Maple Ridge Volkswagen Dealership - Sport VW vs. a small family
This is our Volkswagen story, one involving a Maple Ridge Sport Volkswagen dealership in British Columbia, Canada. We're just starting to tell our story so please bear with us. It's a long and sad tale, about a honest family that tried to get a VW from Sport VW in Maple Ridge, only to end up with dishonesty, lies and generally deceitful practice from the staff, and to top it all off? A vehicle with nothing but problems.(I start the story as "We" but as time progress, my wife finds herself unable to deal with the stress of trying to get answers from the staff at Sport VW.I can't say I blame her! I'll be switching to "I" as you read.Sport VW Update
Well, we finally sold the van. We took a huge loss on the deal, way more than we expected.
To give us closure and to try and recoup some costs during this ordeal, we are letting anyone interested in buying this domain that it is now
FOR SALE
Who might want to buy it? Those that know the value of a domain that ranks high in Google for a variety of VW relatedterms. Maybe you are a Volkswagen owner that has had a good experience at Sports VW(is there such a person?). Maybe you also have had a bad experience and want to tell your side. Maybe you own a dealership called Sport VW that isn`t the one in Maple Ridge, BC and want a domain name for promotions for your dealership. Or maybe Sport VW themselves want to buy this site, if only to delete all that we have written or to tell their side.Maybe you own a Maple Ridge VW -related business and need a site that brings you traffic right away or maybe you own a VW related business near Maple Ridge and aren't getting enough Internet sales.
Whatever the motivation for buying the SportVW site, this domain name and site is for sale.
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All the people that saw this site so far.
We`ve gotten a few emails of support and the last few weeks and also a few detractors. We feel like some of you might need a little more back-story. We thought with our verbal and partially written agreements, we would have the issues with the Venture dealt with by the dealership. They said they would take care of the transmission and engine issues. At that point, considering the salemans promise of this Venture being a reliable vehicle for our family, we figured we should make the purchase. We repeatedly spoke about building a relationship with this Maple Ridge dealership so that we could at some point, come back and get a new GTI or something.
We received an email about being sued for defamation, libel or slander. Everything that we`ve written is either fact, or our opinions on how we were treated. We aren`t simply making things up. We can't be sued for telling people how we were taken advantage of at Sport VW in Maple Ridge.
We just want others to be aware so they don`t get burned. Especially people like us that were in a difficult position...Needing a safe, reliable vehicle fast. A terrible position to be in when walking in to a dealership.
Thank you for your supportive emails. It`s comforting to know that we aren`t the only ones that have had bad experience at SportVW!!
Sport VW and us - How we met the "players" there
In April of 2006, my wife and I were reading the paper when we found a VW Jetta that was sitting at a Maple Ridge Volkswagen dealership called Sports VW. Noticing they had a website, we went looking through their online inventory and found a Jetta.. This was right up our alley. We wanted to start building a relationship with a VW dealership a buy brand new VW GTI after the Mrs. finished University. At least, that was our plan when we called this Maple Ridge VW dealership - Sport Volkswagen, that fateful day in April of 2006.
We called the number listed for this new VW dealership in Maple Ridge. We spoke to the Finance guy named Richard who was obviously very eager to have us come down. We told him about the Jetta on the website that we were interested in and he asked for some credit details and said he'd call us back.
A day later, Richard calls back and tells us that we'll need to come in so that he can get us in to our VW. Elated that we might get the Jetta, my wife and I drove our old beat-up Chevy to see Richard at Sport VW in Maple Ridge.
Upon our arrival, we asked to speak to Richard. Seconds later a salesman arrived, saying that he would take care of us as Richard was tied up. I asked the salesman to show us the Jetta and he hesitated before telling us he'd be right back.
A few minutes pass and the salesman returns with another man who introduces himself as Richard the Finance Manager for Sport VW. We shook hands and then we asked about the Jetta. Richard then told us that the Jetta was not "sell-able". We asked what this meant, as we came there specifically because Richard told us he'd be able to get us that Jetta, the same one we saw on the Maple Ridge Sport VW website.
