Hi, I've been a lurker over on the Sportwagen page since I bought my car. I'm sorry to bombard you with photos on my first post, but I'm hoping for some advice on how to deal with unacceptable body work. If the dealer body shop won't fix the problem, is it appropriate to file a complaint with VW?
While it was parked in the parking lot at work, my car was hit by a hit and run driver. There was a lot of damage to the left rear quarter and door frame and the whole side panel had to be replaced. Because my car was only 5 months old and had only 7800 miles on it, I (mistakenly) thought going right to the VW dealer where I bought it would be my best bet for getting it back still looking like the new car it is. They are not one of the "preferred" shops for my insurance company, so I'm on my own to get this resolved.
They had my car for 3 weeks. When I picked it up, no one reviewed the repairs with me, the car was outside and it was getting dark, so I didn't have a chance to get a good look at it then. Once I did get to take a close look, I was pissed. I called the body shop and spoke to the manager, who basically told me that he didn't think there was anything wrong and he didn't understand what my problem was. I told him I had photos I'd like him to look at and asked for his email. I copied the sales manager who sold me the car in my message with the photos. When I hadn't heard back by the next afternoon, I called and asked if the body shop mgr had a chance to review the photos. His response was, "Yeah, I got them. You're going to have to make an appointment and we'll see if anything needs to be done". I asked if he at least looked at them and if he agreed that there were some serious problems. He just said, "Like I said, you'll have to make an appointment".
Now, I have to take time off from work so he can decide if he's going to fix the problems his shop has created. I also have a paralyzed dog who uses a wheelchair and needs to come to work with me every day (which is one of the reasons I bought the wagon - it has plenty of room for all of his equipment). My insurance company paid for the rental while my car was "repaired" the first time and Enterprise allows pets in rentals. I can't afford to rent a car for this.
I have 20 photos of problems I found (paint damage, at least 5 places where there is contamination under new paint, adhesive on my seat & steering wheel, bumper misaligned, etc.) but I've just included some representative photos here.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
While it was parked in the parking lot at work, my car was hit by a hit and run driver. There was a lot of damage to the left rear quarter and door frame and the whole side panel had to be replaced. Because my car was only 5 months old and had only 7800 miles on it, I (mistakenly) thought going right to the VW dealer where I bought it would be my best bet for getting it back still looking like the new car it is. They are not one of the "preferred" shops for my insurance company, so I'm on my own to get this resolved.
They had my car for 3 weeks. When I picked it up, no one reviewed the repairs with me, the car was outside and it was getting dark, so I didn't have a chance to get a good look at it then. Once I did get to take a close look, I was pissed. I called the body shop and spoke to the manager, who basically told me that he didn't think there was anything wrong and he didn't understand what my problem was. I told him I had photos I'd like him to look at and asked for his email. I copied the sales manager who sold me the car in my message with the photos. When I hadn't heard back by the next afternoon, I called and asked if the body shop mgr had a chance to review the photos. His response was, "Yeah, I got them. You're going to have to make an appointment and we'll see if anything needs to be done". I asked if he at least looked at them and if he agreed that there were some serious problems. He just said, "Like I said, you'll have to make an appointment".
Now, I have to take time off from work so he can decide if he's going to fix the problems his shop has created. I also have a paralyzed dog who uses a wheelchair and needs to come to work with me every day (which is one of the reasons I bought the wagon - it has plenty of room for all of his equipment). My insurance company paid for the rental while my car was "repaired" the first time and Enterprise allows pets in rentals. I can't afford to rent a car for this.
I have 20 photos of problems I found (paint damage, at least 5 places where there is contamination under new paint, adhesive on my seat & steering wheel, bumper misaligned, etc.) but I've just included some representative photos here.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!