I have 1500 miles on my GTI. I bought the VW CD player, and also a new rim to replace one beat up on a curb. I decided to also have a few trivial but irritating problems (rattles, loose trim, etc.) fixed, since I was leaving my car at a dealer anyway.

I live in Marietta, and Jim Ellis VW/Audi is just down the street from me. Terrible sales - they've always treated me, my fiancee, and our friends badly. Can you believe, they once told us that paying full sticker was good for us? So we've bought our cars at Dwight Harrison in Snellville, about 30 miles away. A bit of a trip, but they have a large inventory and a friendly, no-pressure sales staff willing to discount.

Unfortunately, they're a bit far for service. And anyone familiar with the area knows how impossible it would be to go there in the morning, and return in the evening on I-285.

I thus took it to Jim Ellis. I made an appointment Tuesday, 7/10, to leave the car Friday, 7/13. I dropped of the car Thursday night, 7/12. When I picked it up Friday evening, I found they never touched it. In 10 hours, they drove my car 50 feet - readjusting the mirrors to do so, of course - and left it, with its black interior, in the hot Atlanta sun all day.

After much restraint, in light of excuses of a "huge backlog" and "unavailable Tech's," I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I scheduled another appointment that day, for Wednesday, 7/18. At the suggestion of my service advisor, I left the car after lunch on Tuesday, 7/17, on the theory that at last of a few of the issues would be fixed. Nope: the car just sat there until Wednesday morning.

I tried to pick it up Wed. evening, only to find (after almost half an hour of waiting) that it's still not done and they need another half day to finish it. Meanwhile, my fiancee needed an oil change on her New Beetle - the only means by which I can get to work and back without my car - and she had an appointment for Thursday, 7/19, to do this (and also have a few minor problems fixed).

I therefore needed a rental, and of course, Jim Ellis had none. But my advisor assured me that they have a special deal with Enterprise: $30/day for Jim Ellis customers. So it's off to Enterprise, where they never heard of such an arrangement!

Finally, it's done on Thursday. I argue with first the service advisor, then the service manager, about at least picking up the rental cost for all the trouble they put me through. No dice. The unprofessionally rude, tempermental, arrogant manager first tried to change the topic: "What kind of car did you get?" "How do you like it?" etc. Then he asked where I bought, and when he learned I bought it elsewhere, he immediately blamed the other dealership for my service problems He even insinuated that, even thought it's a nationally honored warranty (I mentioned this), I should have just gone back to Dwight Harrison Then it was an argument of how much work my car needed, and no wonder it took so long, blah, blah, blah. And he grew even more angry when I mentioned that Enterprise knew nothing of the "special rate," yeling at me as if it were my fault that his own advisor gave me incorrect information.

Not until I mentioned how neither I, nor my fiancee, nor our friends would come here again (because I'd be more than happy to share this story with everyone, like I'm doing now ) did he make even a half-hearted token gesture to call VW for some "assistance" with my rental cost "in a few days."

Meanwhile, they didn't fix two of the rattles; naturally, they couldn't hear them. And now, mysteriously , the horn no longer sounds when the alarm is armed. Jim Ellis feigned confusion, as they claim nothing they did should have affected the alarm. (I've heard that one before - GM liked to do this, too.) On top of that, my leather interior had oily hand prints on the passenger seat, rear seat, and instrument lens. For which they promised to give the Tech "a severe tongue lashing"

With no other recourse, I'm seeking revenge as best I can. This is one way: telling all of you to avoid this dealership, for sales or service, like the plague. Another is the call I put in to VW Customer Care to report this experience to them. (In fact, their immediate advice was for me to seek another dealership, and they offered to locate one for me!) They have started to document this case.

So please, if you've also suffered at the hands of Jim Ellis in Marietta, don't just "take it" or try to ignore it. Call VW at 1.800.822.8987, hit option "3" to talk to a human being, and reference Case no. 10491444.

