thanks for the advice about consumer direct. I will try them too. Is there any chance you would be able to pm you're report?

Hi All. I am yet another Polo owner with this problem and I have go to the stage where I would really appreciate some advice on dealing with VW customer services. Here are the facts: 1 - I bought a 3 cylinder 1.2, 05 reg Polo in December with 40500 on the clock. It does have a full VW service history (once a year), but I did not buy it from a VW trader. 2 - It broke down recently (all the same symptoms - EML, Loss of power, miss-fire in Cylinder 3) and I was recovered to a local garage who told me they suspected a valve problem. 3 - Because I had already found this forum, I was pretty sure it was going to be a case of burnt valves so I took it to my VW Garage last week for a diagnostic. 4 - As expected, they came back to me saying that they's have to take the head off to see what the problem was. 5 - Removal of the Head found that the valves were pretty knackered and they say they need to replace the head. 6 - The garage tells me they have applied to the factory for a goodwill repair but there was none offered and that now I have to take it up with customer services. 7 - I have been quoted just over £1,600 and they keep stressing that it is VW's decision as to whether to grant me a (part) goodwill repair, so I don't really feel like they are going to back me up much. 8 - Although the service history is on my side, I am unclear if they will make a fuss because I didn't buy it from VW and furthermore, the cylinder head has been taken off by someone else before I owned it (I suspect the previous owner found out what was coming her way and got rid of it asap). They also keep muttering about it being 4 years out of warranty and being 7 years old. I am going to contact customer services on 08000833920 next week and start from the tack that I want to complain about the scale of the problem this car has considering its low mileage and service history. I bought a VW because they were supposed to be reliable and not devalue (mine has halved it's value in less than 6 months!). I understand that half of the battle is getting to talk to someone who is genuinely from VW and who has the power to do anything about it. I'd really appreciate advice on what are the strongest arguments to use and how I can get to talk to the right people.