Volkswagen Reviews 

I have been awaiting follow up to serious safety issues since October.

Volkswagen needs to do better.

I am left bittery disappointed by the service I have received from Frank (manager) in the service department. Promised warranty repair (both rear alloys have defective finish) not delivered upon and wait times for services/ attempted repair (Tried to fix the rims with a heat gun in the work shop, once they realised it was more involved just flatly refused to do anything further) well beyond communicated (in one case 4 hours). Add to this the nonchalant verging on rude attitude and almost complete lack of communication from Frank regarding issues I raised and I will certainly never return a vehicle for service back to Southern Volkswagen or for that matter make a future purchase. As a family we have purchased 4 new vehicles (2 Touaregs, an Audi TT and a Golf) from the volkswagen group. After this experience it will be the last.

Car is nice to drive but customer support HORRIBLE

Have had many Volkswagens in the past as a family but we will never buy another.
We bought a new car and the dealership offered us a decent price in part exchange for our Volkswagen. Whilst we were waiting for the new car to arrive our Volkswagen broke.
To cut a long story short VW were unable to supply the new part ( there is still no date for availability after 8 months waiting ) and once our new car was available the dealership no longer wanted to take the VW because it was broken, which was fair enough.
We complained to VW Customer Service but they would not compensate us and the Motor Ombudsman does not get involved in such disputes !
We have decided we have no option but to scrap the car at a considerable financial loss.
Appalling service from a multinational company who show no regard for their customers.

DONT EVER BUY THEIR EV ID4. I have gone to Emich for years. Now someone else is in charge and the completely bait and switched me and refuse now to help.

I filed a complaint about Volkswagen a bit ago.

My car will not hold a charge and can barely charge.

I got into contact with Emich and they refused to help. Therefore I contacted Volkswagen. This was after I took my car in to be fixed and they said there was nothing they could do. The car won't work well in Arizona, but I am stuck. When I bought the car I was also guaranteed 3 years of free charging. That has gone away as well. Emich and Volkswagen have said they cannot do anything , just a promise they cannot help with. I couldn't afford the car without free charging, which is why I bought it.

I talked to another VW dealership and they informed me that even though I paid the price for a 2024 car and was told I am getting a 2024 car I was given a 2023. They have stopped selling the 2023 due to almost 100,000 cars being recalled and problems with all of the cars. I was told I was buying a new car, but now looking into this, the car was delivered to the dealership in Jan 2023 and I bought the car in May 2024. It was an 18-month-old car.

The car has been in the shop 3 times and every time they say it doesn't work well, but there is nothing they can do. It has trouble charging and won't hold charge but there is nothing they can do. They even told me if I wanted the battery to work I could not drive over 65. I am now living in Tucson and I cannot drive to Phoenix(122 miles), without charging 3 times to get here.

I drive 11 miles to work and my battery drops 30% going to and from work. Therefore I cannot drive anywhere without charging and I no longer have free charging.

I asked them just to give me the 2024 that they promised me when I bought the car.

When I found the receipt from the window I realized they charged me 2024 pricing on a 2023.

Emich VW's answer in Denver was they gave me 19,000 in discounts. It was the rebates from the government during the EV crash. He denies ever telling me that it is a 2023 car. Volkswagen told me they would follow up. they left a number for me to call and it did not link to the person I was supposed to talk to and have not heard back.

In summary THERE ANSWER IS THE CAR WON'T WORK WELL IN HEAT. I GUESS I CAN ONLY DRIVE IN CERTAIN PLACES AT CERTAIN TIMES FOR $600.

Ain't gonna lie, Passat CC is a state-of-the-art automobile.
Recently purchased the one and now I know what I can do with it =)
I really wanna tune it, because it may turn into a real monster! Saw tons of videos, plus, it's a good vehicle for a family, cause it's 4-door sedan with comfortable seats and a lot of amenities inside.

A total disaster, been obliged to sell my new car after 18 months since the infotainment system crashes as soon as leaving the country. There was massive confusion as to what department is responsible for the issue, sent back and what forth between departments, no one knows what to do. Finally advised to leave the country so they could see the system malfunctioning . The infotainment system malfunctions, and many vehicle instruments do not work: rear camera, airbags, automatic headlamps, climate control. So also a security issue.
A nightmare experience.

