Need advice: Should this be covered under warranty? (VW content)

[Alext]

Recently my partner's 1 year old VW Beetle had a chrome finishing cap break off her handbrake button. It is actually the bit you press and last week it simply snapped off when she pressed it in.

It appears to be very weakly attached cheap plastic.

Now I went to the dealership and they didnt know whether it would be covered, inspite of me explaining it broke off during NORMAL OPERATION. How else is this supposed to happen? Eventually they emailed VW and they stated it would NOT be covered and a whole handbrake set has to be ordered for a vast sum of money as they couldnt just replace the cap!

Anyway I did a bit of research and it appears to be a common issue and they do indeed have to replace the entire handbrake assembly.

But where do I stand with this...VW's warranty clearly states that the car is covered for a period of 3 years for any "material faults"?

I would have expected this to be covered without question. Bear in mind the vehicle is only a year old so its not acceptable wear and tear.

[E92325i]

Originally Posted by Alext

Recently my partner's 1 year old VW Beetle had a chrome finishing cap break off her handbrake button. It is actually the bit you press and last week it simply snapped off when she pressed it in.

It appears to be very weakly attached cheap plastic.

Now I went to the dealership and they didnt know whether it would be covered, inspite of me explaining it broke off during NORMAL OPERATION. How else is this supposed to happen? Eventually they emailed VW and they stated it would NOT be covered and a whole handbrake set has to be ordered for a vast sum of money as they couldnt just replace the cap!

Anyway I did a bit of research and it appears to be a common issue and they do indeed have to replace the entire handbrake assembly.

But where do I stand with this...VW's warranty clearly states that the car is covered for a period of 3 years for any "material faults"?

I would have expected this to be covered without question. Bear in mind the vehicle is only a year old so its not acceptable wear and tear.

If it was my car i'd expect it to be 100% covered by warranty, especially if it's a known problem/issue with the car. I thought VAG group were usually pretty good with warranty things

[Alext]

Somehow I dont believe what the dealership is telling me as my experience in dealing with them has been subar to say the least. I guess what I am trying to say is that I simply dont trust what they tell me anymore and is there someone higher-up I can speak to in Volkswagen about such things that will be helpful to my case/escalate the process?

[alik01]

Definitely a warranty issues, those bits aren't suppose to break just like that!

You need to call VW Customer Service and pretty much tell them how it's your x number of VW and you are really shocked at the quality etc. Also that you'll never buy an VWAG Product again. By having a 'whinge' they'll definitely take care of it. They do it for Audi even 2 years out of warranty and they are pretty big on their brand footprint.

I just looked and couldn't find a number but found this form;

http://www.volkswagen.com.au/vwcms/m...m.metanav.html

Alternatively call the dealer and ask them for the Customer Service number.

[aus135i]

hi alext i had some prob with my mkV GTi few yrs back... long story short, in the end they offered me a NEW car...

point here is, u just need to jump up and down and make as much noise abt it as possible, and contact head office which i remember was @ Strawberry Hills... google them up... my 2c

goood luck

[ianc]

Unless your partner slugged it with a sledge, that seems to me like a warranty claim if ever I heard one. Stick it to them...

ianc

[Alext]

Thanks very much guys, you've given me the shove I needed to look into it further and not take this crap from them.

I contacted VW head office in NSW by phone and they are getting a 'case manager' to check whether the dealership actually put the warranty claim to VW officially and what reason (if they did) it was rejected for. Should be interesting because as far as I can see the only reason they would reject it is if they blamed me for the damage which is not correct and something they cant prove otherwise. Should be interesting to hear their response.

[takahashi]

That is BS to me Alex. It should be covered under warranty.

[05C4R]

i had a warranty problem with VW once. An evaporator i think it was called had died and the air con wouldn't work. i was unaware of this but to fix it the whole dash has to be taken off, so they were just re gassing it every time i brought it in and telling me its fine untill the waranty ran out. then they tried to charge me... i started arguing with the mechanic, then asked for his boss, then the next guys boss, and so on till they said its 3 grand to replace the part, seeing how its out of warranty how about we go halves!!!
I rang VW head office and a very polite women would not allow me to talk to the boss. I said well my lawyer will and hung up. i didn't have a lawyer so i thought that was it. 2 hours later the mechanic, the very first guy i talked to rang me and said, so you want a fairer offer, bring it in and we will replace the evaporator. the threat of legal action really works some times. i suggest you start carrying on like a 2 bob watch and mention the word lawyer as much as possible.

[Alext]

Someone very close to me is a lawyer

However something so minor as this I dont think I will threaten with legal action. I did however threaten a travel agent like this when they took months to cough up a several thousand dollar refund that me and my mate had been waiting for a cancelled holiday. They sent in the refund check by express post the next day!

[Alext]

Well after receiving no call from VW head office (suprise, suprise) I contacted them only to be informed that the service manager at the dealership was supposed to have called me this morning. I said he hadnt and they never do only when they want money. I told them this was not good enough and requested that a manager contact me immediately. We shall see.

[Breville]

If the part is worth more than the $100 it'll cost for a lawyer letter then I'd tell them to expect the legal action.

[Alext]

Ok get this. A case manager contacted me just then and said that the dealership had TAKEN PHOTOS OF THE PART AND THAT IT WAS ALL BANGED UP AND SCRATCHED. Basically alleging that we broke the dam thing ourselves! I knew it! A BLANTANT LIE on the dealer's behalf.

They said that it would NOT be covered under the VW warranty as it isnt a material or part fault even if I didnt break it!

NO PHOTOS were taken and the part is in perfect condition apart from the fact it was broken off. The scummy dealer has agreed with VW to replace the part as his cost. I said no thanks I'm not going to a dealer that tells lies about me! Im absolutely disgusted with this. I am thinking about taking this further....