In early January, my car started smoking from the rear and giving off a burning smell. I had it towed to Barry VW, where I leased the car, an '05 Passat, two years ago. And where I purchased a used Hondo CRV, 4 or 5 years ago. So there I am, a woman alone with a broken car rolling off the tow truck into the VW parking lot.
The service manager, Carl Evans, had me sign a form for them to diagnose the car, then he arranged for me to get a ride to Enterprise car rental. The next day he called and said it would be a $1700 repair and would take 4-5 days—the car needed a new turbo line and turbo charger, $970 in parts and $670 in labor. I asked for more details about the parts—could he list them with amounts?"No... The $970 included the turbo line, charger, and any necessary gaskets." Could I get it in writing?"No, " he said, "it's not written down." I'd like to stop by and pick up a copy of the estimate, I pressed. "We don't put it on paper, " he said, "I can just tell you the numbers." I thought that was very odd, what service industry doesn't provide a written estimate of work needed???
A $1700 repair bill and accruing rental car charges created a financial crisis for me. I called and asked if they did any kind of financing for repairs this high. He said no, but to try VW credit online. I submitted an online application at VWcredit.com. I considered not repairing the car and trading it in for a cheaper vehicle for my daughter in college. I asked friends and family for help. I sweated it out.
In the meantime, I had the Passat towed to another garage for a second opinion. As I was leaving Barry, Carl said again, "It needs a new turbo. Let me know if you decide to fix it." But the next mechanic, at Village Garage, had a completely different diagnosis: it had a "plugged breather screen, " and after clearing the screen and replacing the air filter, the car was done. Cost: $147. Repair time: slightly more than an hour.
This was both good news and bad news. Good news that I didn't have to spend $1700 to get my car working again. Bad news that I almost spent $1700 to get my car working again, and had already spent nearly $500 on the rental car. Of course I, and everyone I knew, was disgusted and infuriated by the stunt that Barry VW had tried to pull. It smacks of consumer fraud, deceptive practices, and just outright sliminess. When presented with the outcome and the opportunity to "make it right, " they offered only to refund the $100 diagnosis fee, even though I had been in a completely unnecessary rental car for a week.
The Bottom Line: I am a repeat customer of Barry VW and was treated this way. They've lost all credibility with me and the only word that comes to mind now when I think of them is DISHONEST. Oh yeah, and DECEPTIVE.
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