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Dealer review - advice sought on how to proceed

AlisonF

AlisonF

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T6.1 Beach camper 150
I thought I'd share my experience to date with my dealer. For obvious reasons I am not mentioning here which dealer....

On ordering (2nd September 2015)

- I had downloaded the brochure from their website and marked off the options I wanted (quite simply, 204 DSG 4 Motion, Navigation Plus, Multi function steering wheel and Safe).

- I was not informed until almost completing the order that I would receive a T6 rather than a T5 (the brochure on the website). When I asked what differences I was told ‘some change in shape at the front, that’s about it’ or words to that effect

- I was not informed of a month to firm up my order (is this standard?)

- I was not informed of other options that were available (e.g. the dealer selected without my knowledge the double glazing for rear windscreen with windscreen wiper. Fortunately he didn’t mention the seats as I would be in swivelgate right now...I’d be interested to know what other options I didn’t know about...)

On collection (1st March 2016)

- The dealer visibly raised his eyebrows when I turned up with a male neighbour and I produced a checklist (“not one of those checklists”).

- I ordered rear bumper protector and door sill protectors - they arrived in opposite colours to what I had ordered

- On fitting the rear bumper protector there is dirt trapped underneath

- I had ordered ‘door handle cup’ protectors. These did not arrive.

- There was a cup and holder which I had not ordered - the dealer did not know it was a freebie, confused it with the above and so kept the cup :-(

- He showed me the net and said ‘that’s the storage net’. I said ok, I didn’t order that, where’s the safety net, which is standard. He replied it wasn’t. I believe my net is the safety net and he didn’t know it was, nor that it was standard

- I asked about the capacity of the water tank and waste tank - he was unable to give me the answer

- He was unable to tell me which icons on the panel referred to water tank and waste water levels

- He had to refer to the manual as didn’t know how to empty water tank or waste water tank

- He was unable to tell me which icons referred to the leisure battery charge level

- He was unable to tell me where the main fuse is or how to replace it

- There was no mention of the recommendation to sterilise the water tank before use (maybe a minor point)

- “You’ll need to get a charge cable” - minor point, I’d already bought one, but would have been nice to have known earlier on in the process as he knew I was departing in a few days on my first trip

- He was clearly aware of the LHS door pillar ‘moulding fault’ as was very quick to say it was part of the fabrication and not a fault...

- When I asked about the swivelling chair confusion he denied there had even been an issue (really????)

- There was a scratch on the sliding door (around 0.5 cm diameter)

- There was dirt on the upholstery on the inside of the door (which I had spotted at pre-inspection and asked for it to be cleaned, which it wasn't and I had to insist it was unacceptable for handover before they offered to clean it on collection)

- At pre handover inspection there were muddy foot prints on the carpets - again I asked for these to be cleaned

Contractually

- Three things appear on my final contract which were not on my original order:

1) Bluetooth Handsfree Set With Coupling Box and WLAN (9IF) - £245 (this additional amount has then been removed from my total bill)
2) Guide & Inform Package - Contract Duration: 1 Year (Z97) £0
3) SD Card (Europe) (7RE) £0
by this stage I just wanted to leave so will need to contact them for explanation unless anyone can help?

- I was informed I could not get a Service Plan as had not taken out a finance package

- I was informed I could not get the Extended Warranty through them but would need to contact VWCS (I asked for contact details but haven’t been given them)

On exit

As I was leaving he said that his bonus is part of his salary and he only gets it if people give an ‘exceptional’ on their feedback...

Clearly, this list is being refined and updated and will be sent to VWCS. However, I would be very appreciative of any advice and comments from others and what to do with this info... Am I being too picky or was this simply shoddy and unacceptable for £55k?
 
I think I would have asked to speak to someone who knew the vehicle and the products they sell. I would never have accepted such poor service and a one to one with the dealer principle would have taken place.
 
Thanks Rich - this was the dealers only VW Cali rep... I did pop in another weekend after ordering to have a look at something and the one guy in that weekend didn't leave his desk and said he didn't know Cali's and left me to it... So it seems I was dealing with the most Cali educated guy at the dealers. he ho
 
I thought I'd share my experience to date with my dealer. For obvious reasons I am not mentioning here which dealer....

