Thursday, October 31, 2013

Planning to buy a Volkswagen car in India? Read this before you make a decision

My car has been repaired properly now and is in a good condition. I'm removing this blog on repeated requests from Volkswagen India. 

522 comments:

  1. I am not buying a VW in India ever.

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    1. here is the CEO's email address - Try your luck
      martin.winterkorn@volkswagen.de
      Source : (http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=10253)

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  2. Sorry for you...sharing it fron my side.

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    1. Don't fall into glitter of foreign cars,buy on Maruti.

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    2. Well to the "die-hard" fans of "maruti" , here is what i experienced first hand pn an "Alto"
      My father's Alto wont start, I called up the nearest Maruti Service Center, they towed it and charged me for it, inspiste being shown and told about extended warranty.

      They they are not able to find the fault, and I have to keep my vehicle in garage for 2 days. Then they give me a story about alternator, and a few more electrical parts to eb replaced. Again "dishonouring" the extended warranty. Aanyways I did pay about 20K and got it done.
      Then the car stopped on G.Noida Expressway. Again towing and again paying.

      Like all other "Software Professionals" , who are too "soft" , I should have started blaming Maruti and then there would be no more brand left to buy , besides mahindra tractors

      But instead I took the matters to maruti and kept on getting it escalated to GM level. Inspite of GM Service and Sales getting involved the dealers were not willing to refund the money that they had charged or "warranty covered" faults/parts on paper. They offered me free services worth the same amount. But again the "Hardware"in me , prompted me to get it settled it the right way. I made them pay throuhg their "nose".

      So all you "Soft"ware professionals out there , get your act right. Its not the brand its the Cheater Dealers and Service. And on top of evertyhing its a shame on us Indians who can malign everything we touch

      Volkwagen is one of the brands with the least recalls.

      Btw, wrt the original post by Sushant, I have the Diesel Filter changed on my Polo Diesel changed for free as a recall. And I have the paperwork for it. I just make sure that nothing goes undocumented. Insist on it.

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    3. here is the CEO's email address - Try your luck
      martin.winterkorn@volkswagen.de
      Source : (http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=10253)

      Delete
  3. Dear Sushant,

    We regret to learn of your experience with us and it will be looked upon with immediate attention. We are escalating the complaint to the concerned authority and will arrange for a revert. You can also get in touch with us at 1800 209 0909 or email us at customer.care@volkswagen.co.in

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    1. Oh really. You jokers, you didn't give a damn while he mailed you and contacted you repeatedly over the course of 1 month. And now that word is out, you are concerned? Sorry Volkswagen, action speaks louder than words. I am sharing this terribleness for sure. Up to you to save your face!

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    2. Even now Sushant has to call on their toll free number. Can't they arrange a dedicated call for him?
      Thank God I chose I20 over Polo. They just harp German Engg. but are good for nothing.

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    3. shame on you VW india,
      but cheers to VW social media team... for trying

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    4. They've said they'll investigate till 5th November. Marking the dealership people as well. Let's see what they say. I'll keep the post updated. Thanks for the support guys. Though I'm not stopping till I get a fair treatment.

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    5. You should have bought Indian. Maruti Suzuki or Mahindra & Mahindra or Tata makes decent cars, even Ashok Layland have started to make cars recently. You could have saved a lakh or two if u did. When it comes to engineering, Indians are better than German's it seems. :)

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    6. This is stupid... My cousin was all set to buy a POLO in Tamil Nadu, He read this report and has decided not to buy ...

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    7. No more VW. You don't even have the decency to call back. More over, anyone who goes for VW is an absolute dumb ass, who just want to flaunt about label.

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    8. They proved that I am sir. :-)

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    9. An apology comment and number to your customer care will all you can do VW for this poor chap?

      If I am paying some premium to buy a car, I expect better customer service.

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    10. Well VW customer care ... please pick up the English dictionary and check the meaning of 'revert'. Post that express Which initial state are you referring to in the reversion you have promised?
      It will be very interesting to know.
      I guess you have read about the Air-France case on social media. Not sure what measures are you taking to address the fame your excellent service has brought you.

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    11. VW is the worst company ever, I will do everything in my power to stop people from buying your cars. Das Auto - Bullshit...Shame VW ...Shame

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    12. What rubbish!! Do you think we customers are so stupid?!! After ALL that you've put him through, you expect him to further contact your customer care!!
      Forget it buddy... Take the matter to the consumer court and sue the company... and make sure you claim for all the mental torture caused as well!
      See their audacity to post such a meaningless standard response!! Why didn't you guys take proper action before he felt the need to publicize your unfair practices?

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    13. VW is going to repent this for sure. Auto companies in India need to realize the importance of after sales service & treating their customers fairly if they hope to stay in the market for good. VW! apart from the damage to your reputation ( which you build over time by paying loads to telemarketers, advertisements & the likes) think about the lost sales this one post will cost you in the days ahead.. pity isn't it?

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    14. OMG !! This is such a nightmare. Shame on you Volkswagen. Is this how you treat your customers !!

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    15. Hey Sushant, I am really thankful to you. I was made my mind to buy VW Polo as I had trust on German engg and the quality but after seen your exp on VW after sales support i am planning to choose some other brand who give value to their customers not just the Brand. Thanks a lot for my eye opening....

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    16. @ volkswagen India - Waiting for your response and I hope its a satisfying one.. Social media can really harm you in future as most of the pottential buyers would be connected via these platforms..

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    17. No VW for me ever. You dishonest people, you cannot call this guy up after all this!.

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    18. I'm amazed at their response. When will these customer care people stop copy pasting template responses to everything. Disgusting.
      I own a vento and i'm not surprised by the way you were treated. The vehicle is definitely not worth the price and the service personnel treat us like we've loaned the vehicle from them.

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    19. I'm sharing this experience in facebook..

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    20. No more VW for me or for my friends or relatives. My BIL was just considering buying a Passat. That sale isn't going to VW.

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    21. VW should take this up very seriously if they want to survive and compete with others. I would say just don't agree for a fair treatment but ensure they are penalized and get 1:10 for what you had to go through. My cousin and my close friend on the other side wanted to buy VW Polo (White), thanks a lot Sushant for bringing this to public, after reading this they both started disliking any cars from this brand and also starting spreading this message to others for their awareness. 10 days ago they both bought Fiat Punto (Red Emotion and White Active) respectively. I was feeling like calling the VW customer care and blasting them and giving feedback on this when I was reading this article. I just hope you get the justice and guilty to be punished.

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    22. VW, what a lame reply. Shame on you. That reply alone shows how lousy VW customer care must be. Thanks for bringing your experience to public, Sushant. A friend of ours was considering a VW Sedan. Will make sure he doesn't make this mistake.

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    23. Be Indian Buy Indian, Jai Bapu

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    24. Never buying VW again in my life. Would tell everybody this story whoever would want to buy VW in my friend circle. Instead of "Das Auto" it should be "Sad Auto".

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    25. No more VW ever. Instead of "Das Auto", it should be "Sad Auto".

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    26. Hey Sushant, why don't you try put it in Twitter marking "Martin Winterkorn" - CEO and see how they respond.

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    27. Thank God. yo saved me from a blunder. I was almost final to book POLO diesel ...but now sorry VW...going for hyundai.