Richard then told us that because of safety concerns, he could not sell us the Jetta. We were noticeable disappointed. We had a specific budget and most of the cars listed on the website were way over our budget. Richard quickly pointed us in the direction of a Hyundai something and my wife and I looked at each other before shaking our heads.
We wanted a VW. We came to Sport VW to buy a Volkswagen, not a Hyundai. We wanted that Jetta.
A few minutes later as we were walking around, the salesman drives up with a white mini-van. My wife and I had been looking at other VW's on the lot, checking the price stickers. We had taken notice that all of them had a price sticker on the bottom of the front windshield, near where the VIN # is located, yet when the salesman drover up in this 1999 Chevy Venture, it had no sticker on it, but did have residue on the windshield, where the sticker was previously. I had looked for the sticker right away and was curious as to why this van arrived without one.
When I asked the price I was told $9000 plus taxes. This was roughly double our budget and even though we wanted a VW badly, a mini-van for our family would work. I could use it for my job and it'd be good for our small family. Not a VW but we figured we'd give it a shot. Our Blazer was on it's last legs.. We figured this Venture would put us on the road to our new VW.
We asked for 24hr test drive and they agreed without hesitation. My wife and I talked to Richard about building a relationship with a dealership. We told Richard we'd consider taking the Venture, if only it meant that once we paid it off, we could come back for our very own new VW. He smiled, shook our hands and told us how he'd love to build a relationship with us. With that, he gave us the keys to the Venture and we drove it home for our 24 hr test drive.
Sport VW - The deception continues
After arriving home, we wanted to see if the $9000+tax quoted for the van was a reasonable price. We searched the Buy & Sell and found that similar vans were priced cheaper but we thought that the Venture we were looking at it seemed pretty nice. We kept looking through the Buy & Sell and we found the EXACT SAME VENTURE listed in the Buy and Sell online website, listed for $6788.00, not the $9000 that Richard and the salesman told us it was.
We decided to take another look at Maple Ridge's Sport VW website to see if maybe we could find the Venture listed there and see if there was a typo on the Buy & Sell site. Low and behold, we found the same Chevy Venture, with the same photo for $6788.00 again! It's not like we were looking at the wrong van. We noticed that not only was the Sport Volkswagen Maple Ridge banner flying in the background, but if you look at the picture, you can see the price tag sticker on the widnshield where it should have been!
We were very angry. Not only were we misled into thinking that we could have the VW Jetta we wanted, but now the staff at Sport VW in Maple Ridge were trying to take advantage of us. We were very upset by this.
So we decided to take a stand and instead of allowing ourselves to be the victims, we decided we'd make sure we didn't get taken advantage of again. We had been fooled once by the Bait and Switch tactic to get us in to the dealership and then fooled again by the price sticker removal and inflated price trick. My wife and I vowed not to be fooled again.
We called Richard the Finance guy from Sport VW and told him that were interested in the van, although there were a few issues with it that we wanted resolved before agreeing to purchase the Venture. He said told us that Sport VW would take care of any issues we had with the Venture.
We then started talking numbers with Richard. Based on our budget and in order to get payments of $350 a month we'd have to put down $1100 cash plus the 1992 Chevy Blazer (which he was going to give me $1000 for).
We weren't prepared to give up our Blazer and $1100 cash. We asked again the sticker price, he told me that it was $9000 PLUS TAX. We then asked what the cash price would be, if I could come up with the cash money. He told me that it would still be $9000 + tax. He said the loan would be for 3 years for $380 a month.
My wife and did the math. $13680 when it was all said and done for something advertised for $6788+tax(7806.20 taxes in and including the $1000 trade-in for our Blazer)
We told Richard that we'd call him back. That's when we decided to try and see what other price we'd be quoted, if we were someone else. The fact that the price sticker had been removed made me wonder if perhaps we were being taken for a ride again.
So, we sent an email to Sport VW via their website, posing as another customer asking for a mini-van. We received a stock reply from a Mike Galpin, asking us to come in and see us. Below is one the emails I replied with, while posing as another customer.
