Finally this debacle seems to be drawing to a conclusion
After admitting liability for the engine falling out and repairing all the damage, further faults started to develop. At first a few extra rattles in the cabin, then a crackly speaker in the drivers door and then some worrying rumbling noises and sensations through the steering wheel.
The dealer agreed that they would replace the vehicle at their cost and so the search began
VW had stated a previous fault with the gearbox was a "design characteristic" and held firm when I tried to get them to investigate it so I used this against them, stating I wouldn't accept a replacement with the same 6-speed DSG gearbox. They agreed that this was a fair request as they didnt want to lose face by backing down. Unfortunately for them this only left the top-of-the-range engine/gearbox combo with it's 7-speed DSG gearbox
The hunt has been ongoing for about 3 months now - up until this weekend they had only found me two cars and neither of them were the correct spec. The first one they offered me had the 6-speed gearbox that I didn't want but I seriously considered it just to draw things to a close. I contacted them that afternoon and told them I'd have it. I'd been told it was soon to come in to stock and had been reserved for me. The next morning I got an email telling me one of their sister branches had accidentally sold it to someone else
The next one was equally annoying - again it was the wrong spec with the 6-speed gearbox and this time a lower trim level, but a few years newer. I spent over an hour in the dealership looking at various cars to decide if I would accept the drop in trim level and eventually agreed that I would, just to draw things to a close (again). This time I got an email the next day telling me the brand manager had decided I couldn't have it as it was too expensive
I was getting a bit peeved at this point due to the constant time wasting and generally piss poor customer service so I went in again and asked for the name of the next manager up the tree. They wouldn't give me their contact details
This was the final straw, so I went home and did some googling until I'd found the name of the managing director of the garage's parent company
I sent him a factual email on Saturday of this week, had a personal meeting with him yesterday and they found me a new car today
Hopefully within the next few weeks I'll be picking up my new Passat GT BiTDi 4Motion
It's a few months older than the car it is replacing and has done a few thousand miles more, but it has the better engine and gearbox along with several optional extra's that make it a worthy replacement
I've never had a heated steering wheel before
Wifey isn't particularly thrilled with it all as she prefers the R-Line interior trim but I'm more interested in the dynamic chassis control, four wheel drive and 240bhp
I won't be looking at the seats while I'm driving
It's a shame it had to get raised to the top before I got a result but there you go - it all seems to have worked out well in the end, but not without a fair bit of graft on my part to get here