04927302 Complaint VW Headoffice Uk, unsatisfactory outcome. Motoring Ombudsman now being contacted.
Re: Volkswagen Polo - GD68 HZN

When a car purchased as Approved Used with 21,000 miles fails three months outside the two year warranty with a failed water pump (under 33,000 miles now) causing a break down at the side of a busy road, requiring Automotive Assistance and a tow a max of 10 miles by the AA, telling your customer that you won’t take responsibility (Headoffice Milton Keynes) because they were retrospectively not able to get the car 40 miles back to where it was brought or to VW workshop when you lodged a complaint with Sevenoaks brand manager after the AA recovery to an independent garage is totally unacceptable, Water Pumps should last at least 60,000 miles. I contacted VW after the garage had verified what the AA report said about the issue, both were emailed to VW Headoffice in the UK. The engine fault codes were listed on the invoice from the garage.

Dear Jude

As per my last correspondence regarding the failed water pump of the above-mentioned vehicle.

I have received a response from (Brand Manager), who has provided me with information on the water pump issue. Based on the information I have obtained, I can confirm that the team has tried contacting you to discuss the issue you have raised and offer further assistance.

However, as you did not want to deal with the team at Group 1 Volkswagen (Sevenoaks) you terminated the call and chose to take your vehicle to an independent garage to replace the water pump.

I appreciate that you have high expectations of reliability and build quality when you purchase a Volkswagen and that any failure is disappointing. However, it is not possible to give a life expectancy for any component. There is always a possibility that a component may fail during its lifetime.

Please be advised that we are not able to comment on repairs that have been carried out on your vehicle. We can only comment on repairs that have been carried out by our professionally trained technical department at an Authorised Volkswagen Retailer, with genuine Volkswagen equipment. I apologise for any disappointment this may cause.

I understand that you would like Volkswagen UK to investigate the possibility of compensating for the trouble caused by repairing your vehicle. Unfortunately, we are unable to directly offer any support for the repair of your vehicle. As the diagnostic test has been completed outside of our Network, we will not be able to investigate further or provide any support on this matter.

Please accept my sincerest apology, we are not able to offer any further assistance at this stage. However, I hope you can appreciate the reasons behind our response.
Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at the details below. Alternatively, you can respond to this email.

Following the case closure, you may receive a survey about the service that I have provided. This survey is based on myself as a Customer Service Advisor and not the Volkswagen processes or Retailers, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being good service. I would be grateful if you have the time to complete this, as it will help me to provide the best customer experience possible.

Thank you for contacting Volkswagen UK.

Kind regards

DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY
4 complaints raised and continuously lied to that to that i will be receiving a phone call from a supervisor.......I would like someone in senior management to call me ASAP. Case references FLE-493161
FLE-493168
FLE-493186
FLE -490926

Absolutely brilliant vehicles, best service ever

Have been loyal to the brand for years, but no more, the service at the shops are so poor and expensive you might as well use a random mecanic. I will go for Tesla when buying my first EV.

Without doubt the best car I have ever owned.

If you want a new car don't bother!
If it's 'used approved' or 'new' anything made by this company after around 2017 is of astonishingly poor condition. Almost every single model and variant of vehicle has at least 1 recall. And if you are looking to go hybrid or fully electric look elsewhere. Every single vehicle produced with an electric motor has safety recalls where it is entirely likely for your vehicles batteries to combust yet the company brushes it off as non urgent. There are only a handful of dealerships that can actually perform high voltage work and therefore having these very important safety recalls completed will result in a 12 months plus wait list. These electric ID vehicles are dangerous and u fit for road use and if you have one make sure you don't have a job as it will be in the garage every month for repairs.

Regarding VW Driveview: This app is supposed to monitor driving “habits” and encourage safe driving. It may fail miserably, considering it’s taking into account “idle time: time when the vehicle is moving at less than 2 mph”, because it may cause drivers to feel stressed whenever the car has idle time. This drive safe information might actually create situations where drivers may ignore stop lights, stop signs, waiting for safe traffic when turning left to cross traffic lanes, when turning right at a red light by causing pressure to turn sooner, into a dangerous driving situation; and all to avoid this “idle time”, thus increasing one’s driveview score.

