Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On April 28 2023 I took my car for an oil change and tire replacement, they gave me the car back with the engine light on. They said its fine dont worry about it and reset it, when I took the car it started shaking so I took it back. Then they proceeded to tell me the fuel injectors need to be replaced, so I then paid them 2500$, to get it replaced and the car got even worse it started shaking uncontrollably while driving, then they took the car back and told me that it was the cylinder head that needs replacement, they wanted to charge me 7,700$ to get it replaced. When I told them no they offered to take my car for 3000$ which is its value broken even though they broke it. I asked if they can refund me or even give me credit of the 2500$ I already put in to fix it, they refused. They said the most they will do is give me 10% off the 7,700$ to get it fixed. At this point its JUNE 19 they tow the car back to me since it doesnt even start now, the back seat was flipped upside down and it was dripping oil. I submitted a complaint with the attorney general office and they responded July 5 saying they cant do anything about it. I didnt pursue the matter until September 23rd. I email the ** of the dealership with my complaints and proof of how I was mistreated they then offer me the same insulting resolutions as before. Then they tell me that the car was damaged when it came in and they will not take responsibility. October 25 I tow the car back to another mechanic that then tells me the whole engine was never put back together not just the back seat. So they ruined my car then charged me 2500$ to make it worse then give me the car back with the backseat flipped upside down and the car dripping oil. Now I find out the engine wasnt put back together. This is absolutely to worst customer experience I have ever gone through. I have pictures and receipts to prove what I say. I want them to refund me the 2500$ I originally paid or they can fix the vehicle for free.

  

  Business response

  11/08/2023

  We are sorry to hear about Mr. ****** concerns with his 2016 Volkswagen Passat (Vehicle). By way of background, ************** had brought his vehicle in for service in April 2023. While it was at the Dealership, the check-engine light came on. The cylinders were misfiring, and the Dealership performed the recommended repairs at that time,  However,************** did not authorize further repairs for the Dealership to proceed with next steps of diagnosis The Dealership also sought assistance from Volkswagen to help ************** trade the Vehicle in for another, but he declined this also.Therefore, ************** elected to have his car towed back to his home. The Dealership agreed, and had his Vehicle towed back to his home at no cost to him. This was the last time our Dealership saw Mr. ****** Vehicle. 
  
  As of the date of this letter, the Dealership has reached back out to ************** with the same offer as before, $1,500 of trade assist towards a new vehicle. However, there is no refund to be given for the previous work performed by the Dealership that ************** authorized. He declined the *********-build, which is why his Vehicle was towed back to his home.
  
  It appears that ************** brought his Vehicle to another repair facility for additional work, given that he declined the re-build at the Dealership. We cannot speak to what the other mechanic claims, but ************** knew the engine wasnt in operational condition.  
  
  I hope the above information is helpful. If you or ************** have further questions, please feel free to contact me at the above or contact ***********************, general manager of Westside Volkswagen, at ************ or  ******************************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  To Whom it May ******** 09/20/2023 On August 23, 2023 I had my son bring his car in to Luther Volkswagen **************, ** for a routine oil change and I received a call from my son soon after that there was something wrong and his vehicle needed repairs done, I asked him if I could speak with the service person he spoke with and the service person (I believe is ****) called me back and told me he would need work costing around $1000.00. I told the service person my son is autistic and that he would need to communicate with me only and not with my son because he gets anxiety in these situations and doesnt understand what is going on. I explained that he would need a courtesy car and if one wasnt available I would have him take it to a mechanic that offers one because he needs one to get to work, the service person said that because of the recent hail damage they had no vehicles to give to anyone because they were all out getting repaired. The service person told me that he would NOT allow my son to leave with his car because his car is a road hazard, I told the service person that the company I use would come pick the vehicle up if they couldnt get him in a courtesy car. The service person said he would check with his manager to get a courtesy car approved through a rental car agency but he wasnt promising anything. I heard back shortly that one was approved by the manager and they were bringing my son over to the rental car agency to get one and they already taken care of everything on their end. I received a call from my son a little later telling me they wouldnt let him leave with a car unless he had a credit card so I met him over at Hertz Rental Car in **************** I asked the agent **** why he needed my card if this was a courtesy car and he explained that anyone who uses one of their vehicles is required to put a deposit down that is fully refundable upon return of the vehicle and that I would only need to put $50 down since I am getting a car through the Volkswagen service department. I wasnt given any paperwork for the car other than a brochure to put in the vehicle glove box in case of a breakdown or emergency with the vehicle and all costs of the vehicle at $48.00 per day (the discounted price that Volkswagen has to pay) were explained to the Volkswagen person that dropped my son off while I was there. They Hertz agent told me that they would bill Volkswagen directly so there was nothing more I needed to worry about.On September 1, 2023 I received a call that my sons vehicle was ready to be picked up and was told that I could just leave the Hertz vehicle at their dealership and they would take care of getting is back to them, I agreed and paid for my sons service to his vehicle over the phone.Around September 5th I discovered a charge of $570.81 from Hertz Rental Car on my charge card and Immediately called ***** and spoke with *****, she said she couldnt find an invoice under my name and would keep trying to find it. I made several calls to ***** and felt like I couldnt seem to get anything resolved with them so I decided to give the Volkswagen service center a call and was forwarded to *** to try to get this situation figured out. I spoke with *** and he told me that he would check into it and get back with me, I made several calls to him over the next two weeks trying to get this resolved and while waiting for him I continued to speak with ***** at the rental car agency, I wasnt getting anywhere with either company. I finally decided to call Volkswagen after waiting a few days so they would have time to do what they needed, I spoke with *** and he kept telling me a story that wasnt making sense to me and telling me he was only the guy who handles getting people into cars and he wasnt the one who makes decisions on whats covered as far as a courtesy car. I asked *** if I could please speak to whoever I need to so I can get this resolved and he transferred me to ****************************** got on the phone and said they never said they would cover a rental car and the only time they give out a courtesy car is when warranty work is done. I told ******* that I was NEVER told that it was only covered with warranty work and that the service person completely knew the work being done and nothing was ever mentioned about why it was covered, I explained to him exactly how it happened and he flat out told me that they werent paying for it. I told ******* that I would be obtaining legal help for my son with this situation and he hung up.I decided to take a trip over to Hertz where I spoke with **** and told him what was going on with me being billed for the car. **** said they went over to Volkswagen two times trying to get *** to sign the paperwork needed to be billed and he refused to sign both times so their only option was to bill me because they couldnt be stuck with the bill. **** mentioned they recently quit doing any business with that dealership because this was happening to so many people and he said that they told the dealership they need to explain things better to customers and not keep doing this to people. I was able to get a fuel charge reversed in the amount of $44.99 that ***** made a mistake and billed me for that shouldnt have been charged. I am going to forward this letter to the Better Business and ************************ to make them aware of this type of situation going on at Luther Volkswagen ************** to try to keep others who dont have a voice from being a victim of this company. Thank you,*********************** ************

