Please allow me to tell a story of effort, failure and wasted time.
These events took place from late February to late March 2023.
My wife and I had a pleasant experience purchasing a 2021 Subaru Ascent in December 2022.
It was easy enough that we talked about trading in our aging 2011 Kia.So when tax returns came around in early February we went to see what we could afford.
My test drive for the Volkswagen was on a Saturday. It took until the following Thursday for the car to be ready. They said it was mostly due to inspections and replacing the windshield. The windshield replacement will come up again later. The point is, I had the car and it was seemingly in good shape.
The issues began on day 2 of possessing the car.
The Saturday after I picked up the car, my family drove south to the Phoenix area. Southbound we realized that the A/C did not work. In February this was not a big deal, but could have been hazardous if it was in summer. But turning North, the car suddenly displayed that it needed and oil change, and something called Adblue.
Luckily I had spent the previous day reading about the DEF system. I've never owned a diesel vehicle, and no one at the dealership knew anything about the vehicle's general maintenance.
After a call with the dealership, the next week we brought the vehicle in for maintenance. During this entire ordeal there were delays due to the weather, I obviously do not hold anyone at fault for this.
This begins the section of myself dealing with the service department.
When I arrived to pick up the car at the Nissan service area, The hood was up. I asked the attendant. To which he replied, "It's fine, it's ready. So I took the car. It was immediately clear that most of the problems were not fixed. The oil change light was still on, the adblue (DEF) alert was still on. And as I learned later, the DEF cap was not even re-screwed onto its nozzle. While these are not car-threatening issues, they aptly show the general negligence and poor communication of the service department.
As it turned out, the car was not ready. I needed to schedule repairs with the Volkswagen dealership in order to have the DEF injection system replaced. Luckily the car was under warranty and Volkswagen would cover the cost of repairs.
Once the car was in possession of Volkswagen, I had the fun task of yelling my way up the corporate ladder at Subaru until someone could provide a rental car. I work a pretty standard 9-5 schedule, and my wife works nights. We could not survive without a vehicle for my commute. This is another tangent but it pertains to my building anxiety with this dealership and this vehicle. And why I write this with my hands shaking, just wanting a reliable vehicle so I can move on with my life.
Fast forward 5 days later. Volkwagen had fixed the DEF injection system. But an unfortunate accident has occurred. While technicians were in the car, the rear view mirror was fully broken off of its mounting. The Volkswagen techs explained that they've never seen a mirror attached so poorly. My frustration builds, I didn't think to check the mirror adhesive after I first took possession of the car. But I've driven nice cars on rough roads and I've driven my KIA (not very nice) on really rough roads, And that is something I've never seen happen.
I brought the car in on March 25th, a Saturday morning. The technician working at the Nissan garage takes a few photos of the mirror then explains that the lead tech (name redacted) will call me. I called back on Monday after receiving no call. The lead tech was not working that day. I received no call on Tuesday, I'll admit I forgot to check in to see if the lead tech was there that day.
This brings us to today, March 29th. Still no call. So I call after work. The lead tech seemingly had no idea he was even obligated to call me. But offers to have the mirror repaired right now if I can get to the dealership.
So off I went, I got to the Nissan garage at approximately 4pm. My children and I sat in that lobby until 5:20pm. I had to get someone to call the lead tech so I could be informed how much longer I have to wait. I am confident that if I had not spoken up, they would have kept the car for much longer.
And after all that. They further damaged the mirror. The tech has offered to send a mobile glass repair unit to my job to have it repaired tomorrow. Will this end the saga of miscommunications and absolute rock bottom service. I don't know. I feel sick and just want to be done driving across town to this dealership. They have agreed to all these repairs which I appreciate, but have treated me with neglect, and continue to spend way too much of my time and effort. And after all this, the oil change sensor still needs to be addressed.
To anyone else buying a used car from this dealer. I pray that you don't have mechanical issues. Or if you do, that you have LOTS of free time to fritter away as the techs try their hardest and still fail. read more