Wellesley Volkswagen - Service Center

Wellesley Volkswagen responded

Good Afternoon SF111, The original hour you signed for diagnosis, would typically total out to $189.99, our hourly rate. The bill you paid was for HALF of that; totaling $95.00. A discounted rate passed along to you as a good gesture on our end without ask by you. With every diagnosis we perform, we send a Guided Fault Findings Log that states the EXACT date & time in which any and all fault codes store. Those logs can be sent to you proving that not a single code was stored during the time in which your vehicle was in our possession but stored back in November of 2023 (Four Months Ago as you state). We do our best with every customer, every visit. To state we treat anyone differently than the last based on gender, race, etc is far from the truth. Every customers experience is truly important to us no matter whom they are. If we drop the ball, we do our best to right-our-wrongs. We will always ensure our best efforts and time are spent into solving ANY customer concern. We apologize for any misunderstandings that may have occurred. All the best, Drew Ricci Assistant Service Manager Wellesley Volkswagen

SF111 responded

I think the abbreviated explanation of my dissatisfaction with Wellesley VW, was not clear. I came in for a specific problem with my VW (problems starting/charging system), I was assured that the service team "are the best" and will find the problem. This was a service date of January 2024, not November 2023. I get a call shortly afterwards from the near-hysterical service rep that they cannot find the problem in the first half-hour of working on it and "so many things are wrong with my car...." and how "my car is almost not safe to drive or not legal to drive." Hence, why I made the comment of passing inspection a few months beforehand with no mention of other significant problems. Really, in those few months my car went from "fine to almost not legal to drive?" The service rep also said that the repairs (not engine problem I came for) would be upwards of 8K. When I finally got him to focus on the engine problem that I brought the car in for, he said they could not find the problem and I have to pay for 3 hours of diagnostic time. Really? How did the service rep know it would take exactly 3 hours for the technicians to figure it out? When I asked if the extra hours of diagnostics would be included in the repair fees, he said no. Then he went on to say how getting the repairs done would be such a hassle because I have an older model and the vehicle would be sitting on the lot for weeks and weeks while they get parts. He did it before for a little old lady, who begged him, but me.... So, after walking back to dealership (the day after snow, no courtesy pick up was offered) to retrieve my car, again to be told my car is not safe to drive, and I saw the list repairs that "would cost me 8K" like leaking oil pan (had an oil change with inspection), a few springs to be changed, and one of the sensors for the seatbelt. You can see why I say I paid your service team $95 to waste my time and tell me they can't find the problem, but my car is not safe to drive. I was not born yesterday, and I am well aware of the biases that service reps have with customers (in any industry). When I initially wrote my review on Google, I was also responding to many other complaints/dissatisfactions that were from a majority female customers. And on that site, I commented that this is the third time I visited Wellesley VW and never left with a good experience, maybe neutral but not good. This was the worst, and I am happy to tell you about the second time I visited, when I went to the parts section to pick up something I ordered on VW website. It may be easy to hide these comments of dissatisfaction based on the homogenous demographics that this dealership serves, but there is an institutional culture problem.