Roof bellows warranty replacement. ' Am I being picky'

CannonDale · Apr 7, 2017

My bellows have just been replaced but the thick webbing band at the front does not line up through the centre of the van which means the corners are not exactly on the corner and there is a slight ripple in the fabric on the left side of the bellows. They are going to remove and refit. This picture shows how the old one was, perfect centre. the new bellows were an inch to the right or even a bit more. Should have done it myself. I did wonder if I should have just accepted it and driven off with the van. Something to be mindful of if you ever have to replace the bellows.

CaliforniaDAN · Apr 8, 2017

Assuming your California is in warranty and the bellows were replaced by an authorised dealer/repairer, you should at LEAST expect your vehicle to be back to the condition it was in prior to the bellows needed replacing.

Hotel California · Apr 8, 2017

If this is the picture of how it was before we can only give comment if you show us how it is now....

CannonDale · Apr 8, 2017

CannonDale said:
My bellows have just been replaced but the thick webbing band at the front does not line up through the centre of the van which means the corners are not exactly on the corner and there is a slight ripple in the fabric on the left side of the bellows. They are going to remove and refit. This picture shows how the old one was, perfect centre. the new bellows were an inch to the right or even a bit more. Should have done it myself. I did wonder if I should have just accepted it and driven off with the van. Something to be mindful of if you ever have to replace the bellows.View attachment 20446

The bellows were removed and refitted, they now look the same as the picture above which is great and the van is back on the drive. This was done under warranty and by a VW dealer. If you have bellows replaced remember to check that they are lined up correctly.

ArunAlec · Apr 8, 2017

I'd love to know the percentage of jobs customers bounce back to VW due to poor workmanship! You end up feeling grateful to get your Cali back in the condition you handed it over in.

CaliCrazy · Apr 8, 2017

How did you manage to get your bellows replaced under warranty?

CannonDale · Apr 9, 2017

CaliCrazy said:
How did you manage to get your bellows replaced under warranty?

There was a small hole in the bellows when I picked it up hence the replacement, it was very small and I probably would not have noticed it if it had not been pointed out to me. It was so small that I was thinking twice about having the work done. Good news is that they have also given me the old bellows, if I damage the new ones I now have a replacement that I would fit myself. The dealer ended up doing a good job.

soulstyledevon · Apr 9, 2017

ArunAlec said:
I'd love to know the percentage of jobs customers bounce back to VW due to poor workmanship! You end up feeling grateful to get your Cali back in the condition you handed it over in.

Volkswagen should re-think their California network plan. They struggle with having the correct skills and knowledge with this specialist vehicle. They would be better to place 4 California/Caravelle centres around the UK which have the correctly trained staff with thorough knowledge of the product.

Jabberwocky · Apr 9, 2017

CannonDale said:
There was a small hole in the bellows when I picked it up hence the replacement, it was very small and I probably would not have noticed it if it had not been pointed out to me. It was so small that I was thinking twice about having the work done. Good news is that they have also given me the old bellows, if I damage the new ones I now have a replacement that I would fit myself. The dealer ended up doing a good job.

Every cloud..........?

Mark13 · Apr 10, 2017

I say you're absolutely right, always be picky; painful experience suggests you just have to be, and its a lot less hassle than trying to sort it out afterwards with VW. And some dealers are so much better than others, completely agree VW should work out a decent network plan.

DavidKeith · Apr 10, 2017

soulstyledevon said:
Volkswagen should re-think their California network plan. They struggle with having the correct skills and knowledge with this specialist vehicle. They would be better to place 4 California/Caravelle centres around the UK which have the correctly trained staff with thorough knowledge of the product.

I agree wholeheartedly. I've had a bad experience with my local VW Van Centre with regard to competency!

Jabberwocky · Apr 10, 2017

Mark13 said:
I say you're absolutely right, always be picky; painful experience suggests you just have to be, and its a lot less hassle than trying to sort it out afterwards with VW. And some dealers are so much better than others, completely agree VW should work out a decent network plan.

Defining right and wrong is a good thing to do. It only gets picky if the other party fails to agree with your position which in the context of Customer Service is something they should think about very seriously.

CannonDale · Apr 10, 2017

Jabberwocky said:
Defining right and wrong is a good thing to do. It only gets picky if the other party fails to agree with your position which in the context of Customer Service is something they should think about very seriously.

Well they had to do it twice, in future they will make sure that it is lined up which is good news for other people having theirs replaced.