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    28. Be rest assured that your experience will be shared across the web to inform people of the sort of malpractices done in India by the VW group (including Skoda). Every person who reads this post is potentially a lost customer for VW. I hope you sue the hell out of them and get the compensation deserved for this horrid experience.

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    29. keep posted about progress.... they have gone down on sales because of substandard of the car quality... now luring customer thru hefty discounts n freebies....

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    30. I own a Polo[Coimbatore] and their service in horrible.

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    31. I was also considering Polo in Chennai, TN. Changed my mind to Maruthi Ritz.

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    32. WV bullshit.....this is such a shame...and now trying to cover up once the cat has been let out of the bag is an even bigger shame......This attitude is unacceptable and will do my bit to broadcast this in my circle......DAS Bullshit

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    33. The same Customer Care no that didnt respond earlier? What kind of customer support is this? If they had any concern, VW would have sent a Spare Car and taken back the faulty one for a full overhaul. Better still a replacement as the car was quite new. Surely VW stock would have gone up by such a gesture.

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  4. East or West Desi Maruti is the best .. feeling sorry for you buddy ... fealt cheated in the same way .. but not with my car (maruti swift) but with esteemed motor bike .. Royal Enfield .. engine failed in middle of nowhere .. just went dead .. clueless... later had to open up the engine . .broken and crushed piece of metal from screw joint.. no warrenty or such wear and tear as told by the authorised Dealer in Mumbai .. luckily no severe damage .. bike up and running in 3 days of work .. 8000 INR on my pocket ..

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    1. Hey Ananymous, Maruti is also not Desi :) it is manufactured in collaboration with Suzuki Japan and 51% of the shares are of Suzuki. The car exported from India is on name of Suzuki and not Maruti

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  5. hey sushant,

    thanks for letting me know the detailed narration of a vw after sales service and the customer care. this helps me to avoid VW polo which I was supposed to book this week. also i happen to read many customer responses after googling which is of similar experiences.

    did'nt expect this from the world's biggest car manufacturer. even indian car companies give much better than these.

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  6. Thanks a lot guys for your support. The next step is to make this viral and make people aware. These standard responses aka auto replies is all I get from their service.

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    1. Hey Sushant, I have been working with Mercedes-Benz India and know a lot of people from VW India quality department personally. I have seen Gutkha pouches in the gear box of Polo on dealership site, so the way dealership handles the case is very horrible. Actually, dealership network in India is worst when the company is planning to serve people in 3T-cities. I would request you to go to Autocar once, I had a project with Shapurjee Kotwal from Autocar India. I know him personally, I can help you reach him if the case is still not sorted out. I can even connect you to VW guys. Let me know if you need anything.

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    2. I had already emailed Autocar editors, aaa, and posted on Autocar's wall. But I didn't get a reply yet. Probably they have a holiday ;) Anyway, I would love to have any help you could provide me. Do share your email address and let's connect. mine is sushant@sukh.us. Thanks a lot sir.

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  7. Sorry to hear about this. Please don't leave the dealership and the company like this. These guys must be taught a good lesson so that this doesn't get repeated with anyone else. You should also demand heavy penalty for disturbing mental piece, besides getting the car rectified under warranty. Seek some legal opinion about consumer forum. In the past people have got good penalty from courts for these kind of behaviour s. Collect proof s and also publish an article in local as well as national newspaper. All the best!

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    1. Thanks for the support Rajesh. I will make sure that happens. Whatever it takes! :)

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  8. Share this & spread the message to save people from losing their hard earned money by buying Volks Wagon cars

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  9. Bro,

    Just don't waste your time in interacting with these stupid "Officials" and Customer Care Executives. Simply file a small petition with a Consumer court of the city from where you purchased the car. These guys would come to line within their own. Remeber - Latton ke Bhoot batton se nahi mante.

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    1. I get that Lakhwinder. Have already initiated the process about 5 mins back. Thanks for the concern dude. Do share!

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    2. Sushant, not to dampen your spirit, but look what Skoda Auto has been up to: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/54881-skoda-dealer-changes-parts-my-car-consumer-court-car-not-returned-5-years.html. guess who's the parent company of Skoda Auto - VW Group!

      all the best and hope you get a meaningful compensation for all the trouble you've had to endure.

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  10. Sorry to hear that such a thing happened within few months of your purchase.

    Don't leave those involved with this. The public is with you!
    Go ahead and
    keep us updated with the followups in your Blog.

    Also, file a case in Akosha.com.
    We have shared your post across, posted this in our FB wall -

    - Team Driveline.in
    Driveline India

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    1. Thanks Prajwal. Do share the link here and I'll promote that as well. I have used consumercourt.in right now but I would start with Akosha after getting a formal reply (if any) on 5th. Have enough proof and written statements about their treatment now in my emails.

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  11. Sushant the fight can continue but suggestion is you get your car repaired using insurance. And sell it. Get rid of it.

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    1. I get your point and respect that. The insurance apparently covers 5% of the charges sir. And the pain that they've cause me deserved to be told. I would rather spend 1,00,000 INR to market their bullshit than pay for their utter nonsense and the junk that they've made out of my car.

      If you read the comments, some anonymous friend of ours who works for Merc now has seen gutka packets at VW dealership. Do you think we should just give up when we have a chance to change how things work in our country?

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  12. German manufacturers (Vw, Skoda, Mercedes, BMW, Audi) Indian dealership owners spend about 10-15 crores as start up capital and spend a lot more for opening up service centres and recurring vehicle purchases.

    With so much money spent, their hands start itching to get back the money and that's why the service experience is horrible in such dealerships. Overcharging during services, unnecessarily replacing parts before their life is over, recommending changing of parts which are perfectly fine, not allowing buyers to bring outside insurance, rejecting cars bought from another dealership for service etc etc is carried out by all dealers of these german cars.

    But the sad part is these guys can even force the court to go in their favour incase of a lawsuit!

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  13. They can't stop us from talking about it Fazal. If they get "that" difficult, I don't care about the car as much as I care about getting a fair treatment. I'll let the country know as much as I can. It's all of us against them Fazal. Let's do that and not fall prey!

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    1. Hi Sushanth, Happy Diwali foremost. Now have you considered going to the consumer court on this. I strongly recommend you to put a case. I would like to inform you don't wait up, for them coming back to you also get in touch with Vivek law on Bloomberg TV he makes a point the company owns up for screwing up.

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    2. Have contacted him on twitter. Thanks :-) Would file a case tomorrow first thing.

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  14. Yes. I do wish you are given justice. Not just you. Every aggrieved Indian owner who spent his hard earned money to go through trauma must be given peace of mind... Or else Vw should be given our peace of mind!

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  15. rata rataya jawab dene ke alawa kuch aata hai?

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  16. Go to the consumer courts Sushanth. Do it for all of us! Unscrupulous dealers are holding this nation to ransom and myopic mncs are only encouraging this by not responding. The best thing to do is to attack the brand. Everybody goes to the web for reviews and finding this about VW should impact sales. Hope you get justice and a new car... at least!!

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    1. I would make sure of that! This is happening first thing tomorrow!

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  17. Thx dude I almost had bought a vento,but dropped the idea after reading what you went through......thx again

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    1. Glad I could help you. Do spread the word. That would really count.