(In defense of Mike Galpin, he was the only one during this whole ordeal with Sport VW that actually seemed concerned about us and seemed like he genuinely wanted to help please us.)
We(I) talked to Mike on the phone and he told us we could have the Venture for $6000 + tax after he talked to his Manager. He mentioned that a couple was interested in buying it also, but if we made it in the next morning, he would sell it to us first! (Little did he kknow, WE were the couple!)
We then called back and spoke to the Manager of Sport VW, a man named Anthony who Mike Galpin had asked about getting us the Venture for $6000 +tax. Anthony said the total price would be $6840.00. Anthony said that couple that was interested in the Venture was going to pay way more for the same Venture that he was going to sell to us for $6840.00. Anthony also told us that the window sticker on the Venture said $9000 so that is what the other couple had agreed to pay. When we asked why did they have to pay so much, I said that it didn't seem fair that the "other"couple had to pay so much when he was going to sell it to "us" for so cheap. His response was, "well if it was your car, you'd want to sell it for as much as you could right?"
Under normal circumstances we'd agree but since we were both the parties involved, we couldn't believe that they were going to do this to us! We wondered what happened to all the talk of building a relationship??
Sport VW's owner is confronted
We finished our conversation with Anthony and then I called back as myself, asking to speak to the owner. I was put through to Mark Loeppky, from the FFun Auto Group, the owner of many car dealerships including this one in Maple Ridge,Sport VW.
I spoke to Mark Loeppky, telling him how angry we were because they tried to take an extra $2000+ from me and my wife, even after knowing our need for a good, safe, reliable VW. Told him how we were taken advantage of. Told him how we were very unhappy that we were Bait & Switched and then decieved. We told him that we needed the car for our family, needed to get a safe vehicle. Told him that we felt victimized.
He told me he wanted to make us happy and asked us what we needed to be happy. We told him what we need. We told him I wanted it for the REAL sticker price of $6788.00 and we were not going to give any money down and we wanted a 3 month power-train warranty. After some debate, he agreed and we said that we would purchase the vehicle, ONLY under the following conditions.
1)The "Check Engine Light" fault would be found and fixed so that the "Check Engine Light" was no longer on.
2)The transmission be checked out, as there was very hard shifting at times and something was not right.
The "Check Engine Light" was written on the sale contract, but the transmission issue was not. We had to ask a couple of times for the salesman to add the "Check Engine Light" and the "3-month warranty" to the sales agreement. They didn't seem too eager to do it. (EDIT---The salesman gave me all the service records for the Venture, two days after we bought the Venture. We aren't sure why as it was ammunition for us to ensure that the vehicle's "Check Engine Light" issue wax fixed. What the service records showed us is that Sport VW had sent the Venture to C.C. Motors 7 times before they sold it to me. 7 times they sent the van in for the "Check Engine Light" fault. 7 times they sent it to C.C Motors and each time they found no fault...In hindsight, we now know why it was so hard for them to agree to fix that fault, to give us a warranty and for them to write it on the sales agreement.)
We took delivery of vehicle on April 5th, 2006 and three days later the van left us on the side of the road with a blown heater hose. In hindsight, this should have been a warning sign.
I called in and spoke to the GM Troy Collinge.(Troy Collinge works at Langley Chrysler now). I told him that the van had already broken down. After some debate, I told him I would fix the heater hose myself and send the bill to Sport VW. I did the repairs, costing me time and a day of work. I sent the bill to Troy and Sport VW paid for the parts.
Two days after that, we brought it back to Sport VW in order for it to be sent to C.C. Auto Repairs( also in Maple Ridge) to find/fix the engine fault as per our agreement to purchase the vehicle. They ran tests, could find no faults, reset the computer so the "Check Engine Light" was off, then gave us back the Van, telling us it was all fixed.
We noticed right away that the van still seemed to hesitate and shudder while at a red light. Also noticed that the hard shifting was very constant which made us rather nervous.
