# Am I right to be furious?



## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Many will have read about the bonnet on my MK7 Golf not opening. Unfortunately my mechanic is currently off so booked it in with VW as desperately need to top up screen wash and oil. Booked it in Tuesday 8am for today and was told the parts would be ordered that day. Dropped car off at 8 this morning only to get a call at 10:30 saying latch is on back order from Germany and could take 10 days. I have taken 2 days off. Wish they would have told me this before I took 2 days off and why take the car off me knowing the part had not arrived? There maybe one in another part of the country, I have suggested they get it at whatever cost. Fingers crossed, :wall:


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

Frustrating but most dealers won't order a specific part until they know that's the item at fault. But, they should have perhaps pointed out to you at the booking stage that there was a known issue and if a certain item was at fault, then parts supply might be an issue.


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## voon (Apr 28, 2010)

Oh that'd certainly annoy me ... but I've come to just accept that car dealerships seem to operate on a different level.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

percymon said:


> Frustrating but most dealers won't order a specific part until they know that's the item at fault. But, they should have perhaps pointed out to you at the booking stage that there was a known issue and if a certain item was at fault, then parts supply might be an issue.


Exactly my point, the manager looked at it Monday night, said he would order all the parts, I booked it in on Tuesday, at no stage was I told there might be an issue, as desperate as I am to get it sorted I wouldn't have booked it in until they had the parts in. They priced the job on the basis of cable, latch, grille and badge so they weren't waiting until today to ascertain which item was at fault. Let's hope they find one, :thumb:


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Exactly my point, the manager looked at it Monday night, said he would order all the parts, I booked it in on Tuesday, at no stage was I told there might be an issue, as desperate as I am to get it sorted I wouldn't have booked it in until they had the parts in. They priced the job on the basis of cable, latch, grille and badge so they weren't waiting until today to ascertain which item was at fault. Let's hope they find one, :thumb:


Seems they offered too much hope !

Fingers crossed for you - since they can't fix it perhaps they should top up the screenwash and oil while they have it, otherwise its won;t be useable in current weather conditions.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Yes I’d be frustrated and fed up, but they’ll tend to only order the parts when they know what’s required... is the latch bust ? Can they not fix / unseize it ? 

Fingers crossed they find one


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

percymon said:


> Seems they offered too much hope !
> 
> Fingers crossed for you - since they can't fix it perhaps they should top up the screenwash and oil while they have it, otherwise its won;t be useable in current weather conditions.


To open the bonnet they need to cut out the grille, even if they could open the bonnet no guarantee it will shut.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Andyblue said:


> Yes I'd be frustrated and fed up, but they'll tend to only order the parts when they know what's required... is the latch bust ? Can they not fix / unseize it ?
> 
> Fingers crossed they find one


That's the annoying part they said they would order the cable and latch in advance as he said it was clear what the issue was.


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

Charge them for loss of earnings? Poor show on their part.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Brian1612 said:


> Charge them for loss of earnings? Poor show on their part.


If they said " We will order the parts but there is a risk that they won't be available for 10 days do you wish to book it in still" I could at least have made an informed decision about whether to risk it.

I was polite yet firm so let's hope they sort it, the person I spoke to could entirely understand my frustration.


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

This it? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OEM-6RD-...715798&hash=item1ec53d6aa4:g:jQUAAOSwI8laHTk7


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

AndyA4TDI said:


> To open the bonnet they need to cut out the grille, ........


There is another way in as described in your other Thread HERE. 

Alan W


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

AndyA4TDI said:


> If they said " We will order the parts but there is a risk that they won't be available for 10 days do you wish to book it in still" I could at least have made an informed decision about whether to risk it.
> 
> I was polite yet firm so let's hope they sort it, the person I spoke to could entirely understand my frustration.


Agreed mate. If they gave you a definite answer on when the work was getting done I'd be fuming myself mate. Basically you have wasted two of your paid holidays for nothing and they told you this hours after dropping the car off so no notice at all. I would be seeking compensation for your wasted holidays if they don't sort it.