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    2. Hey Sushant, Why don't you try sending a message in Twitter and also "Martin Winterkorn" CEO and then see the response. I had a similar experience but with an Indian firm and things worked.

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  18. Thank God, i didn't choose VW. I'll spread the message to all my near and dear ones not to buy VW crap.

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  19. Feel sorry for you Sushant. I'll share it in my FB. I was in the same automobile service industry before and by Ex boss has earned the dealership of VW Trichy. I'll share this with him and try to find of the direct service representatives of VW India. I think the amount quoted by the Anonymous caller from the Service team of that dealer was the exact amount for that problem. Anyway I'll try y best to make some people to reach you at the earliest.

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  20. I feel sorry for you dude..great that you shared your experience. It will help many ppl decide on which car to buy..or lets say which one not to buys ;) ..I am definitely sharing this..glad i choose honda citi over vento :D

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  21. Ahh.. this is so sad. really feel sorry for you. But this happens because of weak jurisdiction in India. Such thing happens in US, UK or any where else and dealer would have been sued and made to compensate heavily.

    Please try to visit http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/index.php and post the issue there.

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  22. This is ridiculous! I was thinking of picking up a Polo, but luckily have seen this post in time... Will definitely spread the word! You fight the good fight, Sushant.

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  23. Sad man. Hope you get the attention and money you deserve. Do keep us posted.

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  24. Hi sushant..First of all feeling bad for what happened to you..I came across your post in my timeline which my friend shared and I am from kerala..I will share this post and even tell my friends to!Let everyone know this and no one should be trapped again..This will be viral man!

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  25. Sushant..Suggestion.

    Even calls can be taken as proof given that you record it :-) There are a lot of apps available out there to record calls.
    You can call that guy again and ask him what he was negotiating about...while your record it.

    Your case is strong and im pretty sure they'll have to pay a lot in damages to you. The only thing i say is that just dont give up...if you do , a lot other people across in India will fall prey to these tactics..... and good luck :-)

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  26. I asked for a quote on VW polo.. seems a good decision I havent bought a car, will never ever buy and pass this ordeal to everyone I know.

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  27. So sad to hear...pretty sure now that Bhopal VW dealer would have taken half of the original parts.. can't help u with VW people but definitely would share in fb and ask my friends to do the same

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  28. I am going to share this on my fb and help you make it viral... Buying a car is a close to heart and expensive process... No one should go through what you went... No VW car for me.

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  29. If VW Germany does not look after the way their dealers and service centres operate, they will loose customers very quickly

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  30. Don't mean to stop the well deserved bashing VW is getting for this however I would like to point out that people have faced similar issues with Japanese and Korean cars as well. Extrapolating this experience and saying that no VW car should ever be bought is complete BS. Finally, I find it very strange that you preferred to wait for over 14 hours before arranging a towing service and personal transportation - don't want to be cynical but I find this to be a complete exaggeration! Lastly, before people start trolling me I would have them know that I have nothing to do with VW and currently own a skoda superb (poor man's German car I guess) and recently had a similar issue where my car broke down on the highway - but I immediately arranged for towing it on my own rather than wait for the company assistance (which is slow and unresponsive by default). Hence i find parts of this story too far fetched to believe...

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    1. I'm sorry but it's all real sir. If it was not, I wouldn't be following up with each and every comment for the past two days. I don't really care about the money. But the time and energy they've wasted is too much to take. It actually depends on the situation. I arranged my own towing as well if you read carefully. Doing that myself also takes time since I had never been to Bhopal. Ever.

      Please don't be defensive for no reason. Support me because anyone can be in this situation. And I certainly did not deserve it.

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    2. Dude - i understand that this was a real ordeal for you and a painful experience. Even so, a auto company helpline is by design supposed to be slow and unresponsive. As one person below has correctly posted you can replace VW from the story with any other OEMs name and the story would still be equally believable. Frankly, I think the entire process is a waste of your time. Realistically speaking, the laws and the regulatory systems are twisted and you happen to be on the receiving end of it this time. All of us have to put up with it at some point in our lives. I don't think anyone supporting you or otherwise would make a damn difference. But that's just my point of view. In this situation the only option is to amicably work through this with them. Otherwise the long never ending tunnel of legalese is always open to you.

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    3. Sure. I totally understand your point of view. But it's my way of expressing what I've felt. And I have the right to. If "slow and unresponsive" is something that you have accepted, probably I haven't.

      A consumer always starts fighting when his patience level is torn off. And believe me, probably you are saying this right now, but would've done the same thing when you would've realised being in a similar situation. I don't know anyone personally from VW. And I don't wish to know them.

      If someone from the VW company and not the dealership wants to talk to me and get this sorted, I would be more than happy to. Each one of us have their daily lives to take care of. :)

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    4. Unfortunately there is nothing BS about this post as while he may be extrapolating from his experience, as someone who has dealt with this non-sense and come out on top, I assure you this is far from an individual incident. VW Polos and Ventos have developed a reputation for poor quality including leaking front windshields!

      Instances of cars disappearing from VW or Skoda dealerships have also been quite often. My own Jetta was taken for a joyride and DESTROYED (https://www.facebook.com/UDasAuto). Someone in my friend circle had a GPS installed in their Skoda and found that his car was over-speeding on the streets of Mumbai when the dealership claimed to be doing repairs on it.

      As for the time spent waiting for a towing service, I guess people like Sushant and Me are gullible customers as we tend to believe what a company like VW tells us they are doing to 'Help' us when in fact all they are doing is nothing. Unless you count auto-responding as doing something.

      Lastly, while your decision to get your car towed yourself might seem like a practical thing to do for you, sometimes people like to get what they pay for. So if Sushant had paid (either directly or indirectly) for a road side assistance service, he was very right in demanding the same.

      One might make a case that when people chose to forego their commercial rights by arranging their own tow, they further encourage and embolden these companies to run away from their duties and responsibilities, whether contractual or otherwise.

      PS: Sushant is obviously going through a tough time. Cut him some slack and relax.

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  31. Definitely not buying a VW car now. Please put this on twitter with a suitable handle and we will try and popularize it as much as possible to at least help ensure that you get the assistance required from VW.

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    1. Here's the tweet from me and the auto reply from volkswagen - https://twitter.com/5uku5/status/395931803967438848

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  32. Jeez. India. You had to fuck up again, didn't you?

    Kyun Mata? Kyun? Bharat Mata, aap tho mahaan hai. Aap ki sanskriti itni sundar hai, fir bhi ye sab?

    WHY INDIA? WHY?

    I mean, for once in my life, I wish to go out in public and say, "I'm PROUD to be an Indian! Look at me! I'm an Indian!"

    But then again, if I did that, people would roll their eyes, and stare at me as though they were staring at a monkey that was well-dressed, well groomed, and knew how to walk and talk.

    Sorry Sushant.

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  33. Thanks Sushant for sharing. I will definitely share this on my wall. I was always fascinated about Volkswagen because of their ads on tv. Not, now definitely I am not going to buy a Volkswagen. Please keep us posted about your fight through this blog.

    I will also share it on my wall.