On ordering (2nd September 2015)

- I had downloaded the brochure from their website and marked off the options I wanted (quite simply, 204 DSG 4 Motion, Navigation Plus, Multi function steering wheel and Safe).

- I was not informed until almost completing the order that I would receive a T6 rather than a T5 (the brochure on the website). When I asked what differences I was told ‘some change in shape at the front, that’s about it’ or words to that effect

- I was not informed of a month to firm up my order (is this standard?)

- I was not informed of other options that were available (e.g. the dealer selected without my knowledge the double glazing for rear windscreen with windscreen wiper. Fortunately he didn’t mention the seats as I would be in swivelgate right now...I’d be interested to know what other options I didn’t know about...)

On collection (1st March 2016)

- The dealer visibly raised his eyebrows when I turned up with a male neighbour and I produced a checklist (“not one of those checklists”).

- I ordered rear bumper protector and door sill protectors - they arrived in opposite colours to what I had ordered

- On fitting the rear bumper protector there is dirt trapped underneath

- I had ordered ‘door handle cup’ protectors. These did not arrive.

- There was a cup and holder which I had not ordered - the dealer did not know it was a freebie, confused it with the above and so kept the cup :-(

- He showed me the net and said ‘that’s the storage net’. I said ok, I didn’t order that, where’s the safety net, which is standard. He replied it wasn’t. I believe my net is the safety net and he didn’t know it was, nor that it was standard

- I asked about the capacity of the water tank and waste tank - he was unable to give me the answer

- He was unable to tell me which icons on the panel referred to water tank and waste water levels

- He had to refer to the manual as didn’t know how to empty water tank or waste water tank

- He was unable to tell me which icons referred to the leisure battery charge level

- He was unable to tell me where the main fuse is or how to replace it

- There was no mention of the recommendation to sterilise the water tank before use (maybe a minor point)

- “You’ll need to get a charge cable” - minor point, I’d already bought one, but would have been nice to have known earlier on in the process as he knew I was departing in a few days on my first trip

- He was clearly aware of the LHS door pillar ‘moulding fault’ as was very quick to say it was part of the fabrication and not a fault...

- When I asked about the swivelling chair confusion he denied there had even been an issue (really????)

- There was a scratch on the sliding door (around 0.5 cm diameter)

- There was dirt on the upholstery on the inside of the door (which I had spotted at pre-inspection and asked for it to be cleaned, which it wasn't and I had to insist it was unacceptable for handover before they offered to clean it on collection)

- At pre handover inspection there were muddy foot prints on the carpets - again I asked for these to be cleaned

Contractually

- Three things appear on my final contract which were not on my original order:

1) Bluetooth Handsfree Set With Coupling Box and WLAN (9IF) - £245 (this additional amount has then been removed from my total bill)
2) Guide & Inform Package - Contract Duration: 1 Year (Z97) £0
3) SD Card (Europe) (7RE) £0
by this stage I just wanted to leave so will need to contact them for explanation unless anyone can help?

- I was informed I could not get a Service Plan as had not taken out a finance package

- I was informed I could not get the Extended Warranty through them but would need to contact VWCS (I asked for contact details but haven’t been given them)

On exit

As I was leaving he said that his bonus is part of his salary and he only gets it if people give an ‘exceptional’ on their feedback...

Clearly, this list is being refined and updated and will be sent to VWCS. However, I would be very appreciative of any advice and comments from others and what to do with this info... Am I being too picky or was this simply shoddy and unacceptable for £55k?
Alison - sadly your experience sounds similar to mine. There are clearly some dealers who know the Cali inside out (from positive comments on this forum) but many others seem to have little idea.

As you'll have seen from my thread about parking sensors I am in 'discussion' with my dealer. I am still hopeful that my issues were down to personnel change and that the dealer will now go the extra mile to address the issue. Fingers crossed.