Thanks for listening

D_J

naturally aspirated 2.8 narrow angle
tropic orange | kamei accessorized
TT 5 spokes coming soon

···with all intentions of dropping a body im usually nervous so i m flinching when i enter the party···

quote:

---

Originally posted by StarrDLuX:
Welcome to the club...[snip]Jim Ellis BLOWS. I think Dwight Harrison is worth the drive. I made an appointment for 2 PM to take my car there and I was in and out as promised. The service department was clean, well-staffed, and actually doing a service for the car owners.

---

I totally agree. Jim Ellis made even buying my GTI a chore. I tried buying through the Internet, and wouldn't you know, most of those WWW sites work with a local dealer: Jim Ellis I received an e-mail from Bethany, the sales mamanger, one morning about how they had "several" models of the GTI I wanted in stock. I went to see her about 4 hours after the time stamp on the message, and found not a single GTI to my liking. "Oh, they all sold out," she told me. "But we can get one from another dealer. It'll cost more due to extra shipping, of course." Hmmm, a shipping charge on top of a destination charge - oh yeah, let me sign those papers now

JE in Chamblee is no better, at least at sales. They had the only GTI 1.8T I could find in all of Atlanta. It took 15 minutes for a salesman to come to me - and they're not exactly busy at 2 PM on a Thursday afternoon. During which time, some other lucky VW shopper took the GTI on a test drive. After my chance to drive it, I asked for a price quote. "We don't give out quotes," said the salesman. "You'll use that to shop somewhere else." Duh! I told him about the quote I got for the GTI GLX at another dealer, for $100 over invoice. "You should go take it." Hmmm... blatantly throwing away my business, are you? Well, I did as he said

When I picked up my GTI at Dwight Harrison, I needed the splashguards I bought installed. I also found the snaps for my rear mats in the glove box. Even though it was the middle of a Monday (always a busy service day), they got me in when I showed up (after lunch) and took care of everything right quick.

Anyway, I just made an appointment with Dwight Harrison for next week to get the alarm fixed. BTW, JettJagWar, I did nearly slam shut the doors, hood, and trunk. No luck with the alarm chirp

quote:

---

Originally posted by johnmc4517:
Did you have the CD player installed at this service visit? If so, try pushing really hard on the head unit - it may not be in good contact with the switch behind it. Hopefully that may solve your alarm not honking on arming.

---

Wow, thanks for the tip! I just took a break at work, walked over to the parking deck, and pushed on my radio. Sure enough, it went in about 1/8" and "snapped" into place, and cured the "silent" alarm. You just saved me a 30-mi. trip to Dwight Harrison

You also further pointed out Jim Ellis' overpriced incompetence $75 for an "hour" (like it took that long) of so-called factory-trained labor, for what should be a very simple operation, installation of an OEM accessory. "Oh, but nothing we worked on today affects the alarm circuit. You'll have to make another appointment," says the service advisor. They just can't do anything right at Jim Ellis, can they??

When I had my dash cd put in, the horn stopped sounding too. I had to fight to get the dealership to fix it, explaining to them that I had paid several hundred dollars to ADD the CD feature, not trade it for the alarm one my car already had. They had to go back in and actually repair a wire they had damaged while putting it in the CD.

Jim Ellis, walk 2 blocks North on Cobb Parkway to Enterprise and start taking notes. You have a LOT to learn!

[This message has been edited by FowVay (edited 07-20-2001).]

I may be seeking the Better Business Bureau's help with the problems I encountered. If I can point to a history of Jim Ellis screwing its customers, it'll provide that much more of a case for the BBB

In the summer of 1996, my wife and I were fed up with the pile of crap '95 GMC SUV we were driving. Decided we had good luck with VWs in the past, and should check out the new Jettas. Since Columbus did not have a VW dealership at that time, we drove the 125 miles to Jim Ellis on Peachtree Industrial on a Saturday morning. I had to lasso a salesman to talk to me, and I laid out our thoughts. His response: "Today isn't a good day to test drive a car. Would you like to schedule an appointment for Tuesday afternoon?" I calmly explained to him that we were from out of town, and coming back up for a test drive was not feasible. He asked if we were planning on buying a car today. I told him it all depended on how I liked the car on the test drive. He told me I he couldn't help me.

So we got up and drove over to Charles Evans BMW where they gladly tossed me the keys to a new 318ti.