  

  Business response

  10/05/2023

  To whom it may concern:

   

  In the best Interest of this guest we have decided to refund the guest for the rental vehicle in full. Please note, the guest provided their personal credit card to an outside companies as well as signed for the authorization of the rental. 
  

  We will be refunding as a goodwill gesture to the guest as we feel our location was not responsible for the authorization of the outside rental. 
  

  respectfully,

   

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Every interaction with someone at luther is lacking, and always ends up in a nightmare scenario. I had bought an Atlas from Luther ************, every time there was an issue or a recall it came back in, and the last time, they lost the car. I didn't hear anything back and had to call them and ask for an update, come to find out - they didn't know where it was... I ended up trading it in, as i wasn't comfortable with paying for a brand new car that was always at the dealership. So, I bought a used Jeep from the Luther Westside volkswagen. The trunk had issues with closing, and damage. They assured me it was minor and it hadn't been in an accident. Before purchase they ended up having to fix the trunk to even be able to close, and allegedly replaced the shock to help it. I accepted it and left. Now the trunk isn't closing again, I can't trade the vehicle in as it has TWO accidents on it's report, and a car I paid 40k for (some roll over) is worth 15k. I bought the extended warranty on the vehicle, hoping that if big issues arose, that would help, so far, it's covered nothing which I understand happens. I called to set up an appointment recently, for the radio touch screen being defective, and it's separating causing the touch component to not work. I called, and the representative assured me it was covered under the warranty and to bring it in. I brought it in, to find out they don't know if it's under warranty, it will take an extra hour and a half to find out, and then they need to order parts. None of which was disclosed when I called, I waste 2 hours at the dealership for them to try to find out something that was promised and now I have to wait longer, all because their customer service agents aren't capable of being honest. I am upside down in a car payment because the dealership wasn't honest, and have issue after issue with repairs it needs because everytime I call, they perpetuatehalf truths.

  

  Business response

  09/08/2023

  To whom it may concern:

   

  In review of our records the service concerns the guests has addressed did not involve our location.  We sold the vehicle to the customer 7/25/2022 and have not had the vehicle back in for any service or repairs since that date. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a used 2018 *** from Westside Volkswagen in February 2022, the mileage was about ******. In June 2022 my brake light came on and I immediately took it in to be looked at and was told by Tires Plus that the brakes and rotors were shot and need to be replaced. I had driven it less than **** miles in 3.5 months. 1) I was never told that the brakes would need to be replaced soon, similar to what they told me about the tires and 2) they later told me that the inspection "reported" the brakes as a class 6. It is physically impossible for the brakes to degrade from a 6 to a 2 in 3 months. I do not believe the "6" was filled in accurately and was reckless on VW to not be accurate in the condition of my brakes when I purchased the car. I have leased 2 VWs from them and never driven it so 'hard' that the brakes needed to be replaced. One day after getting my car back, the brakes are squeeling and not seeming to be safe. I called them and was told that it is 'normal' and that the brakes were not *** but rather a different product. They told me that they would replace my brakes with *** brakes, to code/standards per ***, and they did not. I now am stuck with brakes and in an argument with VW about how to get the car I purchased to a condition that is 1) safe and 2) what I bought in February. I need support on resolving this matter quickly, as I am a mom of 3 and use my car often - needing to be safe.

  

  Business response

  07/25/2022

  Hi, 

  We have worked directly with the customer to resolve this issue to her satisfaction.  

  Regards,

  Luther Westside VW Care Team

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