I don't think you are being picky. £55K is a huge investment. It's also way higher than the average sale at a van dealer so you would have though we would be top of the list for attention.

I do believe that you are still being give incorrect information regarding the service plan and extended warranty. The service plan is heavily discounted if you take finance but should still be available at a higher cost if you don't. I spoke directly to VW about the warranty. I was told that the extended warranty can ONLY be bought through a dealer. Perhaps you will get more joy talking to the service department rather than sales. I'm not sure about the service pack but the warranty extension can be bought up to 3 months after first registration.
 
Thanks Alison for the comprehensive feedback on your handover. Not picky.

Have a long check list ( thanks to collection/ handover forum feedback ie remote calibrated with Cali etc) which is getting longer each day to send to the dealer pre delivery. We are travelling a far distance to collect the Ocean. So plan to be near for 2 days in case of any concerns. Will want confirmation all our ordered options are present before we travel.

Keep the feedback coming.
Many thanks everyone
 
Thanks guys. Really appreciate the feedback. Please put any experiences on handover onto the checklist forum or PM as I will update that list next week as promised and pass back to forum moderators for posting.

I remembered another couple of points in the meantime...

- The dealer could not get the windscreen blinds to work on pre-inspection (the model he had shown at order was a T5 without blinds). He tried several times and the blinds would not fix into the mechanism above the rear view mirror and kept ‘pinging’ back across the window. To avoid damage I asked him to stop trying and sort it for handover a few days later. It turned out the 'spring' mechanism in the clips above rear view mirror weren't set correctly (I suspect they had been input the wrong way round as it was pulling the opposite way to what it does now)

- He was unable to demonstrate the swivelling of the driver’s seat. He did not pull the seat forward, put down the arm rest or check the steering wheel was upright. He started to do small manoeuvers back and forth and trying to swivel round and shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'this is what you need to do' until I asked him to stop (as worried he would damage the van). I can now do it easily in one motion after only 3 attempts...
 
Hi Alison, you're definitely not being picky and instances like these need to be fed back to VWCC... 'Excellent' indeed. We were presented with BS like this and quite frankly we were/are not impressed with the request.

As outlined previously, our dealer; Vindis in Northampton; were comparatively good in both pre sales and delivery hand-over [unfortunately we have experienced less than adequate customer service post delivery]. It does seem to us that commercial van dealerships are simply not able or are just ill equipped to look after such a premium priced product. We get the feeling that most of us buy the product to gain access to a certain lifestyle (albeit a perceived one) and VW should do everything to ensure that this is maintained; especially as it tends to sell more product.

I dont know if VWCC read any of these comments and/or does anything about them but a continually disgruntled customer base tend to make their feelings felt by moving somewhere else... noticeable by their absence.

Touch wood, the niggles that we still have are relatively minor and as a consequence we are able to use the van as intended and are very much looking forward to our first meet in Tewksbury in a couple of week's time: Although we hope it doesn't descend into a collective moan session!

Hope to see you and others there. Cheers Deborah and Cliff [and Ellie].
 
Sadly this is not unusual.

The California is a first class product delivered often with third class service.

This whole sorry saga needs inputting to VWCS and if nothing comes from that then splattering it all over the VW Commercial Facebook page normally provokes some form of response.
 
It is a disgrace that these sales people can get away with treating customers like this. You are between a rock and hard place as not only do you have issues that need sorting out, but you are dealing with people that don't understand the issues. Very frustrating. My only suggestion for what it is worth, is to keep doing your research and gather together as much info as you can so that when you are discussing the problems you can show them documents or website pages that can back you up. I fear you may be brushed aside otherwise.
 