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  34. Its India. Its not the fault of the German Giant, VW, but the Indian mentality which they just couldn't change..........
    I am dead sure this would be the same experience if the car belonged to any AOEM, be it Nissan or anything. Its just the Indian mentality that they can go scot free and take the rules in their hands. In this case, it is the dealership and its custodians who wanted to make a fast buck at the cost of a billion dollar brand!

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  35. Am sure (may be hoping) this is one off case.. in any case you deserve a replacement for your car. and some strict action against the folks you met in VW bhopal!

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  36. Sharing this story. Please approach consumer court.

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  37. Sharing this story. Please approach consumer court.

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  38. VW Bangalore - contact 98860 20791

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  39. Hi.To the best of my knowledge,most of the parts of VW and imported from Germany and the Indian factory only does the assembly.
    The Germans probably don't trust us to manufacture the parts.
    Don't worry about the parts,since they aren't damaged.
    The best thing to do here would be to sue them for the cost of the repairs.
    When its done,sell it ASAP and buy a i10 or a Ecosport instead.
    Hope your problems get rectified soon. Regards

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  40. Sushant, Thanks for sharing, I already shared this with my friends. I have few suggestions,
    Once you publish this issue with Media(Web/Paper), please do add those links or info here.
    One more suggestion, it would be great if you could add links related to others who had faced same issue and try to bring all of them on one platform and complain as one rather than multiple. That might help this case to move further and faster.

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  41. Similar experience with my friend. Shame on you VW.

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  42. Exactly why I dont touch a VAG car, Very similar experieces.

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  43. i had a similar situation a week after buying...an auto walah crashed against my car...my car's left headlights and left side was totaly jammed....VW coolly said nothing was covered in my insurance and i had to pull it all out from my pocket....after a long fight,we managed to reduce it to around 1.5k from our pocket and the rest from insurance...

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  44. VW equates to problems check

    http://www.passatworld.com/forums/74-volkswagen-passat-b6-discussion/366890-vw-dealership-blew-up-my-engine.html#post3127122

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  45. at least ones in every ones life they will come across such experience with goods purchased, for manufacturing companies its a day to day business dealing with complaints from consumer. purchasing a 6 Lakh worth car using life time earnings is not a funny thing. company's should take customer complaints seriously, bad on the German car maker part. its always good to buy cars from manufacturers with a big sales & service network.

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  46. Dear Sushant sir,
    my blood goes red hot after hearing your ordeal with vw.this is called German arrogance and not German engineering.
    i can feel the mental agony you have gone through.

    you have spent ₹80000 for hotel,flight,towing etc.on top if that dealing with this daylight robbers,so called vw dealership.
    everything depends on the ceo who steer the company,if dealer is unethical.it falls on vw itself.if they are not learning.one day nature will knock at their head to make them understand,by the time it will be too late to recover the loss they have gone through.
    i do love European car, love long drive as well.
    we all stand for you,bro.
    regards

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  47. Dear Sushat Sir,

    Thanks for the article actually i from hyderabad and i am planning to buy Polo car this month,after reading your article i am rethinking to get this vehicle.This guys are disgusting



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  48. Hi,
    I have worked in automobile company and owned a few vehicles. After sales service in India is terrible, for every company. It seems acceptable for Maruti (passenger cars) and Tata (commercial) simply because of the scale in market they have built over the years. You have options for multiple garages (company and private) along with various ´jugaads´ available everywhere. You have my sympathies, but we have a long way to go when this will improve. May be social media will help. Hope your issues are resolved soon.

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  49. I have been planning to buy a VW Polo, Now I'm not going to buy this even if they give me it free of cost. Thanks Sushant for sharing your bad experience.

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  50. VW and Skoda (owned by VW) have the worst kind of After Sales Service. And it's not like they don't know this in HQ. The head of Skoda India accepted this in the recent Octavia launch in some fancy resort (Autocar Interview). Their transmission and power-trains aren't the reliable machines they used to be earlier. Toyota stands for that now. They should be boycotted till they stop treating Indian customers like shit. Don't let this one go Sushant.

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  51. I've shared the article on my social networks. I would recommend you to make the facebook button as a Share and not a Like. Does not really do much. Good luck with your car.

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  52. Thank God! I was thinking of buying VW Vento. But reading this I'll never ever buy VW in India! Thanks for enlightening us Sushant!

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  53. Hello Sushant,

    Sorry to hear your plight.

    I believe buying a VW Polo or Vento is something that should be avoided like the plague in India. The interwebs is littered with manufacturing defects in these cars ranging from leaky windshields (yes, water pouring through the edges of the front windshield of a NEW Vento) to what you have described as a defective turbocharger/engine.

    That is the product part of it, and on a personal level I would guess it has to do with shoddy workmanship, lack of quality control all fueled by financial targets. It would be really interesting to know how many (if any) cars that VW makes in India are exported to any of the western countries. Unfortunately I think this is a case of an MNC getting doing (or not doing) something just because it can get away with it.

    That being said, the VW dealership takes being bad to a whole new level. I have had a moderately (in)famous case of my VW Jetta being taken by a dealership for a joyride in the middle of the night and being totaled. The 'accident' was first hidden, then mis-reported and mis-represented to me. The dealership was also kind enough to offer me a second hand car, at a price of course!

    The long and short of it is that I took to the social media. Not in a big way (no money was spent on social advertising, though in hind sight that might have gotten the job done faster). But I hit them where it hurt.

    You see, it was obvious that VW was not too bothered about their image in India. But that could not possibly be the case elsewhere.

    I took to their brand pages for individual dealerships in the US, Germany, etc and posted pictures of the car along with details of the incident.

    VW India consider themselves to be too big to bend against such a small social media effort. But I know that the pressure was building on them as the owners of the dealership finally showed up requesting me to stop.

    Finally I managed to get them to give me a new Jetta, and the dealership was shutdown (now it has reopened under new management and ownership).

    So don't give up my friend. I am living proof that Goliath can be taken down.

    Live long and prosper.

    https://www.facebook.com/UDasAuto

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    Replies
    1. And the sad part here Vineet is, they would call their "joyrides" as "road testing" taking unnecessary advantage of the situation!

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  54. decided to drop from buying Vento, I gave the booking amount..even OK to lose that money, instead of torture with after sales service

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  55. i too had exactly the same experience only difference being i was not asked to change the engine. ally my complaints to vw fell into deaf ears and i sold the car as soon as i got it back. the problem is that the crank case or the oil sump under the engine is which the lowest part of the engine is made of aluminium whereas in most other cars its cast iron and it was unprotected int the earlier cars. a slight scrape on any of our bumps will damage it and the oil goes off.we wont even hear the sound of scraping because they have stuck a felt pad on it.

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  56. My frnd is VW fan and planning to buy one. Will warn him...

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  57. Hi, I couldnt read your entire note but if you still need help i can send you the email ID of the CEO for VW in india. One email to him should change your story - thats what worked for me. pls reply here with your email ID.

    Cheers.

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  58. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  59. Sad....sharing this in my social network

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  60. thx for the post, i will make sure i wont buy any call from vokswagen

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  61. First of all a VW Polo 1.2 Diesel costs over 7 lak, a 1.6 Diesel costs over 9 lak. So which car do you have?

