Volkswagen Downtown Toronto

Don't trust them. I started taking my VW to this location for service as it was very convenient to drop it off on my way into work. It seemed that every time I had an I started taking my VW to this location for service as it was very convenient to drop it off on my way into work. It seemed that every time I had an oil change I had to repair something amounting to around $1,000. It happened so often that the last time I actually said to the service adviser "why is it that every time I bring my car in for an oil change it costs me about $1000 to leave?" he laughed and told me it was because my car was old (2006 VW Beetle, very well maintained). This happened so often that I ACTUALLY BOUGHT MYSELF A NEW (used) CAR from another dealer. VW Beetle, this one 2012. After having the car for about a week, one of my headlights went out. I called and asked if I could come in to have it replaced they said sure, but I would have to wait as there were no appointments available. So wait I did, for 3 Hours. Important to note here that I had purchased the extended warranty with my car to cover any unexpected repairs. What the became distressing is that the service adviser came up and told me that my car had to have the exhaust replaced as it was rotting, and my tires were near bald. Keep in mind I'd picked up this car from VW Orillia about 8 days prior. When I called VW Orillia, they asked me to bring the car back in and they would go through it with me front to back. So I did, and they did. I stood with their service adviser and technician and we went through the entire car. There was nothing wrong with the car. The exhaust was in perfect condition, the tires were completely fine. The technician in Orillia was diplomatic about the tires, he said it's easy for "one of the younger guys" to misread the tires by using the measuring tool incorrectly. He couldn't explain the exhaust though. What I have since learned is that there are some dealerships where the service advisers and technicians get paid commission for the services they sell. So now, having spent about $5000 on repairs of my old car at this location and having made the decision to purchase a new car I feel this dealership (at least the service department) has deceptive business practices. They have no interest in you as their customer, only in their personal bottom line. Do yourself a favour - go somewhere else. More

Horrible experience I brought my VW Jetta TDI for its 60k maintenance(Oil, filters, DSG service, the works)....$800 later and the car is ready. All seemed well until i to I brought my VW Jetta TDI for its 60k maintenance(Oil, filters, DSG service, the works)....$800 later and the car is ready. All seemed well until i took the car on the highway a week later when i noticed a knocking noise that sounded like plastic smacking against metal. I got back to my condo, looked under the hood, under the seat, and found nothing. Continue to this week and i am on highway again and i hear the noise! So i look under the hood, under the seat, and now under the car. Finally, i see what is a loose and hanging engine cover dangling underneath my car....wonderful. It looks like a VW mechanic didnt fasten the rear portion of the guard after servicing the vehicle. This seems like such a fundamental thing to do and it was obviously overlooked. I only took my vehicle here as i live one block away. I will now gladly drive to my old mechanic to avoid any future headaches. Would no recommend. More

First NEW Car From the test drive TO driving off the lot, I felt the people at Volkswagen backing us every step of the way. Andrew was super chill on the test driv From the test drive TO driving off the lot, I felt the people at Volkswagen backing us every step of the way. Andrew was super chill on the test drive, easy to deal with and down to earth. We got the car for us, but it's awesome that we had the help. Thanks again. Next stop, across Canada. More

Deceptive Business Practices and Terrible Service Unless you are an experienced car buyer and you feel you can confidently identify any scams. DO NOT purchase a vehicle from the dealership. In particu Unless you are an experienced car buyer and you feel you can confidently identify any scams. DO NOT purchase a vehicle from the dealership. In particular, do NOT purchase a vehicle is you are young, or female, or can in any other way be identified as an easy mark. This dealership engages in deceptive business practices and looks for any opportunity to take advantage of their customers. I needed a new car ASAP as my previous vehicle had just broken down. Since my father already has a VW from this dealership with which he is quite satisfied, he reached out to the sales rep and asked for a quote for a lease. The quote he was provided with was agreeable to me, and since I was using a rental and needed to obtain a new car immediately for work purposes I agreed to purchase a 3 year lease. When I returned to sign the paperwork 2 days later the rep told me "he couldn't get the discount approved" - what discount? This was the first I'd been told of any discount. As a result I was then presented with a different quote for ~1000 more than I had agreed to originally. This was my first car purchase and I did not understand that I was being scammed - the literal definition of a bait and switch. The rep felt comfortable that as a young woman making a car purchase alone I would be easy to fool, and unfortunately I proved him right. My rental car was costing me an arm and a leg each day and I desperately needed the new car, so I agreed to the higher quote. I told my father when I left the dealership what had happened and he was shocked. He had only passed along the original quote to me because it had been a good deal for a 2015 vehicle, and as soon as my father was out of the picture the rep reneged on the original deal. No "discount" was mentioned him either with the original quote. I understood what had happened then and I was very upset, with the dealership and also with myself for not looking out for deceptive and untrustworthy reps. There have been subsequent dealings that have left me with a very sour taste in my mouth. I am of the opinion that I should never have purchased the car from this dealership and I likely will never buy another Volkswagen, which is unfortunate because the vehicle itself is quite nice. STAY AWAY . More