Insurance companies already have geographical information as a means to understand typical driving conditions, and this information is already used to determine insurance rates. Drivers certainly don’t need to feel pressured into making unsafe decisions about driving in order to avoid driving “less than 2 mph”, driveview’s standard for “idle time”.
How can any individual, or group of individuals, have made the decision that this information is a great idea for encouraging safer driving habits? It’s absurd! Avoiding slowing down when necessary could actually cause accidents. It could be a threat to animals. It could be a threat to any individual, including children and other drivers. It could be a threat to everyone who has this app installed in their own vehicles. Driveview might have already changed good driving habits to bad and might have already been responsible for injuries or death. Everyone should be extremely concerned about this, and even extremely shocked that this is initiated by a German company, let alone any company, and that it’s even legal. It definitely seems possible that it’s amoral.

I have attempted to voice my concerns twice to Volkswagen. Now when I phone their number: 800-822-8987 I’m actually disconnected after pressing “3” for the carnet/driveview option. I was told to call them during normal business hours to ask to be connected to their “priority line” but now it seems that I am unable to access any service whatsoever.

Aside from this concern I love our new VW. I hope VW will consider the importance of this matter. Thank you

Shady and dishonest business practices from the official dealers santogal.pt.
Have previously had good experiences with VW but seems they no longer prioritise customers

Ain't gonna lie, Passat CC is a state-of-the-art automobile.
Recently purchased the one and now I know what I can do with it =)
I really wanna tune it, because it may turn into a real monster! Saw tons of videos, plus, it's a good vehicle for a family, cause it's 4-door sedan with comfortable seats and a lot of amenities inside.

My VW Polo, still under warranty, has been experiencing shuddering and jerking while driving. Given a similar issue occurred less than a year ago, I suspected the spark plugs might be the culprit and took the car to VW Ballito. During the previous incident, despite my insistence, the technicians didn't initially acknowledge the problem since their diagnostics system showed no error code. Eventually, they replaced the spark plugs under warranty, acknowledging the issue. Now, encountering the same problem, I returned to VW Ballito only to be informed that the spark plugs need replacement again due to fuel fouling, a condition not covered under warranty. Dealerships are attributing this to fuel contamination from local petrol stations, leaving vehicle owners to bear the costs. As a car owner, it's challenging to discern fuel quality when filling up. My car is a petrol car and I only fill up at reputable stations like Sasol in Salt Rock or at the Sasol at the King Shaka airport, avoiding dubious ones. Adding to the frustration, VW hasn't informed customers that motor plan warranties exclude parts replacement due to the fuel fouling incidents currently taking place in SA, leaving us to discover this during service visits. Despite assurances from dealership owner Jacques -given to my father in law as he hasn't bothered calling me himself - the matter is under investigation, yet there's been no resolution or updates. Now, I'm facing the expense of replacing three spark plugs, as I've come to realise that only one was covered last year under warranty. It's disheartening to see the dealership citing fuel fouling as grounds for denying coverage, which feels like a lapse in service. Especially given the fact that the spark plugs were covered under warranty less than a year ago. I believe this issue warrants attention, as many people in our community may be unaware that dealerships could hold them responsible for such costs, shifting blame to the customer and the local petrol stations.

