My Wife and I bought a used New Beetle convertible here a few years ago. We came down from MA because they were the only dealership with a "certified" car in our price range. I say "certified" because there's not a chance in hell they certified anything.
We made the mistake of getting too excited over finally finding a certified used convertible in our price range and we didn't kick the tires near enough. It was apparent on the test drive that the rotors were warped beyond help and I insisted they be replaced as part of the sale (it's apparent now, 2.5 years later, that all they did was turn them, rather than replace them, because the warp is back already).
Less than a week after taking delivery, if memory serves it was actually 2 days later, a vacuum hose broke. I took the car in to a local dealership, and for $125 diagnostic fee I was told that mice had been nesting in the engine compartment and had chewed thru the hose.
The estimate to fix it at the local shop was $300, plus the $125 I'd already paid them the total would be $425. I called our salesman at Balise and was told to "bring it in and we'll take care of it."
So I drove down to Warwick, which is not a short trip for north of Boston, and had it fixed. They then presented me with a bill for over $600! This is taking "care of it?"
After having a purposefully loud and "passionate" conversation on the sales floor, in front of other customers, about it I and they agreed to have be pay $150 or so for parts, and they'd eat the rest. I paid, left and have never been back.
Other issues that we have had to have repaired, luckily all covered under the certified warranty, but all of which should have been discovered during the certified inspection that obviously never happened; at least 5 different repairs to the convertible top mechanisms. Damage to the oil pan that prevented the oil from getting changed (you mean they didn't even change the oil during this certified inspection that supposedly took place?! - This particular issue actually wasn't covered under the warranty, but VW of America agreed to cover it. 2000 estimated fix had it not been covered, thank you VW of America!). Numerous other issues with window sensors and door latches.
Luckily the car as always run great, but they sold a car that was obviously never really certified, that needed at least $5000 (retail) in repairs, all of which should have been taken care of by them before it left the lot. Oh yeah, and they didn't do the rotor repair as they promised initially, they took the cheap way out, knowing I wouldn't discover it for a few years.
As an aside, I've told this story to a few VW owners and even the service personnel at one of the local VW shops. A few asked me where I bought the car, and when I said Balise, they nodded with understanding. One of the service personnel actually guessed Balise without me even telling him. They seem to have a reputation for this particular style of BS. read more