This location makes me want to trade my car in. Dear Volkswagen Canada, I hope this letter finds you well. Unfortunately, I am writing to you to express my disappointment in the service that I Dear Volkswagen Canada, I hope this letter finds you well. Unfortunately, I am writing to you to express my disappointment in the service that I have received from Volkswagen Downtown Toronto, located at 550 Adelaide St E, Toronto, Ontario. would like to bring to your attention the multiple issues that have occurred since having my car serviced at VW Downtown Toronto. On November 4, 2014 I had my block heater replaced, as a recall part. A couple days after this replacement the engine light was flashing yellow. As I was unsure why this might be happening I pulled over and called VW Downtown Toronto. When I explained to the representative about the flashing light the man told me not worry about it and take it to the closest car dealership or to the downtown location. I explained to him that I was in Trenton, ON and there was no VW dealership close by. He advised that I go to any car dealership. I did such and no one was able to help me. I was then advised by the Honda dealership to call my roadside assistance. I did such and had to have my car towed to Belleville, ON. Belleville VW informed me that when the service employees replaced my block heater they blocked the valve that sends the liquid/coolant to the radiator to ensure my car would not over heat. I am glad I didn’t keep driving as was suggested via telephone by the representative from VW Downtown Toronto. When I brought this to the attention of VW Downtown Toronto a few weeks later the woman at the service desk chuckled and said “oh my” and proceeded to ask me for my payment. On November 29, 2014 I bought 4 winter tires on rims from this location. I also paid to have my summer tires stored at this location. I paid the 100$ to store my tires. In January 2015 I took my car in for an oil change. I requested to only have an oil change done and not to top up fluids, rotate tires, etc. I was a student at this time and the $300+ to have my fluids topped up was not in my budget. When my boyfriend picked up my car the total was in fact over $300. The following business day I called and asked why all of that was done when I had specifically requested that it not. The service representative informed me that it wasn’t document and therefore it was standard to do it all. I asked to speak to a manager. The manager sounded as though he could not be bothered to hear me out and said there was nothing he could do. I now have my warranty approved oil changes done at Mr Lube. Unfortunately I clipped a pylon in April 2015 and in fact it took off the cap over the right side mirror. I right away brought it into VW to have them look at it. There was no damage to the mirror and everything worked fine internally. I was quoted a very high amount of $370, which included the cost to order the piece, paint it and 1 hour of labour to install it because they claimed they would have to go into the engine bay. This seemed quite pricy and I decided to take it to a smaller, family run auto body shop. There, more reasonably was charged $150. I asked if he had to go into the engine bay to replace the piece. He definitely did not and it was just a matter of popping it back on. On May 9, 2015 I had a scheduled appointment at 11am to have my summer tires put on. I had to work on this Saturday and had my boyfriend take the car in. He was told that it wasn’t an appointment and just a drop off time and that there was no secured time that the car would be ready but rather he would receive a call sometime before 3PM. My boyfriend got home around 1PM. Around 2:00PM he received a phone call from VW Downtown Toronto and was asked to come pick up the car because they couldn’t find my summer tires and said they had been misplaced. No one was able to provide him with any information because the manager was not there, because it was a Saturday. The following business day I called to inquire about how my tires could possibly have been lost. No one could provide me with an explanation, or an apology. I was informed that they would be getting me new rims and tires. That Wednesday I received a phone call and asked to come in to get the tires changes. I advised them that I cannot on this short notice and would have to be a Saturday as this is the only time I do not work in the morning. She (unfortunately I do not know her name) told me to come in sometime on Saturday. I explained to her that I was not about to waste another Saturday and requested that I have a scheduled appointment time. She would not offer that. The next day after calling again she said the manager would permit it. On May 16, 2015 I brought my car in at 10 AM for a scheduled appointment and had my tires changed. When my boyfriend and I got home we looked at the tires. We noticed the rims were all scratched and the VW wheel caps were peeling. The tires were also smaller than what I had on my car. This is not acceptable, as my rims were 6 months old. On Tuesday May 19, 2015 I phoned and left a message for the manager to please call me. I did not hear anything back from him and no one else could give me information as to why second hand rims were put on my car and told me I would have to speak to the manager. When I did receive a call back from the manager he was unapologetic and could provide me with no explanation as to why his employees would do such and how this was acceptable. He asked how I wanted to solve my issue. I was quite shocked by this questioning and thought that he should be the one providing me with a solution to this issue. I told him I wanted new rims and properly size tires. He said okay and would order such. The following day he informed me they would be in on Friday, May 22 and asked me to come in to have them changed. I explained that I couldn’t be taking more time off work for this. He offered that he could have someone pick up my car, which I thought was a nice gesture, however that never happened. He then offered me a rental car. On Monday May 25, I brought my car to VW Downtown Toronto and I received a rental car from Enterprise. The service manager, Mr John Smeets, told me to make sure I was at the office before 5 o’clock in order to receive a rental car. I was under the impression that the service manager of a very unsatisfied customer would still be there at 4 o’clock when I did go in, however that was not the case. The following business day I phoned and asked to have a meeting with him. He questioned my need. I asked his hours. He told me they were usually 8 AM to 4PM. I asked if there would be a chance to have a meeting after 4PM in order to suit my work schedule, after already having to leave early 4 days to deal with this issue. He said no and said that VW Downtown has dealt with all my issues. I asked for his email and explained to him that I would be emailing him if he did not have the time to have a meeting with me that would be suitable for me. When I then asked for an email for a head office he was reluctant and did not provide me with such and said that is not how things gets done. I also asked to have my $100 back that I paid to have my tires stored, because clearly that money did not store my tires. Mr Smeets said he could credit my account and when I told him I will not be having any of my services done at this location he said oh, oh well. As I am sure you can appreciate, I rely on my car for transport and this has caused a great inconvenience. I don’t believe that this is representative of the service Volkswagen Canada strives to achieve, but as a first time car buyer I can say I am quite disappointed and very shocked. More

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 departme 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! More

Overall: Excellent service, if you ask for the VW Master Overall: Excellent service, if you ask for the VW Master Technician (Vladimir) at the location . Background: My car was purchased several months 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. More

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. Un 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. More

An engine trouble light came on. I dropped my car off 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 wa 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. More

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. recommend Volkswagen Downtown Toronto to anyone and will go out of my way to avoid going there for service on my new car. More