Three days after getting the van back, the Check Engine Light was back on again. We took the van back to Sport VW on May 1st, 2006, and told them the problems were still evident. The van was sent back to C.C. Auto Repairs on May 1st. They performed a smoke test and found a problem with the evaporation solenoid. They cleared the codes from the computer again, and found the vehicle to be fixed and gave it back to us.
We took back the van again and still noticed the engine hesitation and the transmission shudder. I sent numerous emails to Mike Galpin, the salesman that was taking care of us. He told me at least twice that the van would be sent to GM to be checkout. He told me that because they are a VW dealership, the van should be sent to GM where experts on GM products to have a look. The van was never sent to GM as promised. Here's one of the emails we sent back and forth.
(The Venture wasn't ever sent to GM as we were promised it would be. I had been given the word from Mike Galpin, yet still it wasn't sent to GM until AFTER the engine blew(more on that later).Had it been sent to an actual GM dealership, we're confident they would have had the tools and experience with our Venture to quickly diagnose the problem. This would have prevented all that happened next.)
The van was still having the original engine and transmission issues that we had complained about and then the Check Engine Light appeared again days after the email above. Seemed like nothing had changed. We brought the van to Sport VW again on May 15th.
Now in all fairness to Sport VW, they did give us amazing courtesy cars for the first while. We drove their cars more than our own van for the better part of the first two months. Initially we were driving around in 2006 Jetta's. Fully loaded, sunroof and it was summer time. We loved driving them around, thinking of when we could own a newer VW. As time wore on, we were given a Chrysler Intrepid from the Sport VW Used Car lot and can you imagine what happened? I was stranded at work with a broken transmission. I had to hitch a ride with the tow-truck driver to get back to the dealership to see Troy Collgine to get yet another courtesy car.
They sent our Venture out to C.C Motors again, this time C.C found a faulty fuel pump seal. They replaced that, cleared the engine codes and then retested. They wrote on the work order that the fault was "ok now".
Everything was not okay. The engine was still stuttering, as if it was misfiring. The transmission was still shifting hard.
We decided to take it to Maple Ridge Transmission to see they said about the hard shifting. Minutes after checking the computer on the Venture, they realized that the engine was misfiring, which was causing the van's transmission to shift harder to compensate.
We took this information back to Sport VW and told them that in order for the transmission to be checked and fixed, the engine misfire needed to be fixed. At this point I asked Troy Collinge during a face-to-face conversation about the warranty details for our van. He stammered a bit and then told me he had to go get the paperwork. I waited in the showroom, looking at the incredible 2007 GTI's. With all the grief we were getting with this dealership and yet we still wanted a VW.
After a lengthy period of time Troy returned, looking agitated, telling me that the warranty was only going to be up to $500. I asked him to show me where the details of the 3 month Power Train warranty he promised us. He said that the warranty was "in-house" and there was no paperwork. I asked him who had made that decision about the warranty, and he told me that he had. I then commented on how strange that now that we were actually going to get somewhere with the van's issues, he suddenly was going to limit our warranty amount to $500. No where on any paperwork was there any mention of a limit to the warranty, other than it being a 3 month powertrain warranty. I told him that we needed to get it fixed and we could discuss money later. Troy said, "fine" but "$500 was the limit."
The Venture was then given back to C.C Auto Repairs and they kept it for almost 5 days, trying to figure out what the problem was. My wife and I had already given the van a full tune-up as soon as we owned it.(plugs, wires, fuel + air filters, pvc valve), yet they did that again, cleaned the injectors, and then finally came to the conclusion that the van's computer was the problem. They replaced that and then deemed the van to be okay.
When we started it up at C.C. we noticed that it seemed to run a little better, altough the engine still stuttered while idling. The hard shifting problem seemed to have disappeared temporarily.