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

That is a ball ache Andy, similar has happened to me over the years and reading this thread hasn't changed my mind about how dealerships operate.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Thanks everyone, if the car had just been serviced and it was Spring or Summer I would wait and look around, still wouldn't be ideal but it's Winter so no choice but to go to VW and cough up £500. Really don't like driving a car when you can't open the bonnet, no car equals no work.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Alan W said:


> There is another way in as described in your other Thread HERE.
> 
> Alan W


Suggested alternatives ways of getting in but they are a main dealer so do the job in the most expensive way I suspect. Your local mechanic would no doubt try harder to keep costs down for you,


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

AndyA4TDI said:


> but to go to VW and cough up £500.


No wonder you're fuming !


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Suggested alternatives ways of getting in but they are a main dealer so do the job in the most expensive way I suspect. Your local mechanic would no doubt try harder to keep costs down for you,


Fair do's but this issue is a known fault according to all the information on the internet and therefore I think I would be claiming some 'goodwill' and part payment towards the repair/replacement of parts. 

£500 is excessive and totally unreasonable in my opinion. :doublesho

Alan W


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

percymon said:


> No wonder you're fuming !


Yep,no choice based on them saying it would be done by tomorrow, so much money but as I say totally wrong time of year not to be able to open the bonnet.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Alan W said:


> Fair do's but this issue is a known fault according to all the information on the internet and therefore I think I would be claiming some 'goodwill' and part payment towards the repair/replacement of parts.
> 
> £500 is excessive and totally unreasonable in my opinion. :doublesho
> 
> Alan W


Tempted to go in at 8 tomorrow with a good book and drink a 100 Macchiatos and eat every single biscuit they have, :lol:


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Tempted to go in at 8 tomorrow with a good book and drink a 100 Macchiatos and eat every single biscuit they have, :lol:


Let us know how you get on! :lol:

Alan W


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Tempted to go in at 8 tomorrow with a good book and drink a 100 Macchiatos and eat every single biscuit they have, :lol:


Like your thinking mate :lol:

Good luck with the outcome :thumb:


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

To answer your question, I would be furious, when you pay top dollar with a main dealer it's not unreasonable to expect a very good service but having said that I'm not surprised to hear this about a VW dealer. When I had a problem with a Golf I had I went to my local dealer with it and when I spoke to a "technician" he told me that "we did our best to fix it but it's your car so you probably know it better than we do".

That was 16 years ago and the last time a dealer did anything other than warranty work to any of my cars, my brother has a C class and since he had it it's been serviced once and you would have thought the Mercedes dealer were doing him a favour when he took it in !


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## rubberducky1957 (Jan 8, 2016)

You have every right to be angry and I don't believe its necessary to damage the car to fix it but it will certainly be less effort for them. I had mine in for a mandatory safety recall and it came back damaged and completely unroadworthy but got nowhere with them. Deep breath exhale and move on or waste even more time unfortunately.


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## FJ1000 (Jun 20, 2015)

Yet another reason to avoid stealers.

I always prefer to take my cars to a good independent. I find them actually more knowledgeable, more experienced (lots of the techs at dealers are very young), honest, and cheaper too. I’ve had nothing but VW’s and Audi’s (3 at the moment) but haven’t taken any of them to a stealer in 10 years. I wouldn’t trust them - but I trust the mechanics at 3 good independents I use.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

FJ1000 said:


> Yet another reason to avoid stealers.
> 
> I always prefer to take my cars to a good independent. I find them actually more knowledgeable, more experienced (lots of the techs at dealers are very young), honest, and cheaper too. I've had nothing but VW's and Audi's (3 at the moment) but haven't taken any of them to a stealer in 10 years. I wouldn't trust them - but I trust the mechanics at 3 good independents I use.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Agreed, I always take my cars to a local mechanic who has looked after me for 15 years, not an option this time as he is away and this couldn't wait. When I took it in yesterday got the classic would you like us to top up the air con and change the brake fluid? Don't you dare, just fix the bonnet and don't touch anything else. I made her write do not wash this car in bold on the top of the job sheet.


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Can't you drive somewhere and somehow engineer a 'breakdown'?

The call the AA out?


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

Any update Andy ?


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

percymon said:


> Any update Andy ?


