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Comments
I've got an '03 with 22,000 miles on it. Never had a misfire and it's only run on 93 AKI gas, mostly BP/Amoco Ultimate or Shell V Power.
You won't hear a trace of knock as the knock sensors dial back the timing on 87.
This week they said I needed upper and lower control arms for $1100. I took it to a local shop and he greased everything and aligned it. It's better but I wonder if the dealer was right.
Krzys
To me, it sounds like you got taken if the dealer charged you $500 for a set of pads. The labor should be covered under the warranty repair for the rotors as the pads have to be removed anyway to get the rotors off.
You might want to follow up with the dealer as that price seems a bit steep to me.
Brakes are one wearable item that will either last 75,000+ miles or less than 20,000 miles. Some drivers are extremely hard on their brakes (stopping virtually on a dime), and others are generally frugal with their brakes (allowing plenty of distance and time to come to a gradual stop). I've seen plenty of examples of both types of drivers on the road (I fall under the frugal b raking category).
If you are hard on your brakes, your brakes will tend to wear out before 20K. If not, you can get at least 60,000 miles on the original brakes. This is a fact with any make and model of automobile on the market.
The quickest way to spot a driver who is hard on their brakes is to look at the wheels (especially cars with alloy wheels). If the car looks like the driver just purchased it recently and the wheels are dark from brake dust - that's a dead giveaway.
Just to verify the cost of a battery for a VW, I would call an NTB, AutoZone etc and get a cost from them. If, in fact, they could replace your battery for less than $240. I would call the VW Dealer you went to and talk to the service manager. Or better yet, talk to the General manager or owner of the dealership and relay your story. Tell them that you feel completely taken advantage of and you they have lost your business. I am really not sure VW's require special batteries, but I highly doubt it.
Good luck.
Just got off the phone with the service advisor.
$3840.00 to fix the problem. The
1. coolant sensor
2. throttle body
3. engine harness
4.engine control module
I feel as if I am at the mercy of this vw service department and nothing is covered under warranty.
I've never heard about coolant migration before.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Tella
Among the comments is a link to some video about the topic, but the link was broken or bad.
From www.nhtsa.dot.gov
Make: VOLKSWAGEN
Model: PASSAT
Year: 2001
Type: PASSENGER CAR
Service Bulletin Number: 0404
NHTSA Item Number: 10011567
Summary Description:
ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR. *TC
Not sure of complete details
etc.: I have a 2002 Passat 1.8 wagon with 32,000
miles. Very good car with few problems. Glove
box latch and a headlight have been replaced.
In 2 1/2 years I can't think of much else. Dealer
checked brakes at 30,000 mile oil change. Said
30% of linings still there and did not need to
replace yet. This car does alot of heavy traffic
driven in Houston. A very enjoyable car.
It is for front pads only.
Krzys
Once nursed it to 39.8mpg (1.8T-Tip, a/c off). Say HI to the Sarge.
I recently bought a VW Passat 2001 with 16k miles on it. Car is in great condition. THe dealer sold me an extended warranty on it for $2000 for 3 yrs/30k miles. I want to understand if I really need the extended warranty or should I opt out for it?
Can you guys help me with this decision? The Car is in good condition. Therefore does it make sense to spend so much money on the extended warranty? Iam in 30day period so pls respond asap.
Thanks alot.
Regards
Ashish
Here is what I know about extended warranties:
They are a great profit item for dealers.
They are to all intents and purposes an insurance policy. Like any insurance policy, there will be paragraph after paragraph of conditions and exceptions designed to minimize the possibility of ever having to pay a claim.
Extended warranties on used vehicles are more expensive and/or shorter term than what is offered on new cars because of the greater likelihood of a claim being filed. Note that like health insurance, many extended warranties will exempt 'pre-existing conditions'. Any recurrence of a problem that has been previously 'repaired' will be exempt from coverage.
Extended warranties typically pay by reimbursement or prior approval. They don't just cut you a check that you can take to the repair guy of your choice. In other words, if you have work done without first obtaining approval, you *may* be reimbursed, but I wouldn't count on it. Save Your Receipts. Prior approval means calling the warranty company and getting them to authorize (agree to pay for) the repair up front. They will talk directly to the service department or garage, and someone there will tell you what was said. Thus, you may not know in advance of any exclusions or limitations. The warranty company could authorize two hours of labor on a job that 'happens' to take four hours, leaving you stuck with the difference.
I would bypass the dealer markup on this item and buy directly from the source -- if, after researching, it still makes sense to get the warranty.
At less than seven years and being such low mileage, this car should still be under several factory warranties. Of course, that is contingent on service history. If oil changes and other scheduled maintenance -- on time almost to the day or mile -- cannot be documented from new, the factory powertrain warranty is unlikely to be honored. The same likely applies to any extended warranty.