I had to go meet Troy Collinge to discuss the bill for the repairs. At first he tried to tell me that because the repair was over $500 (It came to $877.43) I had to pay the balance. I told Troy that was unacceptable. There was no way we were going to pay for something that should have been covered by warranty. I told Troy how our treatment was making us feel and how stressful this whole situation was. I had to sell Troy the idea of standing by their words(warranty). After great debate, Troy softened a little saying that we could pay $100 then. I told Troy again that we weren't going to pay anything for this. Troy finally agreed then told us that they were no longer going to warranty anything for us and that he "didn't want to see us again". I couldn't agree more as we had driven Sport VW courtesy cars more than our own vehicle and I was tired of having to take days off and tired of having to play phone tag with Troy to get answers.
The engine blows. When will the madness at Sport VW end???
We drove out of Maple Ridge, hoping that all the problems were over with, but, they were not. Only a few days later and we noticed the transmission shifting hard again. This time we pulled over, shut the engine off and restarted it. This seemed to fix the problem until the next time. We noticed they failed to plug in a cord to the computer, resulting in no cruise control. I fixed that myself.
Along came July 28th, 2006. During work that day we were driving when all of a sudden the engine stopped. We put the van into neutral and restarted it. No warning lights were on, no clues as to what the problem was. We continued to work and on the way home, then engine shut off as we were driving, causing an immediate loss of control. Luckily we were able to pull safely to the side of the road.
We checked the oil, fluids, everything we could to see what the problem was. They we tried starting the engine. It made the most horrible noise you could imagine. Sounded like metal grinding on metal and sounded as if there was only 2 cylinders working. We called and had a tow truck take us home.
We called the Mark Loeppky, the owner of Sport VW and told him what had happened. Told him how the engine issues were never fixed and how the transmission kept shifting hard. Told him how we were left on the side of the road. He told me to call a tow truck and bring it in because "we need to get this fixed" and to tell tow company to speak to Chris who is going to take care of the tow charges. Mark Loeppky the owner of Sport VW told me again that "We need to get this fixed" Not sure if that meant "we" as in Sport VW or "we" as in both Sport VW and us...Either way he told me to have it towed asap.
Monday July 31st. We called and asked for status. They said they haven't gotten to the Venture yet. We were without a vehicle. Troy Collinge told us they didn't have any loaner vehicles for us. Now we were stuck without a vehicle at all. I had to start taking sick and vacation days to keep my paychecks full.
Tuesday Aug 1st. Called and asked for status. They said they haven't looked at it yet. I reminded them that I cannot work without the van and that I am losing money everyday because I cannot work without the vehicle.
I rode my bike for two and a half hours from Mission to Maple Ridge to talk to Troy Collinge in order to illustrate the gravity of the situation. (Plus there wasn't a bus/train that went that way that time of day) I was working out of the vehicle and because I could not drive for work, I was losing hundreds of dollars everyday. He said that they'd try and look at it tomorrow. I told him that I had to ride my bicycle around now and that he needed to get looking at the van. I also told him that sending it back to C.C.Motors made no sense, as they couldn't find the problems in the first place. I told Troy that he should send the van to a GM Dealership. His words were, "YOU can send it to GM and YOU can pay for it then."
I told him that instead of sending it to C.C and having them not find the problem, i'd just have to keep coming back here. I told him that even though GM would cost more, they would know how to fix this broken van once and for all. I told him that while I understood Sport VW's desire to save money, it was my desire to having a working vehicle that they should be concerned with.
I told him I was on my way to New Westminster on my bike and told him to have a nice day. His response was, "Don't worry, I will"
Called Wed Aug 2nd. Spoke to Troy Collinge and he told me that he sent the van to GM. I told him that this was a positive step in the right direction and I thanked him. I brought up the fact that I was still losing work and riding my bicycle around, so Troy called Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Maple Ridge and had a small car rented for me. Now I could earn a living again.
Almost three weeks pass with me calling Troy and Sport VW for some sort of update on a regular basis. I was eventually told that the engine was blown and that it needed to be replaced. Troy told me that we'd have to talk about how it would get paid for. I told him how unfair this all was, that if the Venture was properly fixed from the beginning, we wouldn't have a blown engine to deal with. Troy told me that they'd have it fixed then we would get together to discuss how we'd split the cost. I told him that it would certainly not be a 50/50 split as the onus was on Sport6 VW to sell a vehcile that doesn't blow an engine within a month of owning it.
