communication breakdown

All Bad Things Must Come To An End

The last we heard from our dashing superhero Shaun, he was stranded in Jacksonville while his car was being repaired by complete morons. Here's the next thrilling installment of the story...

December 29: A Plea For Help, and A New Surprise

It's now Thursday, and I'm waiting all day for my car to simply get an alignment and get out of the shop. I was given every reason to believe it would be ready that day, so we even packed up my stuff and drove over to the dealer in the afternoon, still waiting to hear back from them, but wanting to avoid traffic. We arrive at the dealer and I finally meet the idiotic woman I've been dealing with all week. I ask her nicely enough if there are any updates on the car, and if it will be ready in time. She completely blows me off, telling me that she has no idea - and she doesn't seem very concerned with finding out, either. At this point my mom flies off the hook and starts yelling at the lady, and I go in to speak with the service manager. I lay out the situation, and he seems much more understanding. He apologizes for the way things unfolded, but also sticks up for his employees, blaming the issues on the holiday rush, stress, etc. He promises to do what he can to get my car done that night. So we leave, but stay around the area so that we can be there promptly once it's ready.

Well, they finally call me about 10 minutes before they close and inform me that my rear axle is bent. At this point I'm about ready to burn the dealership down. Why didn't they find this out before? Now, the car can't be aligned and the axle needs to be replaced. Oh, and by the way, that's another $1500 or so. So I call the insurance company, inform them of the problem, and they agree to send someone out first thing in the morning to re-estimate and get a supplement check to the dealer so that they can complete the work.

December 30: Race Against the Clock

Friday. The last day that the shop is open before New Year's. If I don't get my car today, I'm stuck here until January 3 (which, by the way, would be my first day back to work, so I'd have to call in for another vacation day). Again, I call the dealer repeatedly, and they keep telling me there are no updates. Noon rolls around. Then 2PM, then 3PM. Finally, around 4 o'clock, they tell me that the axle is in place but that they are having trouble bleeding the brakes... oh, and it still needs an alignment! I swear, I've never seen a place have so much trouble aligning cars in a reasonable time frame! At this point, they tell me it is unlikely that it will be ready today. I start screaming. I ask the guy when they close - he says the shop is closed at 5 PM, but that they are hoping to leave early.

This was the straw the broke the camel's back - I call the manager again and leave him a passionate voicemail informing him that I must have my car today, and I tell him about his employee's intentions to leave early. He calls me back, and he's absolutely furious. Apparently this comment pissed him off too. He told me that the idea of them leaving early was "bullshit", and that I would definitely have my car today, even if they had to stay late and send my car out to another company to get aligned. Finally, some positive news.

Sure enough, I got my car around 7:30 PM. Shockingly enough, it is running fine - given all the problems I had with the dealer, I assumed they would have done a shoddy job with the repairs. But the Jetta is back to normal again. However, I'm not sure that I am back to normal - I seriously think I've never been under more stress than I was during those last tenuous moments when the clock was ticking and I wasn't sure if I would have my car on December 30 or January 3. I am in the process of writing a letter to VW national, informing them of the horrible experience I had. We'll see if it garners a response.

Epilogue: The Root of All Evil

And if that weren't enough... once I get back to Atlanta, I get a call from the service lady telling me that I owe them more money. Like I didn't see that one coming! According to them, it's because I decided to buy their rims, rather than the (cheaper) rims that the insurance company wanted to get. But that's just false, because the insurance company paid for 2 tires, and the dealer only charged for 1, because one was covered by Road Hazard Warranty. The amount of the tire more than covers the difference in the rims - so, if anything, they owe me money! According to their invoice and the insurance estimate, the real difference is in labor costs - the insurance company paid for about $1000 worth, and the dealership charged over $1200. Once those two numbers agree, the matter will be resolved.

I got this call about a week ago - as of yet, I have not paid them an extra cent, and I don't intend to. Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion, hopefully sometime soon!