    I have been driving VW for 27 years in Austria, UK, Brazil, China, and now India, I have never ever had any issues in 27 years just great overall experience and knowing I am driving a rock solid car that God forbid if I was in a accident I would be much safer than those cheap Korean and Japanese tin cans, I was involved in severe car accident in Austria where a Mercedes 500 ploughed into the passenger side of my car at over 120kmh, I was fine after a week of bed rest, the insurance and VW assistance was great, I was.driving a VW Corrado V6. I have a VW Polo petrol and a VW Vento diesel in India, was involved in a 7 car pile up a few months back, I was the 7th car, the front end of the car was wrecked I called VW roadside assistance at the scene of the pile up, my polo was picked up by truck in 60 minutes this was on a Sunday, VW spoke to me in perfect English. My polo was fixed in 12 days I had to.pay insurance excess of 2500 RS, noting that the ROT had not sent the cars RC, after speaking to the salesman I bought the cars from he arranged the same for me so the insurance could go through. VW landmark Ahemdabad.

    If you value your life and your family/friends don't compromise safety and quality for a few rupees and buy rubbish from Korea.

    So as I stated what polo costs 6 lak? And what kind of a bump did you have to cause so much damage and did you read the insurance policy before buying it?

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    1. 5.98 is the basic price - not adding insurance and registration. So in a way, yes, I did pay that price you're referring to but not to Volkswagen. Here's the link for your reference - http://www.cardekho.com/overview/Volkswagen_Polo/Volkswagen_Polo_Diesel_Trendline_1.2L.htm

      I'm glad that you're lucky to get a good service / support till now. I bought the car with similar expectations but I was utterly disappointed that I had to make it public. There are others like me, if you read through the comments who share the similar experiences - and they're pretty huge in number.

      My experience was an extreme case, I might agree, but then I would expect a fair treatment and resolution / follow up right? Why should I go through this trauma?

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    2. Hi "more man"

      How is speaking in good English equate to good customer service? You may forget but this is India. Then point is most but has to be said!

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    3. @VN in India different languages are spoken, VW assistance employees speak perfect English, I tried German but they did not understand :-)

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    4. @Sushant fully understand your frustrations, myself would go after the salesman who sold you the car and took your money, I would also camp at the showroom, being ripped off is a total NO. Going to court etc a waste of time.

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  62. Sushant. Truly sad about your experience. However I don't think it's specific to VW! Not defending them, the Ford guys pulled off a similar heist on my Figo. The engine spluttered and refused to start one fine morning and needed to be towed from my garage to nearest Ford dealer. A small puddle and a few chips of metal was all I could find in my parking slot. While these guys were investigating what had actually happened, the dealer whom I'd purchased the vehicle from, constantly kept pestering me to get the vehicle moved to their workshop as they were looking forward to continued loyalty! After deliberating much, I gave in and asked them to get it moved to their workshop. Note by this time, the guys at the first workshop had done a quick check and were not sure but stated that the engine oil compartment might have been compromised and there was something not right about it. However, in all good faith, I agreed to get it moved to my retailer's workshop. Guess what! As soon as the guy in charge there opened the bonnet he said the engine oil compartment had been tampered with and he was quite sure water had been poured into it!
    You can imagine my surprise! The vehicle had run about 2500 kms and the guy here was insinuating that I'd poured water or water had gone into the engine oil compartment on its own! As far as they were concerned there was no mechanical failure and the engine would not be covered under warranty. I showed him the chips and chunks of metal I'd found which clearly indicated internal breakage. But these guys stuck to their guns.
    I had a similar experience for about 6 months where I took it right up with the MD Ford India Operations, and a barrage of calls and emails all resulted to zilch. Eventually, I just lost the enthusiasm to fight this out as we really needed the vehicle back, partly convinced by my wife, I agreed for an engine overhaul, read REPLACEMENT; none of which was covered by insurance or the manufacturer.
    Here's the caveat, since I'd paid for 2 engines, I asked for the damaged one to be retained at the service center or returned to me so that I could have it investigated by a third party examiner and subsequently follow it up with legal options/consumer court. To my surprise, the engine had apparently been dispatched to Ford India Chennai for investigations and would not be available to me. Note: Ford vehicles have the chassis number under the driver's seat, now I had a simple question, which was that my engine number and chassis numbers wouldn't match now! The response to which was mind-blowing. What the manager at this workshop said was that for exactly such reasons the engine number wouldn't matter after they'd replaced the engine! Apparently the new engine block needn't have one!
    Oh wait! So what that meant was they could pull this off day in- day out with nothing to hold them accountable for! I'd anyways had the vehicle lying in the workshop while I was having these mind-numbing interactions on mail and on calls with the buggers.
    In the end, I just gave up on it and paid for the new engine block, as I'd no patience to tolerate their high-handed crappy attitude. Do nail these guys, I had way too much on my plate personally and professionally to give in the time and energy this deserved.
    And I regret every moment of it!

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    1. Really sorry to hear that my friend. I hope this is not the end state for me! At least not from a car manufacturing company :-(

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  63. VW service folks are no saints, much like others in India, but the question here is the car has suffered a damage (underbody hit which resulted in oil draining out) which could cause serious damage to the engine. Why VW, any car would stall if you drain the oil out of it. The hit is by no means small, probably the magnitude has not been realized.Having said, all this VW service folks in India are poorly trained, infact some of the shop floor guys are better equipped to understand the engineering better than others. Good luck to you, prepare for a long running settlement. Unless HQ intervenes, do not expect speedy solutions.

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  64. Why have you not got he.ofbte guy that sold you the car to sort the mess out, follow him day and night you will be surprised how he.will help you, in India most seem to think telling lies and saying kaal Kaal to simply push your paitence till you get fed up and forget about it like the person who was ripped off by Ford, so get hold of the salesman and Harris him till he he gets fed up and not you.

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  65. Going to any type.of court in India.is just a total waste.of.time.and resources, all rigged.

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  66. The only thing I got out of all this is that the people assembling, selling, servicing and supporting VW sales in India are Indians. And it has nothing to do with VW, the company from Germany. VW has to hold these people responsible and fire them. It's lack of accountability which is the reason for your trauma. This is corruption taken to a new level. I'm sorry for your experience. Such incidents only reflect the deep imbibed values in people to cheat others. Beware, such incidents will only deter foreign brands from selling in India.
    You can get a maruti or mahindra repaired in local workshops, the dealerships are aware of this and this is the reason there are low chances of you getting cheated at the dealership. But a VW is a different car altogether. You will not trust a local workshop to repair it and will always take the car to a dealership, the people there know this and leave no stone unturned to put hands into your pocket.
    The only outcome (if there is any) will be to fire the people who cheated you. I do not see any fault with VW.
    (No, Im not related to VW. I'm a victim of corruption in India myself)

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  67. Sad state of professionalism in our country. Keep fighting Shushant. We are with you. Shared on fb.

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  68. I'll try to post this in TeamBHP.com!!!

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  69. I'd just say I was lucky that their pre-sales team was equally bad, we had booked a Polo in Pune last year. They promised delivery in 3 weeks, but after 2 weeks they suddenly changed up and said the colour we booked was not available at the decided price and we would have to pay 15K more for our choice. We cancelled our booking (I've to commend VW Pune for handling the cancellation process efficiently).Also around the same time we came across incidents such as yours where after sales was not handled well.
    I'm glad to be saved from such nightmarish after-sales service.

