Complaint Review: Fred Beans Volkswagen - Devon PA

Fred Beans Volkswagen in Devon claimed to do an expensive service to replace the oil pump, and associated equipment, including the pickup tube, screen and filter, pan gasket, etc., etc., etc., to deal with a known sludging issue with the 2001 Passat with a 1.8L Turbo engine. They were doing this work to prepare the car that I'd agreed to purchase from another Fred Beans dealership.  The job was proported to be complicated and expensive, and asked me to split the costs with them because it was unexpected.  I agreed to split the costs even though it was not part of the original agreement of sale, in January of 2010.  

This week, August18, 2014 that relatively "new" oil pump failed, and upon disassembly, the local mechanic observed the screen had been peirced several times with a screw driver (looked like a torx head) and appeared otherwise to be the originally installed equipment from when the car was manufactured rather than new.  He explained that the level of varnishing indicated that it had been used for approximately 200,000 miles of service, and that punching holes in the screen would have had the effect of making the pump run better (as if new) for a couple years at most, and the trade off would be further damage to the pump with foreign materials that would have otherwise been captured by an intact screen, and ultimately oil pump failure could have led to complete engine failure which would have had catastrophic effect if it occured under highway conditions, thus putting myself and anyone in my car in peril.  

The Service Manager at Fred Beans was very brusque and rude throughout the process of the necessary work to have been done "By Agreement" on this vehicle, and ultimately I and my local mechanic believe that the alleged work done was intentional sabotage, having to abide by an agreement that this dealership had not been consulted on, and did not include replacement of the pump or associated equipment.  The local mechanic asserts further that there would have been no need to perforate or puncture the screen of a newly installed pump.  The several hundred dollars of costs charged to me were fraudulent as nothing was replaced, and unbeknownst to me this handling of the problem could have ended much more tragically than they did.  This particular experience also gives pause to me as I contemplate (1) how many others may have experienced fraudulent services, and (2) what other parts of the service to this car were less than adequate and waiting to reveal themselves.