From the comment I have seen on here there are some very poor dealers some excellent ones and some who fall between the two. There are many things in life where you do not get a choice but picking which dealer you buy from is one of them. In cases where the dealer clearly does not know the product I would urge people to just go somewhere else.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Sorry to read all the issues you have had Alison, & others. There is a section on Dealer Reviews on the Forums down the bottom end of the list. Would be interesting to see if other people have written similar comments about your dealerships on there.
We were very lucky. We went to South Hereford Garages which is a fair distance from us as we had been told they were very good. They haven't separated the Commercial & Car sales and we had an excellent demonstration when we first saw the Cali. A good handover that was not hurried and every question was fully answered. The only subsequent issue I had was a faulty armrest, this was replaced under warranty whilst I waited as I was on route to Snowdonia.
My local dealer was not so knowledgeable about the vehicle which I why we went the extra miles to South Hereford.

I think you are being very reasonable Alison. For that amount of money you are entitled to expect all the items you have ordered and for their operation to be explained fully by someone who understands what they do and how they work. Simon
 
Sorry to hear this Alison, I have had very similar problems. I think it would help others if you named the dealer, it would not only help potential purchasers but you may also hear from other people that used that dealer.

Good luck
 
double glazing for rear windscreen with windscreen wiper.
I think that is the default/standard for the Cali SE/Ocean.

Dreadful service and worth naming and shaming. He obviously new b*gger all about the Cali and it's features. That is an unacceptable handover not exceptional.
 
Thanks guys - I posted in the dealer review area but the moderators moved it without telling me. Thanks for letting me know. I'll do all the follow up recommended and then 'ask' where best to post the feedback...

I appreciate the moderators do a great job- but if there's a way of letting people know that you're moving things then that would be appreciated as I really don't need the comments from others to go look in another folder when that's where I posted. The whole handover has been stressful enough on it's own...
 
Thanks guys - I posted in the dealer review area but the moderators moved it without telling me. Thanks for letting me know. I'll do all the follow up recommended and then 'ask' where best to post the feedback...

I appreciate the moderators do a great job- but if there's a way of letting people know that you're moving things then that would be appreciated as I really don't need the comments from others to go look in another folder when that's where I posted. The whole handover has been stressful enough on it's own...
Ah. I see why the thread was moved. Every thread in the Forum " Dealers Reviews " actually mentions the Dealership involved with a good/bad review.
This Thread has not done so, so far, and strictly speaking is not a review of a named Dealership. Just a discussion about an un-named dealership.
 
The thread was moved because every post in dealers review needed approving. Due to the main point of the thread was advise on what to do about a service I thought it would be better to allow people to discuss it and receive an instant reply.
And it was interrupting my tea
 
Last edited:
Calikev - sorry for interrupting your tea - I'll give more consideration to timing of my posts in future - eek, probably hit the lunchtime pause now.:Nailbiting

I still think it would be handy if when moderators move items they add a reply stating where it was moved from to avoid any confusion...:thumb
 
I thought I'd share my experience to date with my dealer. For obvious reasons I am not mentioning here which dealer....

On ordering (2nd September 2015)

- I had downloaded the brochure from their website and marked off the options I wanted (quite simply, 204 DSG 4 Motion, Navigation Plus, Multi function steering wheel and Safe).

- I was not informed until almost completing the order that I would receive a T6 rather than a T5 (the brochure on the website). When I asked what differences I was told ‘some change in shape at the front, that’s about it’ or words to that effect

- I was not informed of a month to firm up my order (is this standard?)

- I was not informed of other options that were available (e.g. the dealer selected without my knowledge the double glazing for rear windscreen with windscreen wiper. Fortunately he didn’t mention the seats as I would be in swivelgate right now...I’d be interested to know what other options I didn’t know about...)

On collection (1st March 2016)

- The dealer visibly raised his eyebrows when I turned up with a male neighbour and I produced a checklist (“not one of those checklists”).

- I ordered rear bumper protector and door sill protectors - they arrived in opposite colours to what I had ordered

- On fitting the rear bumper protector there is dirt trapped underneath

- I had ordered ‘door handle cup’ protectors. These did not arrive.

