Update: so I guess no one thinks I have a chance, which is really the info I wanted. Since it hasn't been done before, I will still fight for it and then fall back on a full repair.
Update2: I have received a call from the service tech, they have offered to repair the car for free (no $1000 diagnostic charge). They have claimed this is the final offer. I am still planning to take action against the company through ACCC and also VW. However I will let them repair my car because I need it for work and it is costing me money being off the road. Thankyou to all the kind Ozbargainers who private messaged me with their stories and how they received full refunds. I really appreciate your support! I have contacted ACCC through facebook to get advice on how to proceed. I believe this is a systematic plan by the dealer and possibly VW to take money from customers illegally. I don't know how widespread this is, but they told me if I contributed money to the repairs I would be covered by a 2 year warranty on the gearbox. However because I haven't done this, they won't be covering this. I do have a friend who worked for consumer protection years ago, I will find out if she has any connections I can work with.
1) I have sent an email to VW headoffice asking for a major resolution and also clarified whether charging diagnostic fees is regular practice when dealing with manufacturing faults.
2) I have sent an email to the WA consumer protection office, detailing everything that was happening and to uncover whether I have a leg to stand on.
I wonder if someone who wasn't as assertive would have got this resolution. Based on the comments in the thread, I doubt it.
Update3: I probably won't take this to small claims court to demand a major remedy because of the time, effort and stress, however I passionately and wholeheartedly believe that I would have a case and maybe even win. Especially if all the people who commented about having DSG issues with the jetta sent me a copy of their fault report/warranty repairs. However if I get enough evidence, I will try to set precedence. I just need to show that this has been covered up and that this is a over-represented fault that would have stopped most reasonable individuals from purchasing the car. 118TSI models.
If anyone wants to send me fault reports on their DSG/VW Gearbox/Piston issues:
Please send them to [email protected] (this is my new real working email).
I will not be paying anyone $1000 to fix a fault that is covered by the manufacturers. I am fairly sure this is not legal. It would be like Apple charging you $200 to take your phone apart before diagnosing a power issue internally that was a manufacturing fault.
My opinion still is that VW made the systematic decision to use Rubbish parts in this car and it has had wide spread known issues that have resulted in two major faults. The car was and is not suitable for purpose.
I will then pay to get someone to do a full check on the car and either sell it or
I tried to keep this short and simple… skip to the end for the summary.
My parents purchased a NEW VW Jetta 118TSI from a large dealership in March 2013 for just under $30,000. The car came with 3 years of warranty.
2 years ago:
Major fault with the pistons in the engine, resulting in VW repairing the car for free. I am not completely across what the issue was as I wasn't involved at the time.
1 year ago:
Whenever I borrowed the car infrequently, I noticed that once a traffic light turns green and you accelerate. The car will jerk forward as if skipping a gear. I informed my parents, however they said nothing was picked up during any of the perfect service history. My father either did not believe or realise this was a fault. VW also stated they did not recognise a fault.
2 months ago: I purchased exclusive use of the car from my parents for the trade-in value at the time. They remain the owners.
Last week: I was driving around in the country and after attempting to drive off at a green traffic light, the car failed to shift through gears and the accelerator failed to work. The car started flashing with engine lights etc. I managed to drive back, because I was able to trick the car into shifting gears and once at 100km/h the car was able to cruise along fine.
Now i've taken it to the dealer. They told me that they would only assess it if we payed them $1000+. We accepted this on the condition that if it was a manufacturers fault, the car would be repaired for free.
The diagnostics has uncovered that the car has a major gearbox issue, which has led to a part of the gearbox detaching and leading to shrapnel. They need to completely remove and repair this part. The service tech has told me it is a Major Fault. VW has agreed to cover the costs of parts and labour.
Now we get to the fun bit…
The dealer has come back to us, told us that we still need to pay the $1000 for labour diagnostics. Despite it clearly being a manufacturers fault (VW accepted to repair it?). We have rejected this and told them that the car has had two major faults since 2013. All their new cars offer a 5 year warranty. We expected the car to $30,000 european car to last at least 5 years if not more. VW has already accepted fault by agreeing to repair the car.
The car has done 50,000km in 5 years.
I do not think it is reasonable for this car to have two major faults within 5 years. I have no faith in their repair process and I do not feel safe driving the car following the previous incident. I also believe this issue has been present for much longer and they never picked it up through servicing the car.
I asked the service tech if the first repair and now this repair are deemed major faults. He agreed. I then asked him for a major remedy - refund or replacement under ACL.
The service tech, has told me that it is unreasonable to think the car should last this long without an breaking down. "Do you think every car should last forever without breaking down" - My answer was no, I think my car should last for a reasonable amount of time. He also told me that I had a 3 year warranty and it was now out of warranty. In addition to this he lied to my and told me that the car was a USED car. He then changed his mind and said it was a EX Demo car. The contract says NEW in black and white.
I am not going to lie down, because I think this is a clear cut case of them selling a lemon and then refusing to abide by ACL.
I told him that if he can't authorise a remedy for a major fault. I want to speak to someone who can. He said his manager will call me tomorrow. Following my chat today with the service tech, he hung up on me mid sentence.
I wouldn't mind perspectives and advice. Do I have a foot to stand on. Two major faults within 5 years… I don't think this is acceptable personally.
TLDR: Car is 5 years old, 2 major faults (accepted terminology by VW and Dealer). New incident with gearbox last week. Repairs labour and parts covered by VW as manufacturing fault. Dealer trying to charge $1000 for diagnostics. I want a major remedy under ACL.
I didn't read all the comments but for future reference for all VW owners, even your car has 3-year warranty your DSG has 5-year warranty. This is widely accepted by VW Australia and VW dealers. If anybody tries to charge you for DSG errors within 5 years, be aware of your rights.
Refer to numerous VW forums on the net for others' experiences.