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  70. It's easy to tarnish image of a company, our VW Vento was bought and within 2 days met with an accident. VW guys were very prompt and changed the Bonnet, Radiator, Door, all parts required within 3 days.
    BRILLIANT JOB

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  71. I have a VW Polo Diesel for last 2 years. I can say one thing, that it is one of the finest cars on the road. VW engineering is far superior than Maruti.

    Coming to after sales and after sales service, its the dealer/service shop at fault. These guys are their to make money and not to do a thorough job.

    my sincere advice , write to VW india and VW headquarters as well. and see the magic happen.

    I have ad several expereinces with service station folks caling me to rate them the best when VW cals me for a feedback. Cant we clearly see who is at fault.

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  72. Sharing this on Facebook

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  73. After I read your blog I did a test call to VW road assist and below is feedback for the brand.

    I rang VW road assist helpline 3 times at diff time with diff problem just to test customer service and I did not find anything wrong. They responded well with appropriate solution. If you don't mind would like to know few things so that I can check with my service advisor in downtown Mumbai.
    1) did you see any default signs on the car dashboard trip meter when your car stopped?
    2) what kind of engine oil fault was that, from which area it was leaking.
    3) could you tell us constant problem u faced?
    4) what was that minor manuf defeat?
    5) which part was not covered under warranty?
    6) policy you hold, is it zero dep or general comprehensive and Insurance co?

    My relationship service manager told there wer 3 cases for engine replacement till now. The reason being they installed CNG kit, no other reason as such...so I wonder what really happen with your car that engine had to be replaced.

    I am sure car must be fine when it came out of VW plant, something wrong must have happened in transit. It's India and you can imagine what could have happened and later dealer knowingly or unknowingly sold this stock to you. Yes, there could be possibility with kind of people dealer recruit, training given to them. Just to tell you within 40km radius it diff, south Mumbai and Thane ppl rep have vast diff.... Since business model is franchisee dealer has to follow VW Germany guidelines... if something fishy continues from a particular dealer they can even cancel the license.

    Now it's been more than 2 years I and my 3 other frnds in Mumbai own VW, and we all love solid built and great ride quality

    Since in past you owned other brands you must be aware that engine oil is pink in German cars as compared to green in others. These are used in powerful engines only. With 3 cylinder engine and great built quality, power is equivalent to 4 cylinder engine. With 15,000km or 1 year whichever is higher is first car service that is kind of confident they have. Big front bonnet and space between front grill and engine ensures minimal damage to the engine incase of accidents.

    I have driven Audi, Porsche, Skoda, BMW and we know parent co. of these except for BMW. Infact I was amazed to see Audi door interior handle, horn and interior fibber strong and same as VW polo or Vento.

    I belief it is not in german DNA to do something like this, they are someone with strong process and guidelines.
    It's a big co. with strong brand equity across the globe. In 2010-11 polo was awarded best hatchback in the world.

    If honda cars are know for petrol engines VW is know for their diesel and you own one. Infact just two weeks back my very good friend sold his honda civic 1.8S fully loaded which was 8 yrs old and got VW polo TDI and he loves it more than Civic, strange but true.


    Regards,
    Rohan Hajare.

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    Replies
    1. Rohan, we've had this discussion before on facebook. :) But thanks for the email addresses.

      Delete
  74. The problem is not the car but the country. I have owned VW's many of them and have been very happy. Having spent time in India I have found from personal experience the country and many of the people are EXTREAMLY corrupt. You where sold a damaged care from a corrupt dealer handled by a corrupt service company and if you think you will get justice going through a corrupt court system you will have to have deeper pockets to grease the justice system than the dealership you purchased the car from. The only way you will get any justice is through the social media like you are doing. You will though open yourself up to defamation lawsuits if you can not back up any of your statement with written factual evidence. Keep the word out and fight as much of this out of country as you can because we all know that corruption rules in India.

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  75. Hi, what is the latest update.. Is it resolved ?

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  76. Very sorry to Hear about the trauma.What I would do is drive the car with a strong banner saying "VW cheated me "pasted all around the car.or hold a banner in front of their head office or regional office.Post these pics on the net and please make this viral.

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  77. Sorry about this Sushant... Wish and hope things get settle quick..
    I'd been to Germany, where I've seen about 80% of people driving VW. I wonder why this happens in India ?

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  78. Current status: Still waiting for a reply. Although I was told 5th of November. Would keep you guys posted. Thanks for all your support!

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  79. Hit them where it hurts them the most...bring out a personal opinion in news paper as a fact basis so that it comes out in open and they cant complain since u are presenting ur opinion

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  80. Dear Sushant,
    All the best for the reply you are waiting for from the company. After paying lacs of rupees you still at their mercy....We run behind Foreign companies for displaying the brand..but in car brand is just the logo aur konsa humko logo pe baith ke ghumna hai...machine hi na thik chale toh logo kya khaak kaam ayega...We start trusting these new Foreign companies and then they give us a run for our money...I would personally feel that even if we are foreign brand freaks we should trust brands like Hyundai, Chevrolet etc who have been in market for years now, not these new players who don't even know the road conditions and real need of Indian market....I can only sympathize with you at this stage and I pray that this company does not give you a run for your money...All the best once again..God bless you...Keep posted about their feedback and reply..And yes last but not the least..Thanks for making people aware...
    Regards
    Vineeta :)

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  81. They have lost one more customer in me :)

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  82. even pre-sales is equally bad.. about two years ago, when Swift VDI was on six months waiting, i decided to Go for a Polo, had such a bad experience that i decided to wait for swift..

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  83. I had given a token amount for VW polo... bt wont go for it now... thank god i am saved .... bt there these ppl need to taught a lesson... these VW dealers think there are many idiots in india who will buy this 'famaous' brand and they mistreat with customers... BAN this manufacturer in India... India is not a dumping ground for defected cars..

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  84. Really sad to see the state of Volkswagen. Never will I consider this company in my life. Will share this on my wall

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  85. Absolutely Shocking!!! I have a friend who had the pretty much same experience with a Polo, in Kolkata. Same damage, the car got bumped and lost all the engine oil and broke down, I guess it was with the service center for several months and they asked for a whole engine replacement, with all these similar cases it is probably a faulty batch of products with zero after sales service.
    Sorry for the trouble you have been through man and thanks for sharing...