Troy argued with me repeatedly, to the point of being rather hostile. He said that I had to take responsibility for the repairs at some point. I agreed, and told him I would accept full responsibility, once Sport Volkswagen accepted responsibity for the repairs they promimsed to make. From the salesman promising me they'd fix the transmission issue to the purchase agreement that clearly stated that Sport VW would take care of the engine fault.
Eventually we were called and told the cost of a rebuilt engine would be around $3500. Troy said he could talk to the finance company that gave us our loan, to see if we could add it to our monthly payments. Already stretched thin because of all the loss of work, we were stuck. We agreed that we'd work something out as soon as the van was fixed.
Maple Ridge Volkswagen dealer Sport VW decieves us again. Where's the honesty??
Almost a full month after the engine was blown, we got a call from Sport VW, saying that the Van was ready to be picked up. We wanted to pick it up, but we had plans and they said they were about to close for the night so we'd have to pick it up in the am. We agreed, but called back 10mins later after cancelling our plans. We told them that we'd be there in 15 minutes.
When we arrived at the Sport VW Volkswagen dealership in Maple Ridge, the outside of the Venture had been rinsed off but not washed. We found that very curious. Opening the Venture's door, we noticed a grey-ish powder every where through the van. Covering all surfaces, the greyish powder also had white specks of paint, the same white our Venture was painted with.
I asked Troy why it was so dirty and he gave no explaination as to why it was like that, saying only that, "Sorry, we didn't have time to clean it, we thought you were going to be here in the morning." I left it at that and asked Troy what was the final cost of the repairs. He said he was going to wait until Mark Loeppky returned from vacation and after they discussed it, Troy would call me back. I asked about a warranty for this rebuilt engine and Troy told me 30,000K or 1 year. I asked him for the paperwork on the warranty and he told me he'd fax it to me later that week. I took the Venture's keys and drove my family home, noticing that the transmission was STILL shifting hard sometimes and the engine STILL shuddered when we were at a red light. It was as if nothing had changed!
The next morning, I went outside to clean the greyish powder from everything. I started at the front, wiping down everything. The powder was literally on everything. In the seams of the seats, in the air vents, all over the controls, windshield, all the way to the back of the van. I was cleaning the back cargo area when I noticed what looked like chunks of Bondo. Having done some body work on other vehicles, I quickly realized that something had happened to the rear of the van while Sport VW had it in their possession.
I took a closer look and noticed that the whole rear tailgate had been repainted and extensive bondo work hard been done. Not only that, but the rear window no longer sat flush against the tailgate like before. Now there was a 1/2 inch gap! It was obvious that there had been some sort of collision with the rear of the Venture, something that required bodywork and a paintjob.
We were livid. Again we were decieved. No one made mention of our van being in an accident and needing body work and paint. I made a call to Troy Collinge and asked him what on earth had happened. His words were, "Oh yeah, the mechanic scratched it when he was working on it." I told Troy that there was no way this was a simple scratch. Scratches don't require bodywork and a complete tailgate repainting. Troy told me he'd call the mechanic and call me back on Tuesday, September 5th, 2006, they day after the Labour Day long weekend to give me an update on the "scratch" as well as the information on the warranty. He never called, never wrote, sent the warranty information or even billed us for the engine. There hasn't been any news or information since. It's as if Troy Collinge, Mark Loeppky and the rest of the Sport VW staff doesn't want to admit fault, accept responsibility or even explain what happened to the rear end of the Venture while in their possession. You'd think, that with all we had been through with them, that they would actually step-up and accept fault for smashing the back of the van in. Yet, nothing but silence from them.
Sport VW in Maple Ridge & you?