I would:
Do a Google and shop online for an extended warranty. Read the terms carefully before purchasing. Don't waste time on any company that doesn't disclose their terms up front. Look for a policy that refunds unused coverage on expiration of the term (beware of 'automatic' rollover) or sale of the car. They do exist.
As with health insurance for a healthy person, it may make more sense to keep the premium money in the bank and do careful maintenance, thus avoiding the time and hassle of claim processing.
By the way, you are fortunate to have 30 days to make such a decision -- is that for the warranty only, or the entire deal? Some places, as soon as you sign the papers, it's yours -- the only way to correct a mistake is to try to unload it on someone else.
Regards,
Craig
The price you paid on the extended warranty sounds fairly high. Is it a VW branded warranty? Contrary to the previous post, I would avoid most 3rd party extended warranties and stick to a VW warranty. I have heard too many stories about warranty companies going belly up and leaving the customer (You!) left with a worthless policy.
If you don't mind me asking......how much did you pay for the '01 Passat?
Krzys
for the 3 extra years and 50000 miles over the standard warranty
$533 yr,
$44 mnth,
$.32 a mile
I pick the car up tommorrow and will inform all of my experience throughout my ownership.
Krzys
And be sure to carefully inspect the cars before driving it home. Below are problems I ran into on my certified Passat. Hope everybody learn a lesson from mine.
1. Engine light went on the very next day I got the car. Service guy cleared it but made no attempt to do root analysis.
2. Engine light went on again a few days later. And finally they found some pipe was broken this time, replaced it. I still felt good about the car at that point. Big mistake for not thinking why it happened.
3. Automatic transmission won't shift automatically in the morning. Sent in for inspection. Found nothing. Charged me almost $100. Told me to use tiptronics during cold day.
4. One day accidentally found several collision traces under the hood at some hard-to-see corners. Felt cheated. CarFax showed the car was a clean one. No wonder the compartment was so clean when I purchased it from the dealer. No wonder the XX pipe broke. No wonder the passenger side air bag cover looks odd.
5. Transmission problem persist. And finally one morning I couldn't even shift it out of parking position. When I finally managed to back the car out of parking lot, the handle just got completely stucked. Blocked tens of cars. Towed. Guess what the dealer found in the console? Coins! A quarter and several dimes. I swear it wasn't me who's stupid and skillful enough to throw coins into tranny console. Of course nobody except me want to pay for the repair. VW call it outside influrence and they blame me for force-shifting! Even worse, they don't want to pay any bill relevent to the tranmission this time. So I guess with $500 gone for nothing, the cold-day no-shift problem will just stay.
Plus, the steering wheel now starts shaking when driving at high speed. I don't know what I did last summer. Spending $15000 on a piece of junk or money sucker?
So be nice to yourself. Get yourself a new car if you can. Or at least think about buying one from private owners. It'll save you thousands for later repairs.
discusses that inspection is made for "any significant structural damage". Unless the certified checklist they provided you contains more detail about that issue, that inspection point seems to be fairly vague. It would seem that even in the case of cars being certified by the seller, it would be prudent to have the vehicle inspected by an independent third party prior to sale. Assuming the collision damage was then noticed, the buyer could determine if the damage was significant.
I bought my son an Acura RSX when I bought my Passat. He has paid $40 in over and above mntc. I have paid $5000 in over and above mntc. He has a reliable car. I have a TOAD of a car!!
(2) About four times since this weekend, as I've turned right (going up and on level ground), the car has stalled and the ASR light came on. The car only stalls for about 5 seconds, but when you are trying to merge into traffic (whether 25 miles or 65 miles...when you lose power, the people behind you don't realize you are stopping because there are no brake lights warning them). This is a SCARY new SAFETY problem for me!!
Has anyone experienced this and/or have ideas on the best solution? I went and talked to the VW service reps right away and they said they have never heard of this. Given that I own a 1999 V6 Passat, I doubt very much if this is a "first time happening." I believe that they don't know what's going on. If I can avoid their guessing game that costs me when they change something that doesn't fix the problem, it would sure benefit my wallet.
Does it usually cost this much for that kind of repair?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
I was able to return back the Extended warranty to the dealer.
I will take my time to do some reasearch for my passat and then decide if I really need the warranty.
Thanks for your views.
Regards
Ashish
I grew up right near Wolfsburg in Germany and hope that they are still making a decent product.
When on German websites, I do not see the many complaints I found here.
Help would be appreciated.
I'm told by the service department at Autohaus in Lancaster, PA that the ABS module is sending a faulty signal to the instrument cluster. they want $1700 to replace it. A call to the Regional Service area did nothing. The rep said based on the age and mileage of the car (now 85K) there was no coverage. Is this a longstanding problem and have others been reimbursed?