Advice would be appreciated re VWCS

[Walrus]

I have told my tale of woe in the power steering auxiliary belt failure thread. Briefly: it failed in France. New belt fitted by VW Arles at a cost of EU330. No warranty because "it had been damaged by hitting a stone! 1,000 miles later back in the UK it went again and this time was fixed with a kit of adapted parts under warranty because it's a "known fault" (Breeze VW in Poole)

Those who have had successful dealing with VWCS, what's the best approach and what should I be aiming at?At the least I want my Eu330 back. I feel entitled to some compensation for my spoiled holiday in France and the delayed start to my next trip. I had planned to be off last Saturday. The van is a bit under two years old and has done a bit over 10,000 miles. All advice will be gratefully received.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Can they prove damage by a stone? If not then they owe you €330. As for holiday inconvenience? I suspect you will see nothing to help you take the pain away. Maybe a small payment as a gesture of good will as they should have fitted the kit of adapted parts when you were in France there by avoiding the second replacement and consequent holiday delay.

 

[Meoncoast]

Can they prove damage by a stone? I

esp as it went again and Breeze had to use modified parts so I would suspect it was wrong to start with

 

[hirsty]

Repair & parts? - worth asking for €330
Consequential loss & compensation? - unlikely IMO

Would your travel insurance cover any additional costs incurred from the van not being available?

 

[Niborn]

Interesting post, how could it possibly been hit by a stone anyway ?

 

[briwy]

Agree, don't understand how a stone could get in there.
Ours cost 480 euros when it went a couple of months ago. Got it back from our UK dealer.
I'd definitely chase your 330 euros. Good luck

 

[Loz]

As they are unlikely to provide any actual money to repay the the original outlay, perhaps suggest that in compensation they extend your warranty?

 

[Walrus]

Thanks all for your comments. Just got off the phone. At first they said that the first failure was wear and tear and therefore not warrantable so I couldn't recover my money. After some discussion - known fault blah blah - TPi issued etc etc - and anyway the repair failed in less than 1000 miles and has now been fixed properly they are going to ring me back later.

 

[MattBW]

We had a similar thing with Seat recently on a seat that clearly came apart because of a lack of enough fabric to hold the stitching.

They claimed 6 month only on upholstery and said it was our problem. Letter to the top chap and customer services making it clear we were happy to go via consumer law and court and surprise surprise no record of the original conversation and can't do enough.

Sadly its a VW/Seat attitude to try and put the customer off even when they are entitled. Persistence seems to be the key.

 

[Tanya Gander]

I spoke to VWCS when we had the same fault for the first time and they have given me a free service. However, 3 weeks later we have the same problem. So far we have had a replacement Cali, waiting to hear update from SMG.

 

[Walrus]

Breeze rang me back. There will be a cheque in the post within 14 days.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Breeze rang me back. There will be a cheque in the post within 14 days.

 

[hirsty]

nice one, credit to them for stumping up

 

[Loz]

Result!

 

[MattBW]

Interesting, just had a call from Seat (or V did) they are covering the cost of a replacement seat. Results are possible if you are polite but firm. Went from not covered under warranty, to we may contribute towards, to full replacement.

 

[Mark13]

Agree with Matt above - with VVCS, persistence is all.

We've now twice had compensation for quite serious problems that on both occasions resulted in delays to getting away. First was from VWCS after a long, painful, irritatingly time consuming and completely unnecessary struggle, but second was direct from the (good) dealer before we had even thought about it.

I suppose it's possible that there was a connection between the resolution of the two events, but my inner sceptic rather doubts the capacity of VW as an organisation to actually learn from experience.

 

[Robin Brooke]

I had same problem re: aux belt and power steering fail whilst in Spain. Fixed under warranty in Alicante and comp from vwcs of either a) service plan (2xservices) or b) 50% off extending warranty by 1 year.

 

[Walrus]

I had same problem re: aux belt and power steering fail whilst in Spain. Fixed under warranty in Alicante and comp from vwcs of either a) service plan (2xservices) or b) 50% off extending warranty by 1 year.

Interesting Robin. Did you ask or was it offered? Through the dealer or direct with VWCS? More importantly, has the repair lasted?

