This is a draft letter I intend to send to my VW dealer head office it contains the problem any comments gratefully recieved

Dear Volkswagen

I am writing to complain about the poor quality of service I have received from the **** branch and about a number of problems which have beset my 2003 Polo with a mileage of only 10,000 miles. I purchased the car as I believed Volkswagen’s cars had a reputation for reliability and that their products would need very little, if any, maintenance for the first 20,000 miles.

Recently I took the Polo into *****Volkswagen’s garage as the emissions warning lamp had reappeared for the third time on my dashboard. I needed the car the following day and was forced to pay £500 for labour and parts to detect and replace a lambda probe sensor, a problem which should have been easy to detect via the electronic control unit.

This is the second time in less than two years a lambda probe had to be replaced; the last time being September 2005. In 2004 wiring to the original lambda probe had come loose.

I don’t think it is reasonable to expect a new Volkswagen vehicle to need two lambda probes to be replaced within a two year period when the car has travelled only 10,000 miles. Staff at ****** Volkswagen were unable to identify which lambda probe had needed replacing in September 2005, so in effect the part which was replaced during warranty may have failed within a very short space of time.

I have spent £300 on a service at *****Volkswagen and £50 in June 2006 on an MOT and am very unhappy that I have had to pay ***** Volkswagen a further £500 so soon afterwards.

After talking to local trading standards officers and taking advice, I feel that in respect of the terms of my statutory rights, The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (amended) which says that goods should be of satisfactory quality for six years from supply, meaning goods must meet the standards that any reasonable person would expect, taking into account the description, the price and all other relevant information.

Satisfactory quality includes the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety and durability and whether they are free from defects (including minor faults).In light of these facts and given the number of problems with the lambda probe, I believe the vehicle I purchased in July 2003 is not of satisfactory quality. An inherent fault in the vehicle has not been rectified.

I therefore believe that ******Volkswagen should reimburse the £500 charge to replace the lambda probe and that this fault is monitored and repaired free of charge as and when it should re-occur until the six years are up.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Hi

You understand the warranty issues attached to manufacturers, most have 3 year or 60,000 miles. Certainly VW do, also part carry I think 12 months or a certain mileage. Did you pay for the first lambda probe replacement? If it was done under warranty, it not under warranty if you see what I mean. Most Brands are more likely to be loyal to you if your loyal to them, try following up your letter with a phone call to VW customer services, they have a certain amount put by for good customers

I would recomend that you send the letter to VW customer services. And also i was a technician for VW and there cars are not reliable at all they have many factory defects which are not fixed on production line instead they let the dealership,s deal with them they are as you know warranty/recall issues. The most reliable cars on market are german/japanese.

probe fault should have taken 4 minutes to find with code reader ?

Thanks for the advice one and all

the outcome was that VW responded with an offer of 70% refund of total price we paid and guaranteed new work for 2years

I would recomend that you send the letter to VW customer services. And also i was a technician for VW and there cars are not reliable at all they have many factory defects which are not fixed on production line instead they let the dealership,s deal with them they are as you know warranty/recall issues. The most reliable cars on market are german/japanese.

At any point in your professional career with VW did they inform you that they WERE German built cars?

The uk spec VW cars are built in uk

Since when? and more to the point where? VW dont have a plant here.

Hi

I've been having problems with my polo too can anybody help!

I have a 2006, 3 door polo and I've noticed a patch of rust appearing on my drivers side door sill at the back and on the door in the same corner (its also started to scuff in the same place on the passenger side). When I took it to the dealership they told me i must have trapped my seatbelt in the door and that had caused the damage, I didn't agree so they took it to the body shop who said the doors had moved but that i must have let them catch in the wind so the problem wont be covered by my warrantee.

I have taken it to another garage to get a second opinion and they have said that the doors have dropped and are catching the sill when they shut. There is no evidence of driver misuse as was stated by the dealer.

Has anybody else had this problem or advise on the best way to put my case to Volkswagen as they dont want to accept responsibility?

Back to the origional letter then.

On the plus side it is 6 paragraphs before you mention the Sale of goods act (1923) amended or whatever.

The downside is, £500 is waaaaaaay too much to pay for a Lambda Sensor :o . How did they force you to pay?

Hammy

Back to the origional letter then.

 

 

 

Hi Hammy!

 

Could't have put it better meself , Yer £500 is takeing the .......!

I purchased a VW Polo in March 2003. The VW database ( based on reg number) shows it as as an earlier model engine as it really is. This has caused me problems in the wrong fuel pump and the wrong head gasket being fitted. Both faults cost me extra money any time without a car. The VW customer service refused to speak to me as they claimed as I was not the owner ( according to their data base ) . When I pointed out that my name was listed on the vehicle log book so accordoing to DVLA I was the owner , the jobsworth woman said they did not recognise DVLA registration. It is now looking as if the dealer I bought the car from, has changed the registration number from a differeent car to the car I bought from them - the impetus being that I wanted the car quickly. The woman from VW refused to tell me the owner (according to them) - presumably the person who should have bought the car with my reg number. The dealer was Abridge in Harlow - has anyone else had problems with them??

The DVLA only holds the name of the Registered Keeper, not the owner, though normally they are the same.

Diagnostic plug-in £70

New sensor say £80

labour to change it, say 30 minutes £40

You were ripped off and the refund offered by VW is a good offer. Take it and take your car elsewhere for service in the future.

Lambda sensors DO have a finite life and if the car is used for many short journeys and does not warm up or is never given an "Italian tune up" then the sensors can become dirty. They can be cleaned. Also they have a built in heater that, again if the car is driven very gently on many short journeys, can be working harder than expected, resulting in early failure. This is the same for any vehicle, not just VW.