I can thank Boucher-Franklin for saving the day again.

This is the story-

I buy the car from Autobarn Evanston- I leave the dealership, 15 minutes later I'm stranded on Clark St. in Chicago- going to meet my friend for dinner.

The clutch burned out! So Autobarn puts in a new clutch-- before this happened I told them "I think I just want my car back at this point since this GTI has issues apparently" -
So the manager tells me on Saturday morning "I'll call you back later today after I get your paperwork".

Ryan Graham, the manager, never calls back. So I call him again on Monday and he says "you signed a contract, you're in this car, you're having buyer's regret" I tell him "Um no, I'm worried about this car having a major repair after 15 minutes of driving, what will be next, the transmission"? He has the nerve to lie to me and say the paperwork already is sent in and nothing can be undone. I call VW Credit AND my current loaner, my credit union - they both tell me nothing has been received about the sale! LYING TO CUSTOMER IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I then called the Chicago BBB to file a report just to keep my Ts crossed and Is dotted. I then got a call from the GM, Tony Scala. He only backed Ryan and said nothing would be undone with regards to the sale. They offered an exchange, but why would I exchange a questionable car for something other than my OWN back? He just said "that's not gonna happen".

I also reminded him I need to see the inspection of my certified GTI and instructed him to make sure it was in the car when I picked up after the clutch was repaired.

I go to pick up the car - of course NO INSPECTION PROVIDED, and of course RYAN GRAHAM IS GONE FOR THE EVENING!

So to again, protect myself, I take the car in for some minor things that were broken when I got the car as well-
1. BAD ALIGNMENT
2. broken speaker (cutting in and out)
3. Mirror switch which was broken (Mr. Graham said that it would be covered under certification, IT WASN'T. But Boucher Franklin found a way to get it covered for them!)
4. Missing engine cover(which I made them replace on the spot when I bought the car)
5. Shifting bad , kissing gears into R and 1st. 3+4 are also bad according to Boucher VW.

Now today, my car sits at Boucher awaiting a NEW TRANSMISSION.
Here's the low down on that.

After Boucher tested the car, they found that the tranny was working awfully and they said after running the VIN #, they found out:

The previous owner sued VW for a new transmission after VW replaced 2 of them within his warranty and refused to put a 3rd in!!!!!!!!!!! The owner lost to VW in court. So he let go of the car and wa la, i own it now.

Boucher said the transmission that was in the car now, is "garbage". They couldn't even tell if it was new, rebuilt, boneyard, etc. After they haggled with VW , since Friday, VW decided to cover this repair of the transmission, when it should be on Autobarn. VW should seriously consider some sort of ramifications against Autobarn for selling a vehicle this questionable.

IF -Boucher could find out about the transmission, AUTOBARN CERTAINLY KNEW THE CAR'S HISTORY AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There's no way they didn't know all this.
It would also explain why after 3 requests in writing, I still don't have a inspection report on the car from Autobarn.

Bottom line - my initial suspicions were good, because now the tranny is being replaced and I now can say, there's no way I burned out the clutch, which Autobarn accused me of in an email. Not a great way to do business.

My advice is to be very careful with the folks over there in Evanston's Autobarn. Especially if buying a used, certified vehicle.

The car won't be done til Friday and I'll have then been without a vehicle for 10 DAYS. Thanks Autobarn for the totally negative experience with your dealership!

WI residnets--- Dont make my mistake and go buy a vehicle in Illinois.

Sincerely,
Veedubboy

Modified by Veedubboy75 at 4:47 AM 10-27-2004

that should have been your first clue something was up

Seriously though, it seems there where quite a few things wrong, even when you drove it...why did you buy it? You should always get a second (independent) look at a car if there's something you're not sure about.
The dealer wanted to dump this car, and the money they made off it is worth more to them than you're opinion. Totally sucks IMO...big companies care more about the $$ than the person.

It is also possible that they already sold your car so they couldnt' give it back to you.

Honesty, I would have taken them up on the offer to get a different car instead

shady

shady

x 2

>> kinda a similar story, my mom bought her 99' toyota camery from grossinger toyota back in 2001. well the same day, i took the car to chicago and drove around a bit and everything seemed to work ok except that when you put it in drive, the letter said D1. no big deal, but the next day, car wouldnt move at all no matter what gear it was in. we call them up two days later cuz it was a sunday and the manager wasnt there (we bought the car on friday night). well, monday we got the car towed there and see what our options were. no hassles, they offered exact same car for 1000$ less, had less miles on it, paid for towing of that busted tranny car. these guys were GREAT. ( and the next car they gave us had the VIN# that was one number off, now thats crazy....) now thats what i call customer service. needless to day my dad bought his car from there too after that....

for evenston.

PSN: dmang007

Unfortunately that law only applies to a legal transaction taking place at your own home. If they would have brought the car to him and signed the paperwork at his house, he would be covered under this law, but since he went there, there is no 3 day right coverage.

I am very sorry about your ordeal.

Quote, originally posted by SilverSpooler »

And now for the hotest non european car I have ever seen

At least you have gone to another dealership and gotten your car looked at properly. Do you have any other news?