They have the latch, had to go and pick one up from another dealer quite some distance away, it better get done today


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

Well they are making some progress (at last !)


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

ardandy said:


> Can't you drive somewhere and somehow engineer a 'breakdown'?
> 
> The call the AA out?


Thought of calling them out to house on basis of no windscreen wash but again what could they really do, they could get the bonnet open maybe but what if it wouldn't close?


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

percymon said:


> Well they are making some progress (at last !)


This is why I gave it to them, someone else could have done it cheaper but would they have been able to get the parts quick enough? As I said if it had just been serviced and it wasn't Winter I would just have waited till my mechanic could do it once he was back and had the latch and cable. Once the bonnet opened it needed to be repaired there and then. Fingers crossed,

Next job buy some white lithium grease or is there anything better?


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

If it helps this happened to me twice mini in for new clutch after loads of previous trips to dealer, clutch arrives in car goes then a call to say they have it out but someone forgot to order the new bolts

So they had to drop a 1 series off at my house with a tank of petrol as I refused to let them as me to collect and take it back again , had this on another car as well took car in to be asked why I was there 90 mile round trip as car was not booked in, but I said you called to say parts in and book it in, who told you that, me your service manager


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Update, 2 hours ago they emailed me a health check video of my car saying everything else is fine, I know it is how about telling me if they have fixed the bonnet, :wall:


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Update, 2 hours ago they emailed me a health check video of my car saying everything else is fine, I know it is how about telling me if they have fixed the bonnet, :wall:


Fingers crossed


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Andyblue said:


> Fingers crossed


Fixed, the cable had broke and the latch had seized. It was never going to open. Should I spray some grease on now? Thanks everyone
















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## Pinky (Feb 15, 2008)

What age is your car ?I would be writing to VW and complaining about the latch breaking and be asking for some help with cash reimbursement .
My propshaft bearing went on my car and I complained as it was only 5 years old and I didnt want a bill for £1200 , as it had full vw service history etc I got it done for £400, I filled out complaint form and they are supposed to get back to you within 24 hrs but didnt so that helped too .


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Pinky said:


> What age is your car ?I would be writing to VW and complaining about the latch breaking and be asking for some help with cash reimbursement .
> My propshaft bearing went on my car and I complained as it was only 5 years old and I didnt want a bill for £1200 , as it had full vw service history etc I got it done for £400, I filled out complaint form and they are supposed to get back to you within 24 hrs but didnt so that helped too .


I told them the net was full of similar stories, they simply said " You can find anything on the internet". Charming. Registered Jan 14


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Oil and screen wash now topped up, :thumb:


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

AndyA4TDI said:


> I told them the net was full of similar stories, they simply said " You can find anything on the internet". Charming. Registered Jan 14


Is greasing latches and hinges part of the service routine? If so and it's VW serviced then definitely raise with VWCS


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

There is no way I'd have paid £500 to any garage for that. I'd rather have paid for a hire car and done it myself!! I had this with my Mondeo few years ago, took it to an independent who rang back 3 hours later saying it was all repaired. Turned out he'd tried for an hour to open it with no luck, he rang round couple of mates until 1 came up with a way of opening it. Once open it was quite easy to change the cable and latch.


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

The best part of five hundred sheckles to get a broken bonnet release and cable changed. :doublesho:doublesho:doublesho


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

£500!!

I wouldn't have paid that - would have kicked up a huge fuss in the showroom tbh


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## Deadshot (May 23, 2017)

Why didn’t you just get a courtesy car?


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

Happened to me on my mk5. Was one of the contributors to me selling it.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

should_do_more said:


> Happened to me on my mk5. Was one of the contributors to me selling it.


Love the car, it's fixed now, will make sure it's greased with white lithium grease regularly and hopefully no more issues


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## Pinky (Feb 15, 2008)

Have you written to complain ? 
I would be being a pain to VW till they get me a reply , it should not have seized as if its been serviced properly the clips should be greased (I think )


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Love the car, it's fixed now, will make sure it's greased with white lithium grease regularly and hopefully no more issues


I would have a nice letter away to them saying this part should not of failed and asking for good will gesture as your disappointed with the brand and you was thinking of getting another in future but you have lost faith


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