Very unhappy with service department after years of servicing there.

Do not seem to care about my satisfaction.

Was told that I should sell the car rather than fix it after their service department serviced the car for at least four years while I must have spent over 10 thousand dollars trying to keep the car in tip-top shape.

After complaining about Check Engine Light always being on,
I was told by the service manager that it could be caused by three hundred different faults, their excuse for not being able to clear it without charging thousands of dollars to figure out why.

After my last visit I was sent an email by the Customer Care Departmenta and I tried to respond but after sending my concerns to the General Managers personal email, I got an automated message saying that the site was not being maintained and the message would not be recieved.

It appears that Cars are not the only things that Downtown Volkswagen Toronto cannot maintain!

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Overall:
Excellent service, if you ask for the VW Master Technician (Vladimir) at the location .

Background:
My car was purchased several months ago, and was working really well. However, I was surprised when my car suddenly started to make a grinding noise when driving.

I was recommended by my friends to speak with a mechanic at the dealership named Vladimir. From what I hear, he is the only VW Master Technician at the location, and there are only about 30 or so Master Tech's in Canada. I called the VW dealership in Downtown Toronto. The receptionists I dealt with were very helpful and attentive (Jane/Andreas).

I asked to speak with Vladimir directly, who told me to bring in the car immediately and avoid any excessive strain on the engine, which I did. After bringing the car in for repair, I was told that the drive-plate (connects the engine to the transmission) was cracked, except for 1 inch of steel that was barely holding together. Good thing I followed his advice. The mechanic swapped out the old part after showing me the old broken one.

The repair was done fast (1 day, considering the engine/transmission had to be removed and put back), and 6 months later I haven't had any reason to return afterwards.

I did have trouble with other mechanics/technicians at the location, and I'm not sure that all technicians are licensed, and they don't seem very knowledgeable. Hopefully Vladimir stays at that location, as I wouldn't want to search for another dealership to service my Golf.

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We purchased a used vehicle from this dealer. Within two weeks of owning the vehicle we had to replace the engine ($3800). The dealer paid $2000 which we accepted to avoid the nuisance of going to court. Unfortunately by doing so I fear that we have condoned their actions, and they will continue to carry out their corrupt behavior. I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to do business with them.

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An engine trouble light came on.

I dropped my car off Sunday evening, and received a telephone call at 9 AM Monday informing me what the problem was, what it would cost repair, and I was told that the repair should be completed by 3 PM.

I received a phone call just after 12 noon informing me that the repair has had been done and my car was ready to be picked up.

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Seriously disappointing customer service. I wouldn't recommend Volkswagen Downtown Toronto to anyone and will go out of my way to avoid going there for service on my new car.

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I brought our Golf model 2000 in for a recall and for diagnostics regarding the warning lamps (oil, EPC came on a few times intermittently). These diagnostics cost $116. The car was previously diagnosed for free by our neighbourhood garage, who had found various electrical faults and sent us to the dealer, because they could not handle the electronic security system. VW Downtown completed the brake switch recall and found no fault in the electrics, other than a 'loose fuse'.

However, when I picked up the car from them, I noticed that the hand brake was pulled up almost vertically, way further than we'd ever do. When I started driving off the parking space, the brakes were not fully releasing; the car did not roll. I talked to the assistant service manager who agreed that something was wrong and drove the car into the service area. A mechanic checked and said that the brake booster was faulty. I pointed out the fact that the car was running perfectly in the morning when I dropped it off. However, I was told that I must have missed the brake pedal getting stiffer over time. Needless to say that we have not noticed any such change despite using the car almost daily in downtown stop-and-go traffic. They confirmed that they released the overpressure from the brake booster and that I was fine to drive home but should get this checked soon.

So I attempted to drive home. After a few kilometres the car started to slow down and needed more and more gas to keep going at 50kmh. I changed to 2nd gear but eventually the engine would not pull the car any more and I barely made it to a downtown Toronto parking lot, where the smell of burned brake pads greeted me when I got off. I called VW Downtown a few minutes before 8pm when they close, and did reach the receptionist but was then only passed on to an answer machine. I spent an hour waiting for a tow to our neighbourhood garage.

Update from next day: Our garage found that a 'caliper' on one of the rear brakes was broken and replaced it. Everything works fine again. While they say that a hard pull/push on the hand- or foot brake can trigger the fault, it cannot be the deeper cause - apparently, these pieces tend to get faulty on older Golfs.

I am still convinced that someone at VW Downtown actually wrecked the car through unnecessarily rough handling. But my main issue now is that they let me drive off the dealership with the brakes in a state that caused very dangerous driving conditions within a brief distance. Fortunately, there was no accident and no additional damage to the brake system and the tow was covered by our auto club membership.

As a side note, we also believe that someone at VW Downtown scratched our bumper. When I picked the car up, a parking/washing attendant bumped a customer car into another right beside me. Ours has a mark that we had not noticed before.

A few positive notes about VW Downtown: Everybody was generally friendly; the location is convenient and they offer morning and evening shuttle service; and the appointment coordinator actually replied to an email at night from home to confirm the next day's appointment.

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Every time I've dealt with this dealership they've been helpful and friendly. They tell you exactly what's wrong with the car - what's necessary to fix and what's not. I had to get some major repairs done and they worked hard to get used parts to bring the price down. Very professional and trustworthy.

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