So when buying a VW try and keep to the old school petrol/ diesel,as if you get electric you will have to deal with their after sales cusotmer service and that will only give you anger issues ( you will become a Karen),unwanted stress, tears
(Please note this isnot just one vw ,it is many under different branches.
My story starts 2.5 years ago I decided to change my VW golf to an ID3.using the same dealership I got my golf from thought the transfer would be easy,they didn't do the paper work correctly, I ended up having to pay for two cars at one point because the sales rep didn't do the paper work , this ended up in many calls with VW cusotmer service and the dealership, then I needed a refund for an extended warranty which I was told would be refunded with in 14 days which was not , and the drama continues, , about two months later I got my warranty and the money they took due to not doing the paper work correctly.(2022) my aircon broke and had to wait two months to get a VW approved site book my car in to look at it , funny enough it was a very hot summer I got it looked at and they said that the car needed a system update and that's why the aircon didn't work, I would like to point out not at one point before or during the 2 months did VW contact me in anyway to tell me I needed a system update, but we're very persistent in telling me I needed to pay for a service that I didn't need and was told that my car would only need to be serviced every two years ( this brings me back to the original dealership not doing paperwork correctly. ) then we go to 2023 (and this is where the fun and my inner Karen comes out again) I book my car in for its service, and when I drop it off I get told that some ID3 have faulty batteries so we will need to do a check to see if your battery is one of them. I was understanding and said as long as I have a car to drive while all this going on no problem, I then get told that my car is one of the cars with a faulty battery and not to worry they will get it sorted for me and give dates etc, then two days later after getting my service report which clearly states that I should not drive the car as it is not safe, I get a phone call from this dealership saying that they can't book my car into the battery center (as at the time there were only 4 places in the UK that could do the work) and that I had to try and orginise it myself and that I had to drop off my curiosity car and pick up my car (which I had paper work saying I can't drive it), I highlighted due to this paper work that technically my car is not insured as VW has sent paperwork to say it should not be driven, that did not matter to the dealership they wanted there curiosity car back , I spent a whole day on vw cusotmer service and the battery approved center trying to get something sorted bur unfortunately nothing came of it , and I had no choice to drop off the curiosity car, I ended up in tears in the VW dealership as I did not know what to do ( I think I even said I would just have to camp outside their offices), I was then told by the dealership that it wasn't that bad and they have checked and my car is safe to drive ,when I asked for this in writing they did not want to provide it, but hey I had my car and will get the battery sorted out when there is availability which was like 2 months , not even a week later my car started popping up signs saying that my battery was faulty and I needed to get it to a workshop ( o the joys) , I phoned the the dealership that did my service and they said they can only fit me in to look at it in 3 weeks , in the mean time the battery center approved vw phoned me to say they could fit me in I mentioned this warning , and I was told by them that my car is not safe to drive and I shouldn't be driving it (they were under the impression it was still as the VW where I got it serviced)(to put this very long part of the story short), roadside assit was called 3 times to look at it, found out I paid for a service ,aircon service and break thing and the person didn't even open the bonnet. I was put on hold by one of the VW cusotmer service people for 45 min (because they finish at 6pm)about this issue to have the phone put down on me,and were not helpful at all. Now 4 days ago my key stopped working, I phone the dealership and they can only fit me in February, but the issue got worse so I went to see them and let's just say that it's just a joke ,
Pro: great sales and if you get a petrol car no need to deal with cusotmer service
Cons: cusotmer service is a joke, think VW should look at there SOPs and look at training and also make sure they have sufficient battery centers.
Unfortunately I will be avoiding them for my next car as don't want to chance dealing with them for a very long time, and due to my experience I know a lot of people will be avoiding them (due to characters this is a very condensed version of the issues)

My 1st car at age 17 was a 1963 Beetle, since the we have purchased five Golfs, two Audi A4, and today I drive a Passat saloon 2.0TDI 110kW DSG which is now 5-years and 60,000 km old.
All the VAG cars have been good with minimal repairs apart from regular servicing. The 1st Golf bought new in 1984 was a MK1 GTI, kept it for 4-years and 100,0000km, the only fault in that time was the interior light which broke and cost maybe $5 to replace; when sold, the car was still on the original brake pads.
The Passat is the best of the lot, this due to very good engine and gearbox management which makes the car a pleasure to drive. The Passat’s fuel consumption is incredibly low, it’s exactly half what I achieved 40-years ago in the GTI, a car which weighed less than 900kg compared to the Passat’s 1,450kg.
I see from reading the reviews on Trustpilot that not everyone has had such a good experience with VAG products. Having also owned BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Rover, Peugeot and Fiat all I can say is “if VAG cars weren’t good, I wouldn’t have bought eight of them.”

My experience of VW dealership
St Albans, leaves a lot to be desired, they appear to be incapable of offering the level of service a customer would expect. For example, Tony the manager
suggesting I should get a taxi home, £40.00, when the vehicle is
there under warranty. A gross insult to me, some managers could be amused by this, I don't find it funny. But maybe he's financially secure, so to him £40.00 doesn't mean much.
This conversation took place at the dealership 14th December 2023.