[TurboPGT]

Yesterday I took my wife's A4 1.8T to get a free oil change at Cherry Hill Audi.
I was bored so I went over to the service department at VW to pick up some literature. I was standing there and over heard a lady complaining about her Jetta 1.8T and its studdering hesitation problem. The service manager explained to her that they would diagnose it but it sounds like a "water pump, timing belt issue" which is common for these cars, and to count on having to replace it/pay for it. Now, I know full well that water pumps suck on our 1.8T's, but those were NOT symptoms and that should never be the first thing you'd fix!?
I interupted them, quite rudely, and said, "Are you at least going to TRY cleaning the MAF first before you rip this lady off?" The guy shot me the worst look of disdain I've ever gotten, lol. I proceeded to explain to the lady that faulty/dirty MAF's cause the symptoms that she described and she insisted that they try that first. The service manager actually said, "That is not a service method that we use." I laughed out loud. I asked the lady if she lived nearby, she said yes, and agreed to let me try to help her first. When my car was done, I followed the lady to her house, popped her hood, found a K&N panel filter in the airbox (which she shrugged about), removed the MAF cleaned with alcohol, replaced...
...problem solved. can you friggin believe that?

 

[VRSIXXER]

can i believe it? yeah, those guys are thieves! good job. get any tips?

 

[gibs]

was she hot?

jk, Dealers are garbage.

 

[tjl]

Re: Another stealership trying to screw the hopelessly unaware... (TurboPGT)

You'd better inspect your wife's car carefully for sabotage or incompetent work (e.g. putting conventional oil in your 1.8T so that it will sludge up). Given that you have found that the dealer appears to be incompetent, and you insulted them in front of a customer, it would not be a good idea to ever visit that dealer again.

 

[veedub420]

Re: (VRSIXXER)

thats funny dude. the same thing happened to me at a dealership near philly. guy told me i couldn't get a new MAf sensor for less than 150 so of course i had to go to a junkyard and get one for 20 bucks that worked perfect to prove him wrong

 

[JKREW]

Re: Another stealership trying to screw the hopelessly unaware... (TurboPGT)

 

[bootymac]

Re: Another stealership trying to screw the hopelessly unaware... (TurboPGT)

Nice job! Did she, ahem, return any favours?

 

[joako]

Re: Another stealership trying to screw the hopelessly unaware... (tjl)

Quote, originally posted by tjl »

You'd better inspect your wife's car carefully for sabotage or incompetent work (e.g. putting conventional oil in your 1.8T so that it will sludge up). Given that you have found that the dealer appears to be incompetent, and you insulted them in front of a customer, it would not be a good idea to ever visit that dealer again.

That's why I change my own oil. Honestly there are only 2 or 3 people I would trust to actually put what they said they did in there.
And yea, dealers suck. I had my car there for 2 weeks and the total bill was $5,500 or so and at the end of 2 weeks my battery was dead, and they still wanted $100 labor to change my battery! WTF

 

[TurboPGT]

Haha to answer a few Q's..... Fortunately it was the VW service department that i was at so I doubt Audi got wind of it until after i left and i doubt i'll have to go to the VW side ever for service on my GTI, mainly because i'll be voiding my warranty soon and unless its gettin done for free i do my own work...
...Also, i am aware that Audi may skimp me on the oil since they are free oil changes, thats why i have one of these http://www.visgage.com/pocket.html.....
And NO she didn't return any favors, I'm married, Jeez. My wife wasn't thrilled that I did that, but the lady gave me 50 bucks and when i came home with 50 dollars my wife was satisfied that nothing else happened...mainly because if I had 50 dollars she would have known already because she would have given it to me, lol.

 

[lsc2g]

i hope you got a kiss on the cheek for you good deed

 

[jroman201]

Re: (lsc2g)

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif for helping a fellow dubber out.....

 

[turbosilver]

Re: (jroman201)

Amen to that man, good shizz...
Yeah it happen to me when this lady was in need of a second key to her jetta and dealer said 300 dollars when i just helped my friend to do the same thing for 60 bux, i just couldnt stand there and let them rip her off... A yeah results, never took my car there again

 

[wrcspz]

Re: (turbosilver)

Did you mention to her that you need to keep cleaning the MAF to prevent from happening again and that more times than not the MAF needs to be replaced? You may mask the symptoms, but alot of times problem still resides. I work at a dealer, not AUDI/VW but highline german, and unfortunately there are alot of unscrupulous people out there, but you are not being truthful by lumping everyone together like that. You may have had a bad experience, but guess what, most people don't. If they truly were as bad as some people make them out to be, VW, AUDI and what not would not be in business anymore. So relax yourself, and if it weren't for the dealerships, what would you be driving??

 

[rs4-380]

Re: (wrcspz)

so are you going to be there when her cel comes on again in a week and a half?
Cleaning a dead maf still leaves you with a dead maf, that is why dealers, and anybody who IS looking out for the best interest of the customer, will replace it. "Cleaning" it does nothing other than temporarily alleviate the issue.

 

[cky3k]

Re: (rs4-380)

Quote, originally posted by rs4-380 »

so are you going to be there when her cel comes on again in a week and a half? Cleaning a dead maf still leaves you with a dead maf, that is why dealers, and anybody who IS looking out for the best interest of the customer, will replace it. "Cleaning" it does nothing other than temporarily alleviate the issue.

BURN!
but doenst she just need a new MAF then? not a water pump? wasnt the dealer still way the f off?

 

[[email protected]]

did u get her number??? this might have to be my new way of dating

 

[rs4-380]

Re: (cky3k)

heres the thing. The poster overheard something, and immediatley jumped to conclusions. How do you know that the woman did not have 100 thousand miles on her car and the service manager, looking at the service history in front of him noticed she never had a timing belt done. That is something most customers don't pay a whole lot of attention to, and looking out for the customers best interest, he suggested doing it while she was there. In addition, they, like all of us VW know-it-alls here, knew that the water pumps are a problem, and everyone knows that if you are doing the t-belt, you may as well do the waterpump, so he suggested that as well. In the meantime, I am sure they would hook up the computer to the car, see what they could find anything that would point to stuttering, and then go from there.
You however heard a couple things, butted in, and diagnosed the problem on the spot. You could be right, I don't know, but the thing is, neither do you, and you certainly didn't have all the tools at your disposal to unequivocally say that was the problem, unlike the factory trained technicians at the dealership. What I do know, is that "cleaning" the maf is at best a temporary fix, which is why no dealer will ever do it. Meanwhile, when her timing belt snaps, and destroys her head, maybe she'll come to you asking if you can "clean it".
If you weren't already leaving, I would be surprised if you were not asked to leave. I would also be interested to see how you were treated next time you came in for service.

 

[JKREW]

Re: (rs4-380)

^^^ BAHAHAHAHA wow, um, pwned, meet you. You, meet pwned.

 

[sebastianjbauer]

Re: Another stealership trying to screw the hopelessly unaware... (TurboPGT)

 

[Zuber Speed]

Re: (JKREW)

Quote, originally posted by JKREW »

^^^ BAHAHAHAHA wow, um, pwned, meet you. You, meet pwned.

LOL!