In closing, it is our opinion that Sport VW of Maple Ridge is a terrible place to buy a VW or any other vehicle for that matter. We bought this Venture from them and look at its problems. The original Jetta that got us into the dealership in the first place? Not safe to sell according to Richard. The Intrepid they gave us when our engine blew? The transmission blew the day after we picked it up. From misleading their customers, to the failure to live up to promises, warranties and guarantees, to the way they made us feel like WE were wrong, Sport VW, in our opinion, does not deserve your business.
If you are looking to buy a Volkswagen and you live in the Lower Mainland, you should think twice about buying a VW from this Maple Ridge Volkswagen dealership. We're sure there are other VW dealerships around BC that will treat you right. Use the Google search for your Volkswagen needs because if you wanted to be treated with respect and honesty when buying your VW, Sport Volkswagen of Maple Ridge is not a place you want to go!
Sport VW Update-March 4th
The date is now March 4, 2007 and I haven't heard from Troy since September 5th, 2006. Since last September, We've still have the engine misfiring, the transmission shifting issues and now as a result of the engine being re & re'd, our front ends squeaks and makes weird noises. Also, when the dash was put back together, the vent hoses werent attached properly so we cannot get heat to come out of the air vents. Now the whole dash heats up and we can only defrost for heat. As well, our back taligate leaks and the interior cargo area is often soaking, due to the damage from the alleged "scratch" and subsequent repairs. As a result, the interior is always damp. We still have to pull over and turn off the van for a few minutes so the transmission can reset itself and the engine still feels like it is going to stall at a light. As a result of the rear end damage, the cargo area is always wet and now mould has set in. I've tried to put some silione seal in to stop the leaks but the people at the glass shop have told me that because of the damage to the tailgate itself, we'll either have to replace the whole tailgate, or put up with a constantly wet cargo area.We are not sure why Troy or anyone else from Sport VW had never called us back. We shouldn't complain right? We haven't paid a cent for this rebuilt engine yet we are still angry. My wife and I figured it be best to walk away and save the engine rebuild cost( we still haven't recieved a bill), yet I often bristle with anger wondering what the heck happened to my van and what kind of operation is this Sport VW place that they'd treat people like this. What happened to our van? Was it in an accident? Did someone smash in to the back of it? Somedays I want to call and get closure. I'd even like to find out why we weren't billed? Did they feel bad for smashing in the back of the van? Guilty perhaps? Maybe they are as sick of dealing with me as I am sick of dealing with them. It has been a trainwreck since the beginning. After they bait and switched us, we should have taken that as a sign and drove the heck out of there. Hindsight and all that...
Needless to say, we are very, very disappointed by Sport Volkswagen's total disregard for honesty and a complete and utter lack of ethics when it comes to their sales tactics and how they treat people. For all the times I stood in that showroom, right in front of the Finance Office and Richard the Financial Manager couldn't even come out and apologize to me and my wife for looking us right in our eyes and trying to squeeze another $2500+ out of us, even though we told him that our budget was very tight with my wife going to University. Looking right into our faces and decieving us. He wouldn't even look at us again, never mind be a man and come and take responsibility for his actions. Just goes to show you that in our opinion, Sport VW does not care about it's customers.
We still want a VW one day, but we're stuck with this Venture for now. We just paid it off so we can now start shopping around for another vehicle that won't blow the engine. I've put ads on craigslist now but I'd imagine no one will be lining up to buy this van. Maybe an auction would be my best bet I do know we need to sell the Venture now before this engine blows or the tranny packs it in. Better to get something now and start paying it off as opposed to dumping thousands into this nightmare.
I was thinking of maybe going to another VW dealership but I am a little cautious now after our experience with this VW dealership in Maple Ridge. I wonder if we could complain to VW Canada or Germany or something.
I'm thinking Mustang for some reason recently. But, I'd sure love to get a new GTI...
BTW...The Google ads and search bar are to try and recoup the costs of the domain and hosting. The purpose of this site is not to make money obviously. We just want to make others aware of what we experienced when dealing with this Maple Ridge VW dealer. You work hard for your money right? We don't want to see anyone else lose their hard earned money by buying a new VW or a used car from them. They aren't looking out for your best interests so we will.