Now I know that sometimes your appearance can lead sales people to think you're not a serious prospect, but this couldn't be the case. At the time I was 32 years old, dressed like I just stepped off the golf course and driving a year old SUV that cost more than the most expensive Jetta on the lot. The people at Charles Evans didn't have a problem, and their car was far more expensive than the Jetta.

I ended up buying a 318ti.

The service department, however, is a different story. While my wife has had good luck with her Jetta, my one experience with my TDI wasn't so pleasant. I took it in for the 5k service and asked:

-Do the 5k service
-Mentioned my intermittent no-alarm-arm problem
-Install the rear floor mat anchors which were not installed at the PDI
-I complained of smoke and very poor fuel economy, and asked them to check the injection timing (a 2 minute procedure with a VAG tool)

So, I get my car back:

-Oil is overfilled almost a full quart, which I didn't realize until after I had left, and I had to siphon it out my myself
-"Could not duplicate" the alarm problem
-"Our best tech drove it and didn't see any smoke". When asked if they had checked the injection timing like I asked, the service advisor said "I'm sure they checked everything." Great.
-At least they installed the mat anchors

I think I'll be having my 10k performed at Dwight Harrison.

-davin

Graham

(Specs on my VR6- Full Oettinger body kit, 19" Oettinger RZ wheels, bilstein coilovers, front and rear neuspeed sway bars, PICI aluminum dash). My car will be in the shop starting next week though. Time to install all the eclipse dvd/tvs/subs/speakers/fiberglass and glass for amps in trunk/PS2. Probably take about 2 weeks to install it all.

And I'm always dying to show off my car to fellow enthusiasts as myself...=)

I guess if I had been the only game in town for as many years as they have I wouldn't need to care about serving customers either. And they own practically every other dealership in Atlanta, too, so you're stuck no matter what, even if you want to stay with a GM.
I hope Dwight Harrison and Heritage stick it to them hardcore.

At least their parts people have always been nice and competent.
-Eric

quote:

---

Originally posted by Graham:
Just to add to the thread...
Jim Ellis bad.
Dwight Harrison good.
Dwight Harris has been no less than top notch with service. Sales too, that's where the car came from. They're much further away from me than either Jim Ellis location too.

Graham

---

Hey Graham - I figured you were a Vortex/er, too Glad to hear you chime in on this.

I e-mailed the link to this page to William Farmer, the general manager of Jim Ellis. I wonder if he noticed how fast, how far this page has grown

Many thanks to everyone who spoke out against this sorry excuse for a dealership! Don't forget to give VWoA a call and let them know, too!

I live about 100 miles from the nearest VW dealer, so I figured I figured if I am going to drive, I may as well get the best deal, regardless of distance. So anyway, Jim Ellis actually met my offer (after MUCH haggling), and I was off to pick up my car on a Friday (arranged to pick it up after lunch time). Well the first big problem occurred when I needed my sales 'consultant' to be there to fax my bank FIRST thing in the morning (like he assured me) only to find out that he doesn't come in until 10:00. So I speak to the sales manager and get things taken care of, and while I am at it, I remind him that I have to be back home (this will be a 3.5 hour drive to get back) to be at my job that evening. “No problem, everything will be ready to go when you get here” I can still hear him saying.

I get to Marietta and the car is waiting for me on the lot. I think my excitement of owning my first VW clouded some of my judgment this day ! I think everything is going ok; I test drive the car to make sure it drives ok, etc. When we got back I was getting out and noticed some sort of glue like substance stuck to the driver’s side seat. No solvent they had could get it out, so the only solution was to change out this seat with one from another car! About 3 hours later my car was actually ready for me.

Needless to say I had to call in at work and lost a whole night’s revenue because of their incompetence. And my ‘consultant’ had the nerve to ask for all 5’s on their customer service report.

Despite all this I am still happy to just have my VW! In the days to come, I find that my car is actually horribly detailed (am I wrong or shouldn’t a car be CLEAN when you take it off the lot?) with pieces of the factory shipping tape still stuck in some of the crevices on the exterior, the sales sticker not removed all the way… (to name a few).