- There was a cup and holder which I had not ordered - the dealer did not know it was a freebie, confused it with the above and so kept the cup :-(

- He showed me the net and said ‘that’s the storage net’. I said ok, I didn’t order that, where’s the safety net, which is standard. He replied it wasn’t. I believe my net is the safety net and he didn’t know it was, nor that it was standard

- I asked about the capacity of the water tank and waste tank - he was unable to give me the answer

- He was unable to tell me which icons on the panel referred to water tank and waste water levels

- He had to refer to the manual as didn’t know how to empty water tank or waste water tank

- He was unable to tell me which icons referred to the leisure battery charge level

- He was unable to tell me where the main fuse is or how to replace it

- There was no mention of the recommendation to sterilise the water tank before use (maybe a minor point)

- “You’ll need to get a charge cable” - minor point, I’d already bought one, but would have been nice to have known earlier on in the process as he knew I was departing in a few days on my first trip

- He was clearly aware of the LHS door pillar ‘moulding fault’ as was very quick to say it was part of the fabrication and not a fault...

- When I asked about the swivelling chair confusion he denied there had even been an issue (really????)

- There was a scratch on the sliding door (around 0.5 cm diameter)

- There was dirt on the upholstery on the inside of the door (which I had spotted at pre-inspection and asked for it to be cleaned, which it wasn't and I had to insist it was unacceptable for handover before they offered to clean it on collection)

- At pre handover inspection there were muddy foot prints on the carpets - again I asked for these to be cleaned

Contractually

- Three things appear on my final contract which were not on my original order:

1) Bluetooth Handsfree Set With Coupling Box and WLAN (9IF) - £245 (this additional amount has then been removed from my total bill)
2) Guide & Inform Package - Contract Duration: 1 Year (Z97) £0
3) SD Card (Europe) (7RE) £0
by this stage I just wanted to leave so will need to contact them for explanation unless anyone can help?

- I was informed I could not get a Service Plan as had not taken out a finance package

- I was informed I could not get the Extended Warranty through them but would need to contact VWCS (I asked for contact details but haven’t been given them)

On exit

As I was leaving he said that his bonus is part of his salary and he only gets it if people give an ‘exceptional’ on their feedback...

Clearly, this list is being refined and updated and will be sent to VWCS. However, I would be very appreciative of any advice and comments from others and what to do with this info... Am I being too picky or was this simply shoddy and unacceptable for £55k?

Which dealer? Yes seems shoddy
 
Hi Alison, the more I read your post, the more upset I felt for you. How would I have handled it? Given the big outlay of money for a Cali, te second goof up of knowing being able to answer / demonstrate I would have stopped junior in his tracks and asked for the mange in charge of the dealership. After all, junior is not on my Xmas mailing list, so what is there to lose? Secondly regarding issue of warranty, I always find, "prove it. The words which have rolled so elegantly and swiftly off your tongue gives me the impression you have recently read about it. Show me the paragraph so I can read it." Usually by this time the juniors of this world have glazed eyes, rising temper tantrum and are happy to find the manager. I also tell them they aren't paid enough money to deal with an ancient with me. Very happily my dealer in Bury St Edmunds is excellent and so are the knowledgeable people on this super forum. I wish you happier times and it is a great vehicle, this Cali. Love my ZuluCampi!
 
Hi Guys (generic term), I appreciate all the feedback. As I was away for a while (haha winning a class at Crufts on our first ever Crufts and 3rd show and first ever trip in the Cali) I haven't got back to this for a while. Anyway, to put things straight,
- I LOVE my Cali and so do the dogs (even the 'autistic' one).
- my dealer has always been friendly - but lacking a lot of knowledge on the Cali (and the sarcastic eyebrow raising on checklist at handover didn't help)
- I seem to have been told some things that are not true around extended warranty, storage / safety net, etc.
- plus some other things where he seemed to just lack knowledge if a Cali where you would expect him to know better
I now have contact with VWCS and will update this post accordingly when I have answers (or not) and then feel I can 'name / shame' as appropriate.
In the meantime, thanks for all your support. I can't even think where I would be without this forum.
 
Hi Guys (generic term), I appreciate all the feedback. As I was away for a while (haha winning a class at Crufts on our first ever Crufts and 3rd show and first ever trip in the Cali)

Was it easy to enter your Cali for crafts? :shocked
 

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