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  86. thanks for sharing your experience. i will drop my idea of buying a skoda or vento. and will continue with maruti

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  87. Sorry to hear for what you have gone through. While you were super excited for your road trip to Bangalore, this shit would have taken away everything. I did the same from Mumbai to Chennai last year in my 10 year old Maruti WagonR, which we strong for good 1500 kms in 2 days without any problem. Recently I sold that off for a Chevrolet Beat and almost had a similar experience during the delivery. While I was booking the car, as a part of the standard spec list on their official website + everywhere else including the brochure available at the dealership mentioned that the car would come with Climate Control. Got a shocker when I go to take the delivery of the car; it was with Manual A/C. I complained, not once or twice, but almost 20+ times, both to the dealership and the manufacturer. First of all, no one was willing to take the ownership of the complaint. It was just like the table-tennis ball being hit to the other. I would get several calls from the Dealership (Sundaram Motors) and Chevrolet Head Office. I would explain them the issue each time I got the call hoping that something will happen. Finally they verbally communicated that, 2 months back they stopped this feature and added 3 new shitty features to compensate for the same. Let me tell you; that was bull-shit. I demanded a written communication again. Had to follow up for this 50 more times. Finally got it but not marked to General Motors. I mailed this communication to General Motors for them to give their ok on the same. Till date not reply. It has been 4 months now. Can you beat the fact that General Motors call center guys are not even aware of the standard features the car comes with? They had to put me on hold or said they will call me back post confirmation with their senior. If this is the case then why is the call center there in the first place....Trust me guys, Maruti is really the best till date....No one can beat them when it comes to Customer Service.....I regret buying Chevrolet / General Motors.....i should have gone for Maruti.....The experience pre + post buying and even pre and post service is just superb anywhere you take it in India....Love Maruti.....GM suck.....anyways best of luck......rip-off VW.....don't spare them

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  88. I have heard of this earlier, but when checked with the sales person, he mentioned that in new polo, this is fixed and will not be seen anymore..

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  89. Sushant,

    This is shocking! Please note, I would like to feature your story on http://www.drivespark.com/ which is a multi-lingual Automobile portal of http://www.oneindia.in/ which operates in English/Hindi/Tamil/Telugu/Kannada/Malayalam. Kindly do provide us the permission to feature your story to our readers.

    Your experience will be featured in English, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi platforms of Drivespark and I hope the featured story will help ~ You/readers/prospective buyers to make the right car choice.

    Stay Calm ~

    ----
    Jobo Kuruvilla
    Chief Editor - Drivespark
    Mobile: 0782-9999-380
    jobo.kuruvilla@oneindia.co.in

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  90. F***kin A@@les, they think they can take ride and dust off their hands that easily. X-(,

    Sorry to hear that sushant, appreciate your effort on sharing ur exp.

    Definitely would never go for VW or anyone else near me go for one.

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  91. Dear Mr Sushant,
    I own a Jetta. God only knows whats going to happen with it.
    regds

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  92. Very Sorry about your bad experience Sushant...
    I will surly make this reach for my entire office... I will surly share this with all my teams... so none of my friends go with VW...

    (we have no place left in our office parking... I will request people to buy VW car so we can permanently park one at the service station.... seems good solution for parking issue.... heheee... just kidding... :-) )

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  93. Sushant, please also e mail all your problems and details to their HO in Germany. Write directly to their MD/Chairman/CEO and it will work. I had a similar issue with HP, whom I had given my Laptop for paid repairs and they did not respond for 3 months! One mail to their MD in the US and everything done in a jiffy and FOC!!! These corporations are very high on customer service abroad, so the right way is to get the local guy's butt kicked from abroad.

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  94. hmmm... I was about to book a VW the next month ... Thanx a lot Sushant for sharing .. Wish you all the best ..

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  95. sorry sushant... i live in Nigeria and will keep my friends informed of this incident and keep off from VW

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  96. Sorry to here your story. I could imagine your frustration as this kind of incident happened with me(With a high end sony 3d led tv). One thing I realized that we never give importance to the products from India and we think some foreign products are good for sure. Hope you will come out of this situation with less headache.

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  97. Shocking...... but as one of them has commented above i would surely love to hear from the Volkswagen team too before i share this with everyone. As for You, Sushanth, i am sorry for you mate & i applaud you for your fight against justice if whatever you have posted here is correct. I am gonna do one thing tho, I am definitely sharing this post with one of my friend whoz planning to buy a VW car.

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  98. I felt very bad after reading this article. Though its VW is responsible for all these hassle, we also shouldn't forgot about the laws of our country, it never support common people and its complicated. Though consumers are willing to spend more money in buying German cars, unfortunately service industry didn't grow to the expected level.

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  99. Thank god I saw this post in FB. I had canceled the Polo I had booked.

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  100. Hi Sushant,

    I feel sorry for you. I want to share something I went through after buying a Vento less than 4 months before. It stalled many times on the road. After several visits to service centre it was not fit to be running on road. Current status is that it is in the workshop for last 2 weeks. Needs fuel pump replacement which is quite a cost. I do not know if they know fuel pump is bad.

    Another issue - out of 4 tyres, 1 tyre is Apollo and other three are JK tyre. It has been around a month and they have no clue why the hell this tyre is different. I do not know what is the solution for our grievances.

    -Devendra

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  101. Hi Sushant, So sorry to hear what happened with you & I hope that our Consumer Court does justice to your case. I will definitely spread the word on my part. When I was buying a hatch about 3 years ago, everyone told me to buy a Polo, but I think something stopped me and I bought a Punto instead. I am lucky and today I love my Punto Diesel. Hope you get a resolution soon & the culprits pay for what they have done.

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  102. Hi sushant, i suggest you to file a case before the consumer court for all the pains you have gone through. Apart from insurance claims you can get compensation for the mental agony you went through for being owner of faulty car. Consumer Courts are awarding pretty good some of money as compensation. it'll also teach a lesson to the car maker to treat their customers with respect next time.

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  103. Sad to hear about , Sell this junk ASAP, When you file a case in consumer court, ask for 10-20 times compensation of the Car, this is India, but who knows VW can come and settle you with a big compensation. I am sharing this in my FB and all other social network, that I could. These are the issues of all foreign cars where service and service people are horrible.

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  104. had similar bad experiences with VW service. One of the incidences when a paint job required VW Bangalore asked for 15 k from me. While one of the local service guy did it for 5 k..

    Also, I have seen lot of problems regarding their electronics parts happening with Polo..

    One of the way VW Noida service center is also cheating and evading tax is by providing proforma invoice rather than providing proper tax invoice and whenever u ask for invoice they say their system is down

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  105. Dude I have a VW polo i had a problem my self...
    I had it serviced in chennai recently and guess what 2 days after the service , the car starts leaking deisel i went to a mechanic shop for instant repairs and he says that the deisel pipe was not inserted properly.

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  106. I would suggest you pull the car out of this dealership and take it somewhere else ( another authorized dealer) these guys seem keen on ripping you off. Don't see any reason as to why your engine or Turbos would need replacement as engines aren't that poorly constructed. Would strongly suggest getting the car to a dealership of better repute

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  107. I have done my part.. by sharing this URL on FB wall ... Venkat

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  108. Sorry to hear about your experience Sushant. Just shared this blog on my FB timeline. All the best for the legal fight with VW. It's only with such initiatives from our side that the situation can change in India. I recently bought a pre-owned Nissan from a dealer in US (Dealer also has a VW dealership) and even the minor faults or damages that I observed were repaired and the parts (even quite expensive ones) were replaced free of charge. The customer service here is of utmost standards and all this because of very tight regulations and customer focus. I hope we get to see such attitude in India some day.

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  109. Dear sushant....l
    Sorry to hear abt ur exprnce...but from my personal exprnce: I own a polo....I never had any problems with it....completed 2 yearly services now.....my dealer is very frndly to me till now...when I goes for service I' ll get a technician with me and he checks the car for around 30-45 mins in my presence and let me know the status of each parts....at the end he gives me an estimate also....and it was less I paid when the final bill came....and for the price of parts...these are high quality made as I felt and u need to pay for good stuffs...I never had a problem with my dealer....and since u had this horrible exprnce this is purely fallen on the dealer...not for the entire Vw...you have my full support on this and nobody should ever do this to anyone ... But still I say Vw have the best driving exprnce I had...I owned maruthi Hyundai and ford before....all the best buddy....