When I got the rating call I of course gave them what they deserved. The next day my sales ‘consultant’ had the nerve to call and ask why he got a bad rating. I told him to his face and all he could do was offer, “oh well…”.

I will never do business with Jim Ellis again, nor will I recommend that anyone do business with them. When it comes to my 5K, I am going to the dealership in Montgomery, AL. Anyone have experience with them?

I wasn't aware that I had a problem until about 2 months ago when I would get home and 5 minutes after I walked out of the car the alarm would go off. I would reset it and it would go off again. Then it would stop for a few hours and around 12AM it would go off again. I scheduled an appointment for the next day and in less than an hour Carl Gregory had pinpointed the problem and fixed it. It was the CD player not being pushed in all the way.

As far as service goes in Georgia, Carl Gregory isn't too bad, though I noticed they wanted 27K for my car new which cost me 23K new. I guess being the only VW dealer within 100 miles they can overcharge...

That is the only problem I have had with the car since I bought it November.

quote:

---

Originally posted by jbashor:
I am glad that this topic was brought up. I moved to Atlanta a fews months ago and I live very close to JE in Marietta. This dealership would be the obvious choice for me for service, but after reading the posts I will definitely have to look at other options. As far as purchasing a car, I was planning on trading in my current VW for a 2002. I have had contact with a salesperson there who was nice and did not pressure me into anything. However, if this is the kind of service I am to expect, I will have to go somewhere else.

---

Definitely! They tried to screw me with an Internet sale of my GTI. Funny, they "ran out" of GTI's hours after telling me in an e-mail they had "many of the exact model I'm looking for in stock." They also screwed a coworker, agreeing to her price (after much haggling) to her face, then calling her a week later to say the car would cost $1500 more due to an error they made on their sales sheet

I know it's a drive, but go to Dwight Harrison in Snellville. Great inventory, good deals, excellent staff. Above and beyond any other Atlanta dealer, in my experience.

quote:

---

Originally posted by StarrDLuX:
I am sitting here debating writing a letter and faxing this and the letter to Jim Ellis and/or VWoA.

---

Taking on Jim Ellis is "The Force," and you and I must share it

I just finished a complimentary letter to Dwight Harrison, in which I describe the horrors of working with Jim Ellis. I plan on FAXing it (and a copy of this page) to JE and VWoA!

For Jim Ellis in Marietta, the general manager is William Farmer, and the FAX number is 770-952-6199.

Anyone know the FAX number for VWoA?

BTW, I have a mailing address for VWoA Customer Care. It's 3800 Hamlin Rd., Auburn Hills, MI 48326. Remember to reference Case no. 10491444!

My fiancée's coworker took her Turbo Bug to JE for the 5000 mile service. After waiting two hours, she gets the car back... and the "Check Engine" light is on. They took another three hours to diagnose and fix it.

And I just discovered another "surprise" in my GTI. I only noticed it the other day, cleaning out the car after a long trip. There are pinhead-sized white spots on the wood trim of the driver's door handle. JE "fixed" a creak in that handle by spraying foam inside of it. I guess some of that foam made it to the oustide... and it won't come off Even bug'n'tar remover won't affect it. No I have to go back and chew some a$$... again...

quote:

---

Based on BBB files, this company has a satisfactory record with the Bureau. Any complaints processed by the Bureau in itsthree-year reporting period have been resolved. The number and type of complaints are not unusual for a company in this industry.

To have a "Satisfactory Record" with the Bureau, a company must be in business for at least 12 months, properly and promptly address matters referred to it by the Bureau, and be free from an unusual volume or pattern of complaints and law enforcement action involving its marketplace conduct. In addition, the Bureau must have a clear understanding of the company's business and no concerns about its industry.

---

Which leads me to believe that all of us who've been screwed haven't filed with the BBB. Please join me in "correcting" the BBB's assessment of Jim Ellis and file a complaint! They'll never change if we stay silent.

Any thoughts?

this guy shouldn't be in business.

I mean after all the dealer is gettting paid for the service by VW, so more service more $$$.
I don't know why would they do this, insecure not adequate.

sorry to hear that, good luck next time.

Gummi