That's one of those "myths". However, in WI the law does apply. I figured IL would have a similar law b/c of proximity.

However, i was wrong.

Chris

Hey Ken, thanks for replying I was planning on contacting your organization for support. I think people in CVO should be aware as well.

I'd think VW would make sure these dealerships are doing their part in regards to certifying and inspections--

because ultimately in my situation, VW OF AMERICA is paying the price here -- NOT Autobarn. VW OF A is paying for the tranny replacement. And Autobarn should be.

I plan on contacting VW OF A and telling them to consider going after Autobarn Evanston for not doing their part in a proper sale or inspection. They should be culpable.

I just wanted to get this out to people so that they don't go thru what I did.

I did think of "what can be done?" by VW, well I don't know, I mean, they could remove this car from the marketplace altogether so that nothing else like this comes up or "condemn" the car in a way. You would think a car like this would be "uncertifiable" if it's integrity was involved in a court case. I think the system needs work to say the least and protect the consumer.

Thanks everyone for posting, i appreciate you guys a lot.

Chris
p.s. any IL V-dubbers in the Milwaukee area for any reason, gimme a shout and I'll buy ya a beer cleefoto@yahoo.com

Well thanks, I appreciate ya saying that. When I send my letter to VW they'll be getting a big thanks for covering Autobarn's ass.
and a copy of this:

I've made a lifelong comittment to them, hopefully they feel the same way.

Chris

http://www.vwtrademarks.com/vw...=1027

By the way please tell me this isnt your 1st VW???

Modified by Cabby-Blitz at 11:04 PM 10-26-2004

Quote, originally posted by GSXDUB »

did you read the story, he wanted to get his old vw back

Actually I did a couple of times and no mention of his old car being a VW. So I would not know if his previous car was.

Quote »

"I think I just want my car back at this point since this GTI has issues apparently" -

Quote, originally posted by GSXDUB »

did you read the story, he wanted to get his old vw back

what's with the self righteous blast? leave the guy alone - you seem like the type that likes to blast everyone, chill.

CL

soooo true. Must be a self righteous DSM thing.

but oh yea, not worth my time

THANK YOU SO MUCH for mentioning this story. It looks like a point for Boucher when I buy my car in a few weeks. I'm relocating to Brookfield, WI from NJ, so I don't know much about the area yet.

IS this the first time you dealt with Boucher? I'm going to print this and bring it with me so they see what a positive affect they had on gaining a customer.

Props to the good dealers.

if your that worried about 20 cents ..then go sell your car..,

Boucher ain't much better bro
My car sat on their lot for 2 months while waiting repairs. They gave me a huge runaround on how they were in touch with my insurance agent and were waiting on a fax. Bla bla, their fax machine was broke bla bla. Lies upon lies.

I HAD to call the insurance guy and bring him with me to the dealer. My car sat 2 months for NO REASON. In turn, my rotors warped, all four of them. They decided it wasn't their fault, so they made me pay cost for 4 rotors+pads.

Sorry to say, I have yet to get good service from ANY stealership in the Milwaukee area. Hall raped me, boucher hwy100 raped me, Boucher Racine was so so. Concours treated me quite well and professionaly though. Don't take my word for it, in whatever situation you're in, the stealership wants to have the better/cheaper hand.

I can also tell you that if I brought my car in for repair or to be fixed after an accident (I assume that's why your isurance was invlolved?) that it would never sit two months. One, I'd be crawling up their a$$es after one week. Two, I would stop down there and visually check on progress after a week or two.

I mean, you have to assume SOME resposibility for your car.....after all, you paid good money for it.

I'm not saying this DIDN'T happen, or that the dealer wasn't wrong. This is just the response that '^rofl' gets you.

Thanks for the input though.

if your that worried about 20 cents ..then go sell your car..,

Well I guess this deserves a response.
I live 10 minutes from the dealer. I stopped in to check on my car every 3-5 days or so. I talked to their service reps and they told me that they were waiting on a reply from my insurance guy. They also kept on telling me that they were in touch with my insurance guy. I called up my agent, he informed me that he saw the car, wrote up an estimate and gave the dealership the go ahead signal. I went to the dealership again to tell them this and they did nothing about it. Giving me the same ol' run around on how the fax machine was broken. That went on for about 3-5 wks. Everytime I called and left a message (sometimes 3 per day) NO REPLY followed. Good business tactics? You tell me. I was constantly hounding their ass. Besides, this was MY car, MY money, MY 50hrs a wk of work which went into it and they treated it as if it were a toy. Maybe it was because I'm 20 and never took an older person with me?

The insurance agent was awesome, he did his part of the work in less than a week. The dealership did not. And yes, the rotors were warped. Maybe because it sat in a bit of snow for a while. I've seen rusted rotors, I've seen warped rotors. these were warped. So I'm not sure, you tell me, who was responsible for my car sitting out for 4-6 wks unattended while the dealership had already recieved the go ahead signal from my insurance?

and my rofl goes for ANYONE who appreciates a dealership they never went to. Ask some other mke members, they'll also tell you that Boucher hwy100 isn't the greatest place to do business/service at.