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  110. Sushanth feel sorry for you but I personally own 3 vw products (polo gt(jetta TS. And a polo tdi) I've always endorsed their service in karnataka which made me by even my 3rd car.....Am surprised at your story....I was given a loaner car when my polo had a breakdown in 2012 the dealer in bangalore (palace cross) took keen interest in getting the car fixed ASAP and till such time allowed me to use the loaner car...now . Enjoy my cars serviced from volkswagen mysore...I guess you bumped into wrong people (dealers).....

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  111. Hi sushant i feel so bad for whatever happened to you...But Everyone has a dream to buy a car we will never buy a car without reviewing for more than100 times a day about d car before we buy....There are lakhs of people who got polo your concern should make the VW get ruined about their service....Apparently if we want to blame d fault only about VW I hope there are many people risk experiencing with a lot more brands of cars you can screw VW for what you bared for so many days....But I would like to tell others don just blame d technology its not d fault of a person buying his dream car its a big mistake by the company....You buy your dream car let it be VW, Maruthi, Mahindra anything don blame the brand kick the dealers who spoils the name of your car by giving such a horrible day for a person like sushant and sushant you shud be happy about your car bcoz it wad ur best choice but u just had a bad experience only on ur service I could say its a kind of wrong turn for you its your turn now screw the dealers not d brand name of the car coz at d end all cars has only 4 wheels if u keep on commenting d same there ll be no 1 in our country who ll buy cars especially my guy is concerned abt this n he is depressed bcoz of all of the comments make ppl to be on the safer side though u buy polo not disappointing.....

    .

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  112. Its Just Horrible ... im following ur post., atleast consumer court indian will give u justice as VW is acting weird ...

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  113. Sad to hear your experience. One of my relative's Skoda Superb is in service center since last 3 months. The way VW-Skoda people treat us is pathetic.

    Try to get full amount refunded. Get a Tata car next time. Their service is very good now and quality of cars also good. And Mr.Tata, Karl Slym are available for contact easily.

    Support Indian companies and teach those third class foreigners a lesson

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  114. Thanks sushant for sharing...I was very impressed with polo..but after is never buying a polo

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  115. Happy Diwali Sushant which is not happy for you anymore. Sorry to hear about ur case buddy. Don't leave such idiots to let fool others. Thank GOD I was about to buy a Vento or a Jetta but finally bought the Indian bull Tata Saf. No product ever matches all our expectations and so is the case with my current product as well. Although there are small niggles which can be overlooked but the difference in service is Huge. In 2 years of my ownership, under warranty, I have got atleast INR 40K worth of parts changed and that too - NO Questions asked from the dealer or manufacturer. Not that they cud not have been repaired but the mfg is bent on satisfying the customer. Glad that I bought an Indian Car. I am sharing this and pls keep us posted. Not buying VW anymore.

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  116. Hey Sushant, I guess it's the same way Skoda India also works (considering they're siblings). I have had a horrendous experience with Skoda- Hyderabad. You at least got three months to drive your car before experiencing worst. I've had bad experiences since the day I bought the car and it took me over 4 months to resolve all my issues. First, they stopped my registration for over 2 months and made me drive a car with no registration number and deal the traffic cops on the roads, then they stopped my payments which I have paid extra during the delivery of the car, then they gave me a car with faulty discs and brake pads for which I had to visit different workshops continuously for over three months and they still couldn't figure it out until I dragged them on to the internet. It took them over three months time (20 workshop visits) to fix a faulty disc and brake pads. If anyone from Hyderabad is reading this, my suggestion is that you not buy a Skoda from Mahavir and since it's the only dealership in Hyderabad, better avoid buying a Skoda car.

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  117. thanks for sharing!! Similar experience with me. I Have a Polo and I Purchased it from Kolkata. The covering of the Hood was bitten by some rats and the service enginners told me that my hold engine wiring had to be changed since only my wiper 's water spurt function was not working estimate provided was close to 50K and as usual not covered by insurance. a year later i again gave the car for service at the same dealership in Jamshedpur and this time they rectified it for free.
    I Wonder if the service people know what are they actually doing!!!
    PS: I'm planning to sell the car once i payoff the loan!!

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  118. Thanks for sharing... it will be a great help for people buying car in future to decide.. shared from my side as well..

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  119. Any updates from the VW folks? they were supposed to reach out by 5th Nov.

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  120. I did have in mind to buy a Polo ... its gone now... thanks !!

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  121. Sorry to hear about it friend. Shared in my social Networking sites.

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  122. Dear Sushanth,I own a Tata Indica Quardrajet and VW Polo.My Indica quardrajet proved "Mera Bharat Mahan"when a fiesta dashed while speeding.On another day a piaggio ape auto hit ma POLO...n proved its HOLLOW .. bumper teared....dont no whether VW made it out of plastic or paper?Auto still stood stern after d hit..Please dont buy this shit!

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  123. Sad dude....sharing to spread the word. Car is something that we aspire for a long long time. No wonder Maruti and Hyundai are the market leaders. After sales should be an important factor while deciding which car to buy. Not VW anymore.

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  124. I was planning to buy a VW but no more. My brother-in-law also had this chutiya experience with his clutches and engine oil issue. Was not covered and it was a manufacturing defect. Screw Das Auto.

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  125. If it was in USA, VW would have been closed and CEO behind bars by now.

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  126. WOW i was planning to get a VW polo diesel in the coming months :X

    thank god that you shared this...

    Its sad that a company with a name which stands for People's car,,, doesn't give a shit about people...

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  127. Thanks for Sharing this Sushanth. I was planning to buy a polo or a vento but will definitely not buy and recommend the same to friends and family.

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  128. Sorry to hear Sushant's experience. But as a user of POLO for more than 3 years I had very good experience in service from TN and Kerala. I had shifted the car from TN to Kerala without doing any special work on my warranty. Some spare part like back door lock costing more than 20K was replaced completely free by them in EVM Kochi without any issue and taking cover from my extended 2 year warranty. As far as the car is concerned it is like my fifth family member. The trust on VW made me to go for a Skoda Rapid recently as my second car. Both are stellar cars. For the poor service at Bhopal, VW need to make immediate corrections is what I feel....

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  129. Sorry to hear about Sushant's experience. I had very good experience with my VW Polo over last 3 years and more. Car brought from VW Coimbatore and shifted to Kochi had received excellent support from service at both locations. I had extended 2 yr warranty which took care of one of my recent costly replacement of back door electronic lock also. I am so fascinated by Polo that I went onto buy a Skoda Rapid as my second car from the same Stable. I feel it is a bit too far to blame the brand whereas as most comments have made it clear our service partners are the PROBLEM...They are not German !!

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  130. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  131. this is totally unacceptable mahn'....i mean how could VW India do this...i had so much trust on VW..,bt now its a total 'No' from me...
    thanks for sharing ur xperience dude...otherwise the dark side of VW would have been remained forever in the dark for all of us...

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