Looking for advice about VW service in KC..
 

Hey all,

I figured this would be okay to post, as it's really off-season for the moment, and it's a pretty niche title. So, if you're in here, you're probably interested.

Okay, anyway...

My fiancee got an '02 Passat from Aristocrat Motors in May, with 79k on it. Since then, we've had one issue after another with the car... the drivers-side window switch stopped working, the skidplate on bottom was missing most of its screws and produced a weird rattling noise, etc, etc. We called our salesman at Aristocrat, who basically denied us any help because we had called after two months (the car came with a 30-day warranty).

Anyway, on to now. Apparently, the '99-'04, 1.8T (1.8 liter Turbo) models of the A4 and Passat have a well-documented history of engine oil sludge that basically kills the engine. It's been the subject of multiple class-action suits and is covered by VW. Well, our Passat is showing all the "tell-tale" signs. It started beeping and a message came onto the console: "STOP. Engine Oil Pressure." She hadn't driven it 5,000 miles since purchase yet, so I hadn't changed the oil. Well, I went out and bought full-synthetic oil (compliant with the 502 weight required in VWs), and basically flushed the system. Same shit. Every single thing that the hundreds(/thousands) of consumers who dealt with this listed was occurring. So it is not to be driven until it's looked at.

I'm obsessively gathering all paperwork for this, as we are in no financial position to easily afford an engine replacement, especially with our wedding three months away. BUT, here's the craziest part...

I can't make shit for sense of the reviews for the major VW dealers in town. Molle VW is the closest, but it seems to have the highest number of "legit" complaints (not some spammer, not someone actively upset about a one-time situation that isn't likely to happen to others, etc), so I started looking at the other two dealers within our "reasonable driving distance" (hell, I might even towstrap it). Bud Brown VW looked like a great place- high ratings that raved about their service. But then you realize that every reviewer is just "Mary", "Dan", "David", etc.. Moreover, every positive review lists the first and last name, along with title, of every person they worked with. Further, they are all posted in a two-day window. And, the kicker: multiple one-star reviews calling them on it. So, it's almost to the point that I just wouldn't go there because it's such a shady practice. Northtowne doesn't sound like the best place, but some of THEIR one-star reviews were the same reviewers for Bud Browne. Ugh.

Any experience, advice--whatever-- is appreciated. I've got to deal with this relatively soon, and I'll rep the testes off anyone who can help.

Alternatively, do I have any recourse with Aristocrat here? I don't really want to have to go back there, but I will if I can't get this covered elsewhere. We found the car online, and it was painfully obvious that we weren't very important because we weren't buying a high-margin, expensive car.

This is why you should always do as much research as possible before buying a used vehicle.

Every person I have known that had a Passat (at least 10) would never recommend one of them. Especially when it came to affordable service for them.

The engine issue was the one I saw most often, and because it was something VW had agreed to cover, I figured it'd be a "worst-case scenario" that would be taken care of by VW if it ever did occur.. I should've researched whether it'd be a smooth process or if the service departments would look for reasons to not cover it. I haven't had any interaction with them yet, but it's definitely a lesson learned, to be sure..

Vee Village, 16th & Oak downtown.

Vee village is privately owned
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Can they do service under a special warranty exception made by VW? If so, I'm in. I'd much rather not go to a dealership, but I figured they'd have the best working knowledge of the issue and would be more likely to get the reimbursement go-ahead from the manufacturer.

If its a factory warranty, it will have to go to a dealer. Independents can perform service under an extended warranty.