Team Volkswagen of Hayward


Country United States
State California
City Hayward
Address 25115 Mission Blvd
Phone 510-885-1000
Website http://www.vwhayward.com/

Team Volkswagen of Hayward Reviews

  • Apr 11, 2015

After I purchased a used car from Team VW: 90 days of car troubles; $700 dollars of repairs; hundreds of dollars of rental cars; and hours of worry -- and lies from the dealership

I purchased (in late Nov/early Dec) from Team VW a 2003 wagon in seeming good condition (they showed me a receipt for the timing chain replacement) and for what I felt was a good price! It had been smogged and it was clean and low miles (78k!). This car was "As-Is." I didn't expect a warranty for a 12 year old car. But the salesman said I could bring the car back within the first 30 days for anything not working and they would repair it; company policy.

At first, the car smelled but they told me that was the engine cleaner which would burn off in about three days. So I just turned on the recirculating vent (which took air from inside the car to vent) and forgot it.

Three week later, the engine light came on and the car started to shimmy, like the fuel wasn't smooth. My mechanic said the car computer indicated an emissions issue and to take it back to the dealer. I took it back and asked for a replacement car and they rented me a car at a reasonable price. I got my the car back six days later and they said they replaced all the spark plug cables and spark plugs. I asked them to pay for the repairs which they did!!

But the car still smelled a day later. They told me again that the smell was the engine cleaner and wait three days for it to dissipate. After a week of undissipated smell, I took it back to my mechanic. When he opened up the engine cover, there was a hose just sitting on top of the engine, unconnected to the exhaust system. But it gets worse: it wasn't the correct hose. It didn't fit the exposed exhaust pipes! My mechanic ordered the correct hose and fixed the exhaust that day.

But about a week later the the engine light came on and the car smell had shifted from an exhaust sort of smell to an oil sort of smell. I stopped by my mechanic and he gave me an appt for the following week.

The computer code was the same one (emissions problem) as in December. But also, the car engine was full of oil, down to the pan. My mechanic advised I return to the dealership since it was probably the same problem they had repaired in December. And, he was concerned finding the oil leak would take lots of labor hours and would be expensive.

By now I was concerend Team VW would disagree that the oil all over the engine was the same problem. So I asked my ex-husband to take the car in. He used to be an airplane mechanic (15 years) so he knows engines. Also, he is male; nuff said. My Ex's opinion was that the engine oil gaskets were what should have been replaced originally. They would have fouled the spark plugs to begin with. My mechanic thought the same. They felt if the gaskets had been replaced the first time, I'd not have oil all over the engine.

My Ex negotiated the repairs, to have the engine gaskets replace, if needed. The general manager of Team VW said they would make the necessary repairs and cover the costs. I got the car back two days later. The day after I took possession of my car, the engine light turned on, again. And the car started to smell of oil, again.

This time I asked my mechanic to give me a quote, just to see how expensive repairs would be; I was loosing confidence in the VW mechanics. My mechanic said the engine gaskets needed to be replaced -- the VW dealership had not done that. It looks like they just turned off the engine light and sprayed cleaned the engine.

I am extremely disappointed with Team VW! I have no idea if they were aware of the engine gasket problems before they sold the car! But since the engine light came on within three weeks of the sale, I 'm left to wonder whether the dealership was just putting band-aids into the car to sell it to any unsuspecting consumer. I am praying they really did replace the timing chain! And now that I have paid to have the engine gaskets replaced, I'm pretty sure I'd pass a smog if I had to. The car is working fine now, no thanks to Team VW!!

I paid my mechanic $540 to replace the gaskets. I paid him $117 for the new exhaust hose. I paid $427.15 (2/25/15), $213.07 (12/26/14), $74.85 (12/24/14) all toward rental cars during repairs. That comes to $1,372.97 in monies (not in time!) to get the car working.

Beware: they seem to be a group that will say and do anything to sell you a car, and they are not averse to lying about the condition of the car or the repairs they say they will do to keep the car in good shape! I was informed of repairs by a salesman, a general manager, and the repair manager each on separate visits.

Write a Review about Team Volkswagen of Hayward