 

[Robin Brooke]

Interesting Robin. Did you ask or was it offered? Through the dealer or direct with VWCS? More importantly, has the repair lasted?

You have to ask, be clear what you want and why (able to substantiate), then persistence helps. This was via VWCS whilst I was travelling.

 

[wilde1]

Hi all, we have had a week away in Scotland planned for some time now, ferry's booked, campsites booked etc, we set off from York yesterday and got as far as Kirby Stephen on the A66 then it all started, coil light started to flash and engine light on, limp mode, phoned VW assistance, AA came out said it was the intake manifold flap stuck shut and required recovery back to York to home dealer!! As of yet still no news on the van which is a 67 plate with only 5000 mile on the clock, needless to say I have had to cancel all my plans and no holiday has anybody been in this position and is it worth contacting VWCS to try for compensation or would I be wasting my time, you pay alot of money for these quality vehicles and expect them to be slightly more reliable, any advice welcome

 

[WelshGas]

Hi all, we have had a week away in Scotland planned for some time now, ferry's booked, campsites booked etc, we set off from York yesterday and got as far as Kirby Stephen on the A66 then it all started, coil light started to flash and engine light on, limp mode, phoned VW assistance, AA came out said it was the intake manifold flap stuck shut and required recovery back to York to home dealer!! As of yet still no news on the van which is a 67 plate with only 5000 mile on the clock, needless to say I have had to cancel all my plans and no holiday has anybody been in this position and is it worth contacting VWCS to try for compensation or would I be wasting my time, you pay alot of money for these quality vehicles and expect them to be slightly more reliable, any advice welcome

Sorry to hear that. 67 plate should be a T6 but your Avatar information says T5 180.
If it is a T6, this problem has been mentioned at least once before. Never heard it mentioned on a T5.
Unfortunately modern vehicles are very complicated and sophisticated and these things can happen. That’s why there is a warranty.
Worth talking to VWCS, but compensation unlikely. You should be able to get a loan vehicle though.

 

[wilde1]

Sorry to hear that. 67 plate should be a T6 but your Avatar information says T5 180.
If it is a T6, this problem has been mentioned at least once before. Never heard it mentioned on a T5.
Unfortunately modern vehicles are very complicated and sophisticated and these things can happen. That’s why there is a warranty.
Worth talking to VWCS, but compensation unlikely. You should be able to get a loan vehicle though.

Hi yes sorry it is a t6 ocean 150 dsg, I have just got of the phone to the dealer and they have fixed it, apparently it was a vacuum pipe which had come off? At that point I did mention that the AA guy had some vacuum pipes off and just hope that he didn't leave one off and the actual fault comes back as I'm in the process of replanning our trip for next week, the dealer says they have been out for a long road test and all is fine, I'm praying he is right and it doesn't let me down again next week it's annoying because if the AA guy had seen this pipe I could of carried on with my journey, the joys of motoring

 

[Doorbundle]

It would be good to know the age/mileage of the affected vehicles.

 

[WelshGas]

It would be good to know the age/mileage of the affected vehicles.

I think the one I can remember was low milage but not sure what the actual repair was or even if it was mentioned.

 

[PAKlite]

Had exactly the same issue with my 16 plate with 27,000 miles on clock in February. I booked 2 nights on a campsite in the Cotswolds on the morning of my departure. 25 miles down the road coil light flashing, limp mode and message on mfd saying auto stop start problem. VW assist said it was the inlet manifold flap stuck shut and advised ok to drive home after test driving Cali to find restarting engine would reset system when it went into limp mode. Campsite wouldn’t refund my booking but said they would honour the two nights if I came back in the future.

Not as big a deal as yours I know, but still my short break holiday plans were messed up and a lot of wasted time and energy getting it sorted - and a new inlet manifold fitted under warranty. I did claim my 2 paid for nights about a month later when I finally made it to The Cotswolds. I’m retired so can go away more or less when I please. I didn’t bother contacting VWCS to try for any compensation, and it’s not the first time I’ve had warranty problems causing wasted time and inconvenience! Agree for the cost of these ‘quality’ vehicles we should expect much better reliability.

Sorry I can’t offer you any advice, just wanting to share my similar experience.