****ty Dealer Service

[04lss]

So, I purchased a 2009 passat wagon turbo on car friday from Priority VW in Richmond VA. As part of my sales deal they had to fix a loud tire noise. The dealer replaced the two front tires and gave it back. Only fixed the noise in the front. Have another apointment to get it fixed AGAIN.
Then i noticed, the car was missing a center cap from the passenger wheel. after looking closer i noticed the tires were the WRONG SIZE the tire panell in the door clearly notes 235's for the car while the dealer installed 225s. (accounting for my trip meter being off- i did the math) I also notice the rear has two different tire brands. The service manager hasn't returned my call so im going down tomorrow.


With the tires being smaller (i did the math) my extended warranty will fail 1000 miles sooner, over 50,000 or so miles i drive mean 51 on the odometer, basically it cheats me out of resale value and warranty length

On another note. The dealer Never Detailed the car, i found dried coke under the cup holder mats and had to clean the entire car.


I would expect this from a "bad Credit" dealership but a reputable company.

I am LIVID

[FordMan77]

That's some crap. I'd stand there until everything is corrected as far as the tires are concerned and replace the missing centercap (which is probably on the mechanics tray).

Even if it was an "as-is" sale, I would think the OEM tire size should have been installed. As far as them being the same brand, I doubt that is covered as long as they all are the correct size probably out of luck there.

And the detailing thing, well I guess that is up to the dealer as well. Both the Ford's I bought used were detailed inside and out and came with a full tank of fuel. The first one I demanded that at the time of the sale before I signed the paperwork. The second one (same dealer) I was remembered and they made it look as new as they could for a 5 year old car, which was excellent, and they changed the oil beforehand. My dealer even went over it with me before we left the lot just to make sure I was happy. Still get christmas cards from him, lol... And this wasn't a bad credit place, but an actual Ford dealership in my area.

Hopefully they will at least get the tire sizes to match for you. Maybe VW isn't "Das Auto"?

[04lss]

Yeah, Im not expecting them to replace the rear tires, (except under fixing the noise thing) however i find it shoddy. I purchaesed cars from this auto group before and they were detailed.
I just find it distasteful. getting service done to maintain the warranty is going to cost, and im having done elsewhere if they cant even put the right tires on.

[Slick2500]

Ah stealerships.

[stealthee]

You are overcalculating the difference in mileage. Based on a quick Google stock size is 235/45/17. If they put 225/45/17 the tire size is .354" smaller. When the speedo shows 60 you are doing about 59.2 mph. Based on that it would only be a difference of approximately 1400 miles over 100,000. BUT your tires aren't going to last that long and you could put the correct size on later.

[04lss]

True i was slightly exagerating, however, i have a 50k warranty i paid for, and the tires should last most of that shortening the length of the warranty. Its just not right. The numbers are not that big but its the principle, im being screwed, it may just be the tip, but im still being screwed. if it was just this id let it go, but everything with the service department there has been an issue.

[April Thompson]

My middle brother got the shaft in May when he bought his Grand Caravan; we had to replace the rear pads, rotors & the LR calliper within two months; one of the shocks is rusted through; the clock spring's junk and it sympathetically knocks out the ESC, and Bryan's fed up with Green Chevrolet-Chrysler in East Moline, IL. I can't disagree; I just simply tried to get ahold of them to reprogram my DIC at their Buick location... and they didn't even answer their phones!

[nik12937]

...I have to be missing something here. 225/235 is section width, if both tires are 45R17 then the diameter of both tires is identical. Different width tires shouldn't change wheel speed.

[stealthee]

You are missing something. The section width affects the height in the calculation

For 235/45/17 235 is indeed the section width at 235 mm. The 45 is a percentage of the width to determine the sidewall height so 235 x .45 = 105.75. Since there are two sidewalls you have to multiply that by 2 which equals 211.5. Divide that number by 25.4 to convert to inches, then add the rim diameter to get total diameter, which is 25.33 inches.

Using the same calculations 225/45/17 is 24.97 inches.

[04lss]

I Opened a ticket with VWoA and basically said im working with them tonight if they dont agree to fix it ill let you guys take over.
Within thirty minutes (I dont think its related tbh) i got a call from the dealer saying they Goofed and will fix it, no charge on friday.

Im feeling a little better about there honesty, but still very unimpressed by quality.

[WhiteLightningGTP]

Chances are, the dealer doesn't detail the cars. They likely send them to a local detail shop to be done. You really don't think they're going to inspect under the cup holder mats for every car that comes through, do you?

Hope you get the rest figured out.

[Slick2500]

Chances are, the dealer doesn't detail the cars. They likely send them to a local detail shop to be done. You really don't think they're going to inspect under the cup holder mats for every car that comes through, do you?

Hope you get the rest figured out.

For the amount they charge for a detail they sure a **** better.

Sent from my Galaxy Far Far Away

[nik12937]

You are missing something. The section width affects the height in the calculation

For 235/45/17 235 is indeed the section width at 235 mm. The 45 is a percentage of the width to determine the sidewall height so 235 x .45 = 105.75. Since there are two sidewalls you have to multiply that by 2 which equals 211.5. Divide that number by 25.4 to convert to inches, then add the rim diameter to get total diameter, which is 25.33 inches.

Using the same calculations 225/45/17 is 24.97 inches.

Oh geez, major brainfart on my end. I appreciate the clarification, I must have been thinking the percentage was related to rim size in some way.

It's really dependant on the dealership from what I've heard talking to technicians I know. It tends to come down to relations between the service manager and higher-ups (whether the service manager can convince it's worth the dealership's money paying the techs to get into the smaller stuff), and also how the service manager him/herself views finer details. On top of that you also have technicians that are just sloppy with their work at times. At the least it is good that the fault was admitted without issue. It can be baffling how difficult it is to convince dealership's that they made a mistake when working with the customer will always net them higher profit in the long-run.

[WhiteLightningGTP]

For the amount they charge for a detail they sure a **** better.

Sent from my Galaxy Far Far Away

Dealers pay next to nothing for used car details. Hence why they often cut corners. I'm sure here and there, you get a car that is done completely the right way, or maybe even a shop itself that does good work for reasonable prices, but it's very few and far between.