Does VW have a monopoly?

[treecity]

/Rant

I can't believe how many threads and posts there suddenly are about dreadful pre and after sales for the Cali.

It seems as if VW is treating their customers and potential customers with utter contempt and this goes for some of their dealer network as well.

The crazy thing is I am still sitting here with open cheque book waiting to order.

We should form a pressure group and make sure that our collective voice is heard by the Board at VW HQ in the UK as well as in Germany

/end Rant

 

[Shaun]

/Rant

I can't believe how many threads and posts there suddenly are about dreadful pre and after sales for the Cali.

It seems as if VW is treating their customers and potential customers with utter contempt and this goes for some of their dealer network as well.

The crazy thing is I am still sitting here with open cheque book waiting to order.

We should form a pressure group and make sure that our collective voice is heard by the Board at VW HQ in the UK as well as in Germany

/end Rant

Probably,
VW seem to have an almost cult like following , mainly from people who have been in the "Scene" for many years , the same people whom have run the older well built go anywhere reliable Volkswagens that were built over 30 years ago.
Most of these followers have decided that a more modern comfortable vehicle would be easier to live with as they get older.
It comes as quite a shock to fork out 40k plus and then discover that VW have gone the same way as most other manufacturers in both build quality and customer service.
Progress ?

 

[GrannyJen]

The Cali is an excellent vehicle mechanically.

VW should have kept to building base vehicles.

There ability to understand the camper market is questionable and their ability to service the sold campers is without doubt negligible.

The cali, almost by accident, is a fabulous vehicle. The builders are like cowboys who say "what's up??! The walls are ok and the floor is level, so what if the roof leaks!"

 

[pjm-84]

Yes I think they do. I said I would never buy a VAG again but the Cali won me over (5min flat) on its versatility and lack of depreciation.

Agree with GJ.. Very much builders.

 

[SimplyDubs]

people whom have run the older well built go anywhere reliable Volkswagens that were built over 30 years ago

It's an interesting perspective, which you find in any vehicle forum, club or set of enthusiasts... VW, Landrover, Ford etc...

The reality is that VW's (and most vehicles for that matter) have always been inherently unreliable. I've had many VW's over the decades and every one has had it's problems... In fact it's fixing those problems that normally start these types of group. A shared interest in sorting things out.

This forum itself developed as an offshoot of a Facebook page and website created by an early owner who did it to raise awareness of the issues he was having with VW and push them into action. (Both those have now passed into other hands as the guy no longer has Cali's)

Splits were about the worst vehicle I've ever seen in terms of reliability... but they were easy to fix, the same goes for the Bays. Even when they were nearly new, many spent an amount of time on blocks on peoples drives. They were not well built... I know, I've still got several... but they were simple and we love fixing them. The only reason we see so many still on the road is due to major restoration work by enthusiasts.

Our expectations have increased, the complexity has increased, as has the reliability... but also the cost.

Unfortunately when it comes to the Cali, we're talking about commercial vehicles, sold and serviced through commercial dealer networks which are set up to work with a particular type of client and it's not the luxury vehicle owner. Trust me, VW commercial is better than most commercial dealers networks (and customer service) but that's still way off the private car market.

I remember my early discussion with various dealers 8 years ago when first looking... painful to say the very least but was expected...

Many of the comments on here I tend to agree with.

With the spilt from Wetfalia in the early 2000's due to the partial acquisition by Daimler-Chrysler, VW pretty much copied the layout of the California, put some serious automotive industry development funds and technology into it, giving something slightly different to the market. (With some of the associated issues) - I personally would have preferred a Westy version, supported by a company with a VERY long history in the camper market with an expected level of support from VW for the van itself. (I know many people wouldn't like this degree of complexity but I prefer people to be expert in what they do)

It's still a conversion, as we know but it's done on a dedicated VW staffed production line, but it's a small part of the commercial market. Unfortunately as such, the dedicated production line cannot be replicated when it comes to the dealer and service network, so we end up with normal (and worryingly above average) commercial support.

We have high expectations, driven by the cost and the clientele which are unlikely to ever be met.

It's only 2% of their overall commercial vehicle production/sales after all... we are VERY much a tiny minority.

Don't think this helps...

Rgds

Mark

 

[briwy]

The recent spate of people with problems could be due to the fact that quite a number of people don't use their vans much except in the warmer months of the year so as the vans get used problems surface.
Vehicles should be used, preferably all the time. Most problems appear to be electrically based and unused vehicles will retain damp more readily giving rise to corrosion in connectors etc. Even a small amount of corrosion in a connector can cause a problem with todays fancy systems.

 

[GrannyJen]

I don't think that the above could apply to me, or indeed, my electrical problems

 

[briwy]

I know Jen, I wasn't referring to your charging problem.
Perhaps the opposite is true of you, maybe you've just worn it out.

 

[rippers]

Yes I do think VW have a Monopoly

 

[jts46]

I know Jen, I wasn't referring to your charging problem.
Perhaps the opposite is true of you, maybe you've just worn it out.

Maybe i have worn mine out, but after 124,000 miles have had no problems apart from the roof corrosion on the front panel, that VW refuse to repair under warranty

John