[Resolved]  Volkswagen India — unsatisfactory and inefficient service

Address:

600041

We had taken a volkswagen polo 1.2 mpl highline car on the 18th of nov 2013 from the volkswagen mount road, sundaram motors, whites road, chennai. Unfortunately, now we realized that it was our mistake to do so. We’ve had cars of different makes like maruti, honda, ford, but this is the first time we’ve gone for volkswagen. We’ve never faced any issues with any of these previous cars, but i’m sorry to say that volkswagen is just ridiculous! Your service team is the worst we’ve ever seen! I’d like to brief the bad experience we had with your team.
While driving the car from pondicherry to chennai, on the 5th of september 2017, the car had hit a pothole on the road and the there was a radiator coolant leak. The car didn’t start and we called for helpline. They said none could be sent to the site and that the car has to be brought to the workshop. We tried to get a local mechanic based on whose advice we contacted vw for the availability of the parts in pondicherry. They said the car has to be brought to the workshop and there is no other option, but demanded a hefty sum of rs.10000 for towing it down to chennai. We decided to tow it ourselves and asked our drivers to take another vehicle from chennai to the site and towed it back. So the first lesson we learnt was that ‘helpline’ is just an adword but not at all helpful when we’re in real need!
We took the vehicle to kun capital motors pvt ltd, no.4/587, rajiv gandhi salai, omr, kottivakkam, chennai on the 7th of sep 2017. They waited for the insurance surveyors to come and inspect and started the work only a week after. After getting the insurance approval it took another 6 days to deliver the vehicle, and that too after pushing too much. They promised to give the car on the 14th. But said the vehicle was ready on the 15th. Then said they had to go for a test drive. Then said some part was leaking and had to be replaced. Finally it was ready on the 18th. But refused to deliver unless payment gets credited to their account. Furthermore, they refused to accept cheque. When asked about neft transfer, they said, in that case they would deliver only after the actual credit happens and not based on payment acknowledgement. We had no other go but to make the payment and wait till it got credited. Finally they delivered the car on the 19th sep, with a mind-boggling bill of rs.72224/- claiming that now the car is in perfect condition. We were shocked to see the bill, in which rs.39045 was towards parts and rs.33179 was for service charges! Insurance covered only rs.18k and we paid the rest and took delivery of the car. We just decided never ever to go to this showroom.
Thereafter we drove the car very carefully and slowly to avoid any further repair cost. Unfortunately, the very third next day, (Friday 22/09/17) the car gave a problem. It didn’t accelerate and there was an ‘epc’ warning light on the display. When contacted the workshop again, they said that it could be due to some electrical issues and asked to bring the car on monday. After pleading, they agreed to service the same day, checked and told that they have reset the pins. Again, the very next day, we had the same problem. Contacted the workshop. They said the parts are to be ordered and will be available only the next day. We paid another rs.5000 for the parts and got it rectified. But again on the 6th of november, we faced the same issue. The epc indication is on and the car jerks violently, now and then, while on the move. Again, while running, it doesn't accelerate often leading the engine to get switched off, abruptly. We took the car to the same service centre on the 8th nov 2017 and took delivery after repairs on the 11th of nov 2017. Although they did not charge anything for this, unfortunately we did not get a proper explanation for the actual faults and the repairs done. We were simply told that they have checked with a software and defects have been fixed. But in spite of our request for a detailed breakdown of the faults identified and replacements or rectifications done, we were given an invoice which said the complaint as 'epc light glowing' and the description of work done as foc. Today, the 4th day, the same problem has popped up. Now, we are sure of one thing - vw isn't capable of identifying the faults for its own cars and their service centers are just inefficient and seems to be simply cheating customers after collecting hefty sums as charges. We need the company to resolve the issue at any of their service centres at its own cost.