Complaint Review: Berge Mazda Volkswagen - Gilbert Arizona

I am originally from Michigan, where people in the auto repair business aren't always just after your money. Also, my grandfather was a master mechanic, so when my car would break down, he would look at it (and most ofthe time fix it for free) and I would learn bits and peices about car repair. Since moving to AZ, I have had so many problems finding a reputable repair shop that it is disgusting! In my quest for good service for my 2002 VW GTI, I came upon a VW dearlership just minutes away! How lucky I thought I was.

My husband and I share the GTI, and in August he was deployed to Korea for a year. I decided after he left to make his car seem brand new by the time he got home. Recently the light on the inside bottom corner of the driver's side door fell out of the panel, causing my door to not close right, and the "door open" light to malfunction. Also, my airbag light was on and I wasn't sure why. So after he left, I took it in for the repairs. Oi vey!

The door light was simple. They popped it back in b/c I kept the parts that fell out so they couldn't force me to pay for new ones. The air bag light, however, was a different and much more expensive story. They told me they needed to replace the sensor in my seat belt buckle, which ended up costing about $300. They also kept trying to make me get those useless "system flushes," and told me I needed to change my timing belt even though I am still 45,000 miles away from VW's suggested milage for such a pricey repair. I had them change out my spark plugs though, b/c they were overdue, and that cost a whopping $150. They also wanted $40 just to change a burnt out light blub. I ended up doing that myself, needless to say.

So I get my car back a few days later, service lights off and my engine noticeable peppier with the new plugs. I was satisfied, even with the ridiculous prices. A few days later, however, my coolant light comes on. Turns out that the main coolant hose is leaking right at the joint with a smaller hose, so I change the clamp and hope for the best. No such luck. I had to wait a few months to fix that, b/c no car means no way to get to work, so I kept an eye on the levels.

I take it in, I pay $400 for them to change the hose, and I go on my merry way. It's Chirstmas time and I push the idea of that insane expense to the back of my mind. I get 2 weeks off, so the car spends most of it's time in the driveway. After those 2 weeks when I start driving more, guess what? Another service light comes on. It's the weird little one that means my idle is off (I think, this service manual is a bit vague). Thats funny, it's idling just fine. Hmm.

I find it a bit suspicious that a well maintained 2002 suddenly has strange and new problems out of no where. I find it HIGHLY suspicious that both of these major problems have popped up suddenly days after Berge has had them.

Oh, and did I mention how incompetent they all are? My car has TriLock on it (you have to turn the key, wait till it beeps, and then start it), and they called me the first time I took it in to say that it wouldn't start. I said, "well, it has trilock, did you wait for it to beep?" and the mechanic goes "It has what?" ....Um, do I want you working on my car? Not really. They are rude on the phone, they don't want to let me keep the old parts, and they insist on trying to sucker me into paying ridiculous amounts of money on useless system "flushes" and "inspections."

So now begins my search for a new repair shop....yuck.

Amanda

Mesa, Arizona

U.S.A.