I have been told I have a slightly irrational love of Volkswagens. I love their cars, believe in their core values and hopefully, will be a life long customer. I am however no fan boy. I will be the first to acknowledge VW’s few faults and shortcomings. As their biggest fan, I may also be their biggest critic.

The biggest complaint I have ever had with VW isn’t directly their fault. VW dealerships are generally some of the worst in the business. Taking a car in for service quickly turns into a test of one’s patience and restraint. The problem just seems to escalate when you add in factors like performance modifications or little things like expecting them to actually fix the car correctly the first time.

VW UK has launched a new service initiative in an effort to improve dealer service. They are calling it their Service Promise and it consist of ten different commitments VW has made to the customer. They are as follows:

We’ll match any like-for-like quote within five miles: The Retailer or AR will match any like-for-like written quote for service, maintenance and repair using Volkswagen Genuine Parts ® from any garage within a five mile radius.
We’ll fit bulbs and wiper blades free: The Retailer or AR will fit wiper blades and exterior bulbs (including sidelights, headlights, brakelights, foglights, reverse and indicator bulbs) bought from the Retailer or AR free of charge.  A competitive quote will be offered for the replacement of interior, Xenon or LED lights.
We offer free visual health checks: The Retailer or AR will give a free 34-point check of all the car’s ‘basics’, with no obligation.
We offer affordable monthly Service Plans: All Volkswagen models (subject to age) will be offered with a ‘Retailer Service Plan’, a monthly payment schedule to spread the cost of routine servicing.
Free MOT tests with your Retailer Service Plan: All customers who take out a Retailer Service Plan will receive free MOT tests for the life of the plan.
We offer ‘real’ value for money: All the right service, maintenance and repair jobs will be carried out according to Volkswagen’s recommended times; a two-year parts and labour warranty is standard on all parts fitted after the manufacturer’s warranty has expired (excludes wear and tear items).
No one knows your Volkswagen better than we do: All cars will be worked on by experts who receive the latest Volkswagen training and have instant access to the most up-to-date Volkswagen tooling and technology.
Free road test with a technician if required: In the event of a problem arising, customers will be offered a face-to-face road test to demonstrate their concerns to a qualified technician who can then assess the issue.
A range of convenience services to suit your needs: Customers will be offered a courtesy car, a lift to work or home or a vehicle collection and delivery service as required and appropriate..
Free car wash and vacuum: Every time a car is in a Retailer or AR for a job taking over an hour, it will receive a complimentary wash and vacuum.  If the job takes less than an hour, the customer can still request a free wash and vacuum.

Lets go through the list. First, price matching. A great idea because I take my car to an independent, partly for price reasons. The cost to service a VW at a dealership is astounding. Not only is the labor rate high, but the quoted times are ridiculous as well. I can time my car on the lift, if it’s up there for twenty minutes, don’t charge me for two hours. I don’t care what the book says.

They are willing to install wiper blades and some light bulbs for free. Actually we must be one up on the Brits here. I have seen several customers get bulbs and blades done for free here in the states.

Free 34-point “health” inspections. It’s common practice for dealerships to tell you that will charge you 100 bucks just to scan the car. Really, it’s that hard to plug the scan tool in read codes. This is a no brainer; people think they have a problem, help them with it. Although, most services technicians seem lost if the computer doesn’t tell them what to fix, but that’s a different issue.

Monthly service plans don’t really exist in the States. VW offers free scheduled maintenance on cars as well as a pretty decent warranty, so I suppose this isn’t really an issue here. Although maybe it would be nice to spread the cost of scheduled maintenance out, after the vehicle is out of warranty. Plus this would almost guarantee you would take the car to the dealership for repairs.

Free MOT testing, again not really applicable in the US. Although maybe they could perform emissions testing and inspections in some states.

Offering “real value” for the money. If that isn’t vague, I don’t know what is. I think offering value for money should be a starting point for any business. To have to state this seems ridiculous. If you don’t offer me something for more money, I’m not even walking in the door. This goes back to the price matching. If a dealer can’t compete on price with an independent, people are going to go elsewhere.

They claim no one knows my VW better than they do. I have found this to be false on so many occasions I can’t even begin to count them all. I know several independents that are far more knowledgeable than any dealership tech I have ever met. Also, don’t tell me you know my car better than me, the guy that drives it everyday. Giving me the answer, “They all do that” is not acceptable. The car hasn’t had that noise or vibration in the last thirty thousand miles of operation, but it has it now. Something is operating outside of normal parameters; lets find it and fix it.

Free road tests with a real live technician. While I feel for the poor techs that have to ride along with possibly insane VW owners, this is a great idea. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing, “Can not duplicate” written on the service report. Look it is doing this particular thing. Find the problem. This goes back to code reading. Techs are now trained to read codes, and then fix what the computer tells them to fix. They don’t diagnose problems anymore.

Loaner cars at VW dealerships are non-existent. I see other manufacturers courtesy loaners all the time on the road. The giant stickers give them away. This makes me think, maybe that dealership cares about getting my business a little more than my dealership. The courtesy shuttle is a joke. On several occasions the drivers have forgotten to pick up either my wife or myself. On one occasion the service manager had to take a car off the lot to come and pick us up to get our car. The courtesy driver forgot about us on two separate trips, then decided to go home. Free collection and delivery, I have seen how the lot porters and techs drive the cars around the lot, stay off the streets in my car, thank you very much.

The free car wash and vacuum is a great idea, it never translates well in practice. I always received a “free wash” whenever I would bring my car in for service. Even when I specifically demanded they not do it, and made sure it was written on the service bill. I am a car wash snob, I will freely admit it. The car is generally returned to me looking worse then when it went in. A half-ass wash is just indicative of the half-ass attitude of the entire dealership. If you are going to do something, do it right. When the customers car is pulled out in front of the dealership after paying a large service bill, at least make them think you have done a perfect job on everything. When I see the car is still dirty in spots, the wheels are still a mess, I wonder what else you overlooked.

Keep in mind, I have years of pent up VW service rage that has led to this post. I can’t speak for every VW dealership in the country. Only the ones in Las Vegas and the ones around the Orange County and Southern Los Angeles area. I can tell you that service at these dealerships is well below par. The sad thing is, no one seems to care at the dealerships or at VW.

Volkswagen builds great cars. They have had their share of reliability problems like any other brand. Those problems are magnified by poor dealership service and turn into a landslide of customer disappointment. I have been told that several initiatives are in place in the USA to improve VW service. I certainly hope they take hold or I may not be the customer for life I claim to be. Great cars, poor dealerships.