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From my experience, the relationship you state you have with the owner/dealer is very RARE. I would imagine 98% of consumers never ever see the owner (let alone the manager) of a dealership during their purchasing experience. AND, if a customer attempts to be loyal to one dealership, that always doesn't mandate you are getting the best price in town.
Unfortunately, it only takes one bad experience to sour someone on car buying experience.
I recently went shopping with my In-Laws to purchase a new '06 Equinox. We went into the dealer on a Fri and talked with the internet sales Mgr. We told him what we were looking for as far as price, options and time frame. After "discussing" the details with the Sales Manager (and actually him coming in and introducing himself to us) the sales rep came back and said he could do the deal we were looking for, he shook our hands and he said he would find the exact car my Mother-in-law was looking for. The next Tues we went into the dealer, drove the car they found for her and all was PERFECT! In-Laws filled out some paperwork and we waited for the Finance Manager (for over an hour - the place was EMPTY). I asked about the delay and the sales guy said the county that my in laws are from was not in their system (this wa as complete LIE-their county was within 10 miles of there dealership).
Finally, we get into the finance mgrs office and the amount per month we agreed upon mysteriously increased over $225 and the price of the car increased by $4K. When asked about the increase, he asked what we were looking for and I told him the story. He shrugged his shoulders (VERY RUDE) and said that the deal was not doable and he would get the sales Mgr who we spoke with earlier to come in. The mgr came in and started his double speak routine. I asked him to slow down and explain why our agreement was not doable as was promised. He had no valid answer. I told him I appreciated that they couldn't get to the numbers we were looking for, but it was inexcusable for them to come back and completely LIE to use and WASTE our time when they knew, from the beginning, that they could never get to the numbers we were aiming for. He said, "then I guess we are done here". We left and I was FURIOUS about the entire situation...... I was shaking. :mad:
My point about this lengthy post is, unfortunately, this experience will make me very "on guard" when I am buying my next car.
As I said, there is a better than even chance the price will be lower when the car is financed.
These days, below market rate financing seems to encourage (and even reward) those who do NOT pay cash.
This, however, does not cancel out the first point.
I, however, agree with your point/question.
The most wealthy folks I know buy their cars with the longest term, lowest interest rate possible (often 0%.)
Even when they have paid 1.9% or even a bit more, they have always managed to figure the benefit of financing and have often said "I can't afford to pay cash, it just costs so much more."
Of course my CPA friend says, "buy what appreciates and rent what depreciates" -- which is the opposite of The American Way.
One more thing -- do what makes you feel "at peace"
What in the wide wide world of sports was he thinking?
I must assume the VW Passat uses something that is very similar to Audis AC units. And, this is the warmest summer (and I think the muggiest) in recorded history.
So, what does this mean?
The AC units in these German cars are wicked powerful.
I guess it is technically possible that the Passat is under AC'd.
I just don't believe it is probable.
My 2005 A6's climate control is set on full auto, center vent +1 or +2 cold, and I leave the recirc set on full auto too. All vents -- front and rear -- are in full open.
I keep the temp set at 67F year round.
Due to the extreme humidity, I have been forced to raise the temp to 70 from time to time, because it gets so cold inside the car that all the plastic, metal and glass get condensation on them from the ultra high OHIO humidity.
Most of the time, though, the AC takes care of everything and this is the first car that I have had that they must have figured out what to do to eliminate the AC odor upon start up. Somehow the mold in the pipes that causes this odor has been discouraged.
Same is true of my wife's 2005 BMW X3.
VW's, in my experience, have great AC.
Somebody put that VW rep in the time out chair.
As far as the A/C goes, our car is black with black interior and we live in South Mississippi, and the A/C works GREAT! Our afternoon highs have been in the upper 90's to low 100's lately and if you leave the sunroof or a window cracked to let some of the heat out, it hasn't been a problem. AND, if the car has been sitting in the shade the air is cool the instant you turn it on.
I only have 600 miles on the car and it has been in the shop for almost a total of 14 days. If anyone has read my earlier post, it becomes quite obvious what kind of vehicle I'm dealing with. The car is unsafe to put it frankly.
My "ride" started off with the following:
1. creaks and rattles from the B-Pillar in the driver's side door. OUTCOME: After 4 attempts to fix and locate the problem the Dealer removed and reinstalled rear door panels and lubricated door seals.
2. Slow air leak from front right tire. Dealer patched tire. Dealer pointed finger at me. The tech who serviced the car found a screw from a AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIP license plate bracket. In addition, all other tires were overinflated.
3. The car at 350 miles was difficult to start. The refused to crank over on various occassions. A warning light and message appeared on the dash display. MY wife and I looked for the warning in the auto literature but nowhere to be found. OUTCOME: Dealer replaced battery.
4. Car leaked oil at approx 250-300 miles. Car spent 7 days in dealership before dealer and VW could diagnose and fix problem.
Outcome: Oil leaking from high pressure fuel pump. Replaced Cam Roller and Fuel Pump.
5. Car has delayed acceleration/pause when starting at standstill and when rolling. Outcome: Service technician experienced acceleration delay during test drive. No codes detected per dealer service department. Dealer placed call to VW to try and solve this issue.
6. Drum roll please....Car stalled on freeway today. Attempted to restart car for fifteen minutes on side of road. Restarted car after 15 minutes. This is very scary. Called dealer to make appt.
I need a full time job just to take care of this car. I have kept very detailed documentation from day one regarding the poor customer service from my local dealer and poor quality from VW.