Lag for example.. I believe he went to get his gfs seat or something fixed. Tech got caught speeding near or above triple digit speeds in a 35mph zone.

Oh yea, perfect dealershp they are, I forgot. I'm just helping you out man, just because ONE person says Boucher is good, does NOT mean that they are perfect by any means.

But what do I know hey, I'm only a 20 yr old. Who purchased his own 98 B5 from Hall, who purchased his brand new MK4 from Boucher, and has visited and had service done in 4/5 dealerships in the metro-milwaukee area.

Modified by Str8desi84 at 4:36 PM 11-1-2004

Like I said, I'm sure you had a bad experience, and I'm not defending anyone. I just don't by the rotores warping from sitting....it goes against the laws of physics.

I'm pretty sure you were being sarcastic about 'what would I know, I'm only a 20 year old'. Truth be told, and I'm not CONDONING it, but large corporations, and the general public in general treat young people like SH$T. I'm only 34. I remember quite clearly what it's like to be 20, TRUST ME. The difference you will see in the general attitutde of people you deal with 10 years from now will blow your mind.

Anyway, back on topic:

I never said I appreciated a dealer I never went to, just gave them 'props' for uncovering the BS that he experienced from the original dealer. There's a difference.

Anyway, I'm considering EVERYTHING people post about these dealers, including your story.

if your that worried about 20 cents ..then go sell your car..,

No it's not the first time, but ya know, everyone has a complaint about every dealer, just depends on how bad the problem really was and how bad the customer is....b/c i work in the service industry and see both sides......

I hate the customer that tries to get all they can for a minor problem....be realistic about compensation.

As for Boucher, well they've been good to me in the recent past for service even though i didnt buy my car there--- Ben their service guy (at the counter) he's been good with calling me and keeping me in the know.....and said he fought for me with VW for this tranny replacement , now being 1/2 realist and 1/2 skeptic, i think part of that was his "sales" part to me as a service dept and part was truefully arguing my case.

I've dealt with Hall VW in Brookfield for service--- the one time i did, they told me i needed more work than actually was needed--all four corners for brakes - i took it to Boucher and I only need rears done. So that was the end of using Hall for service even though they were closer than Boucher to my employer in Stallis.

Well i'm glad i could be of help - if you do mention me, tell em, Chris with the green GTI tranny problem sent you

Take care,
Christopher

Car is still being repaired. Told the Autobarn today, I'm putting a consumer protection attorney on the case.

They charged me for certification and apparently didn't do an inspection because after 3 requests, I still don't have one in hand. Nor does my car meet VW Certified requirements in about 6-10 ways after closer inspection.

Given VW Customer Care phone number by Boucher.

Pretty much useless- you talk to a care person, they take down your information and say "i'm sorry". Wow, I feel so much better.

Since Autobarn is "independently owned" -- apparently VW has no pull on them.........what dealership is NOT independently owned? I can't believe dealerships can run the customer thru the mud, and get no backing from the dealer.

I guess that would be like me complaining to a drug kingpin that the dealer sold me bad crack --- what does he care? He made his money already.

So- hopefully a lawyer will be of help. I'm assuming what we have here is a sales fraud of some sort. Charging me 800 bucks for certification and not having an inspection on the car done.

Here's the email I received today from Autobarn, notice the "annonymity".

EMAIL:
Chris,

Your VW ceritification is all done through your vin# now so any VW service department will be able to pull your warranty and or service records

END OF EMAIL:

2nd EMAIL TODAY:

We

We sold you a great car and you need to contact Tony Scala, Not me This is getting a little ridiculas

Ryan Graham

END OF EMAIL

First - a "great car" doesn't spend 19 of its first 36 days of ownership in a dealer service dept.

Second - Ridiculous? LOL. Ridiculous is the car not being driveable because they didn't inspect it or refused to before selling it.

Well, that's all for now folks. Tell ya more asap.
VEE

if your that worried about 20 cents ..then go sell your car..,

LinkedIn

I know this is kinda off topic...but I went into the show room in evanston to look around I saw a JB 20th with ~15K miles on it and they were asking 24K for it...I asked the salesman why they were asking so much for it and he said "they dont make them anymore, are you interested, we are here to make money. You want the car and we have it" and I laughed and said "no, I allready got one" and walked out. I brought my car in for a fender liner rub and they charged me $50 to put a screw in. My last trip there was ok. I brought it in to get my winter wheels put on and they scracthed up my leather steering wheel in the process. How I dont know. I just decided not to even bring it up with them cause it would be to big of a hassle.

Yes way. I have cars on my lot that do it all the time from sitting too long.

That sucks about your situation...
Hopefully all gets worked out.
About the tattoo. All I can say is

they dont warp under extreme heat when the car is in consistent use. they dont wwarp under extreme cold when the car is in consistent use. how do they warp by just sitting?

Quote, originally posted by SilverSpooler »

And now for the hotest non european car I have ever seen