounding thing as a rattle cant be located and fixed especially since this is all taking place on the dealer's and/or mfg's buck (rental, tech labor cost, etc) . You would think THEY would want this fixed too as it is costing someone alot of money.
good luck
Consider that when you log into a message board about a car, you're going to be reading lots of complaints from people who log in to talk about their problems. Unless you're a real enthusiast, most people won't visit message boards to talk about problems they're not having.
Not trying to belittle anyone's problems, just pointing out that things aren't as bleak as they might seem on a message board.
It's funny.....I drove my Jetta to the store last night and did not hear a single rattle come from my dash. I would really like to know why sometimes I hear the rattle and other times it's silent. It does seem that the longer I drive my car (eg. to work) the rattles start to rise from the dead.
Well, I have another appointment at a different dealer scheduled for July 10th. This is actually the dealer I bought my car from. I hope and pray they will locate the rattle. They also said I would get a loaner ( I had to beg and plead with my sales mgr for this).
Eventhough I have this rattle I still love my car. I will just love it more if it didn't sound like pieces of plastic bouncing around in my dash.
I just got done washing and she really looks good.
when you go in to take yours for a test drive again, park the loaner a block or two up the street, out of their site, then just walk into the repair area and look for your car. don't mention you even have the loaner just so they don't try to move it inside or something. they sound too sneaky to me.
i honestly don't know why it is so hard to find and fix a squeak. you'd think they'd just spray foam or caulking everywhere, or silicone spray.
i bet this is costing VW 10-50 sales just from people reading this forum. i wonder how much they make per sale. apparently it is worth it to them to not replace that car for you.
Good luck... again...
~Carrie
PS: Maybe it's time for you to head over to the BBB and report VW.
Repair: They have taken my dash apart several times, and it's starting to show in the way the car "flexes" now when you just drive it. The rep said it was normal. I asked him how come my car didn't "flex" when it was brand new. He didn't have an answer for me, as usual.
Lawyer: I talked to an attorney last week about my car problems. He said I did not need him yet, as I did everything myself right already (writing VW, requesting papers from the Attorney General, keeping service records, etc.). I told him about getting the car on Friday when we talked, and he said to call him back if I had any problems. I guess I will be calling him back tomorrow morning. About the fees: He said, in most cases, he usually doesn't get the judge to get the manufacturer to pay the fees, which is the bad news. But I guess I have no choice now, I am going to have to retain him.
I just would LOVE to be a fly on the wall of that dealership tomorrow morning, when they come in at ~7:30 and realize my car is still there.
I know this is going to be a fight, and I am ready full=force. I have taken crap since November 12, when this car was in the shop for the first time for rattles. I have been told, "I must have mouse ears" from the service manager of the dealer where I bought the car (and this was in the letter to VWoA as well), I have been dismissed as a young (24) person who doesn't know squat about cars, I have been given the run-around about my car, and I have had to pay for a chipped windshield in a loaner with my car insurance. I have had it up to here (about 3 feet above my 6'3-inch head) with this crap, and I am not taking anymore lying down.
Also, I DARE them to tell me they can't fix this car's rattles! I (and my attorney) can prove them otherwise.