Also, does anyone know the actual percentage of the tinting in/on the windows from the VW factory on the 2006 VW Passat 3.6? Even though, in MD, legal is 35%, it would be interesting to know what came from the factory. Even the small percentage that is there.
I'd appreciate any feedback.
Beats me.
Activating BlueTooth is no biggie.
When you use the cradle you get the roof antenna and the power from the car battery.
It is first model year(maybe even 2nd) available and as such it is prone to problems.
Now history:
1.sludge issue caused by:
a. VW not stating strongly that 1.8T engine requires not only synthetic oil but synthetic oil that meets certain VW criteria
b. VW not telling dealers what real oil requirements are or not stressing enough to pay attention
c. Dealers interpreting original specification of oil as convinient to them as possible or just ignoring it
d. Dealers ignoring what finally VW put in writing what should have been done in the beginning (proper oil specification)
2. coil pack
Bad batch of coil packs causing major headaches for people affected. Car died in the middle of the road for example.
VW probably did everything they could to address it but since it was widespread problem they did not have enough replacement parts. When car is out of commision and waiting for parts it is sure way to have unhappy customer.
I do understand VW but if it happened to me I might be not forgiving.
I think that is all for widespread issues.
Krzys
PS If you want Japanese car with similar to VW Passat driving dynamics you may want to consider Subaru Legacy GT. It is AWD and its biggest issue is fuel consumption.
Coil packs are also old news. There hasn't been an issue with new vehicles in 3 years. Bosch admitted they coil packs were faulty and replaced them.
The Legacy GT has similar dynamics but is smaller than the Passat.
still and all I bought my 2.0 [not the value edition] with tiptronic, moon roof, sat radio, etc for exactly invoice. no way could I bought a comparable Accord or Camry for invoice and the Camry is really not a driving car. If properly equipped, the Accord can be. hope this helps.
Here is what you can get -- and it is from Motorola --
BlueTooth
Not in the US, of course, the steering wheel button, when pressed, will activate a function that will allow hand and eyes free phoning. Further, there is or will soon be (I say this with high confidence but not absolute certainty) a cradle that will fit in your Passat that will allow you to insert a phone (if it is inserted BlueTooth need not be enabled on the phone itself) and use the cars roof top antenna and the battery for the phone will be recharged.
If the phone is in your pocket and BT is "on" and your car has been previously synched, you will be able to use the phone via a microphone and speakers that are built into the Passat (or soon will be if they are not being sent to the US this way at this point -- which is unfortunate but possibly accurate.)
BlueTooth FACTORY bluetooth that comes with VW's sister cars from Audi seems to have been "temporarily" unavailable -- and to repeat, I do believe we are on the cusp of the cars coming with BT (perhaps a package will be required, but it will be, then, "active.")
BTW, the button on the steering wheel can be used (you had better get professional help installing all the stuff). I suspect someone who knows what they are doing can get all of this stuff to work almost as if it is factory -- but, my best bet is that it will, guess what?, raise the install cost.
Once you get all this wonderful technology installed you will be able to say "dial number" and spit out the number and ta da, the phone call will be made.
Here is the 256 page :surprise: manual from Motorola:
Be Patient it is a Biggie
Hope this clarifies TODAY's non-factory but factory authorized solution.
Sorry it is not plug and play as it should be.
:mad:
VW is due to release a technical bulletin regarding this issue very soon.
The cd was installed in the vehicle on Friday. The test drive revealed an slight improvement. If you're experiecnng such an issue contact you dealer and inquire about the disk.
I'm new to the forum and would like to know if anyone out there is experiencing an airbag issue. I just got my Passat 3 months ago and it is now in the shop due to an "airbag fault". This message showed up on my display and I had to take it in on Friday. The advisor told me it was something about the wiring sending a false positive message to the airbag. This makes me a little nervous especially since the car is brand new
Well VW can't give you an answer because they aren't providing the window tint. Giving an answer would be equal to giving a guarantee.
Ask the company that manufactures the film. They should be able to answer the question or at least advise you of how their products could affect reception.
Good Luck.
It seemed to hit the sweet spot between the right value and style and hauling capacity and distinctive, withouth being overly in your face with German pretensions, somehow. I'd have paid extra for the quality of the paint work alone; it still looks deep and glossy.
Would i buy it again? Hmmm...Yes I did. Bought a 2006 2.0 T with Pkg 2 this month. Again, very well made and beyond reproach. But will I have to spend a bit more in maintenence than a Toyota or an Accord? Yes. Will I have a more distinctive and better driving car than these two? Yes. Am I good with that equation? Yes. YMMV, however.
Its a tough choice if you are looking for basic, inexpensive, dependable transportation; as the market has many players in this segment to choose.
Does that make sense to anyone? All I wanted to know was which the percentage of the tinting currently in the stock glass/window on my '06 VW Passat. The representative could not tell me because the advocate could not locate the tint information.
So this makes VW seem like that they don't know their own specificification on their vehicles. By the way, I already asked my Service Advisor at the dealership, they didn't know, either... referred me to VW. Who is VW? (versus VW Care... who doesn't). How do concerned owners contact VW for answers? Not responses like "information unavailable." Sorry and thank you for hearing me out... just venting after purchasing a car that the manufacturer cannot answer simply questions to.
Maybe I should have a private company tint test my windows to determine the actual factory installed tint percentage and turn around and sell that information to VW for price... but FREE to all Passat owners!