I received a call yesterday from the service manager at McDonald Automotive VW. We discussed the option of refinishing the wheels and approximate costs and who would cover which amounts. While I am not happy about having to pay anything, the offer appears to be acceptable on the surface. I am waiting to hear back more about how this could get accomplished considering the wheels have to come off the car for some period of time. I am assuming about a week.

In the end, when you look at this situation it is really difficult for both parties, we have both stood our ground and we both have had to give a little. I really want this behind us both.

I still need to get the car into another dealership to have the damage evaluated and see if anything other than a tire machine could have caused the damage. On top of that the brakes do not feel right so we will probably have a different dealer address that and get them fixed properly. McDonald had two chances already to remedy the recall issue and can’t appear to get it right either time.

Hopefully in the coming days I will be able to post about a finalized acceptable resolution and can stop wasting so much of my time on this.

The only person that seems to call me back is the service writer, who can’t talk to me about anything more than when my car will be done.

I have contacted Volkswagen Customer Care and they have done their best to help facilitate communication. The service manager of McDonald Automotive Volkswagen has yet to return a call to me since our initial conversation last Wednesday and also has not returned the call to VW Customer Care. On top of that the rep I spoke with today at VW Customer Care has sided with the dealership clearly and has as well stated that I am out of luck (without using those exact words).

It appears my hands are tied and once again the consumer is going to have to take it in the long run. I could go the legal route and head to small claims, but if I lose there I have to pay court costs on top of replacing the wheels on the car.

The worst part is now I fear for the condition and safety of this car. I am very worried that the car is going to come out with more damage and shoddy repair work because of all this.

I can’t express this enough, DO NOT EVER take your Volkswagen to McDonald Automotive VW at 6000 South Broadway Littleton, CO 80121.

We have a 2006 VW Passat 2.0t that needed some recall work done. Basically the car decided to not want to stop anymore. We dropped the car off on 03/10/2007 with the idea it would be done that day. Then they needed a part, which is expected, so the car was scheduled to be done Monday 03/12/2007.

I get the call that the car is all done, leave work early, pick up Renee and we head down to the dealership. Get the paperwork, head out to the car, Renee gets in and gets situated, then honks at me with arms waving frantically. I ask her whats going on and she says “it’s not fixed!” I hop in the Passat turn the car on, step on the brake and just hear “hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.” While I am sitting there Renee goes “Oh my God what happened to your car!” I get out and she points at the front wheel. It is comepletely scratched up in a circular pattern around the wheel. I walk towards the rear of the car, the rear wheel looks bad too, head around to the passenger side, both wheels, trashed!

So we head back into the service area and find our service writer. We explain to him first and foremost that there is a terrible hiss, sounding like a loose hose still coming from the car and then we mention the wheels. Now let me preface this by saying I am very anal about keeping my cars looking good. Especially when they are new cars that are not beaters. Discount Tire back in the Spring of 2006 damaged a wheel ever so slightly putting my Summer tires on and I called them on it and had them replace the damaged wheel with a brand new one. When we dropped the car off at McDonald VW on Saturday the wheels were fine. I even washed the car before bringing it down with the expectation that we would do a walk around and look for any damage prior to them taking possession to do the repairs. No walk around was completed.

Ok, so back on track here, after mentioning the problems, the service writer came out to the car with us and hopped in and hear the hissing. He was clearly not pleased with that result because it not only shows the tech didn’t do the job right but either the car was not tested after the work or the tech ignored the obvious sign of failure. We then moved onto the wheels. I pointed out the damage and expressed my big concern over why this would have happened when this work had nothing to do with wheels or tires. The service writer agreed the damage looked to be from a tire machine and said he would look into it. I am a very patient person, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and he got us a rental car.

So now we get into Tuesday 03/13/2007. The car is going to get the work done again, but I am informed more parts must be ordered and that the entire brake booster is going to be replaced. I am also informed that the service manager wont be in until 03/14/2007 and until he comes in they can’t do anything on the wheels. Again, I am patient and calm and accepting because I believe they are going to do the right thing. Nothing else occurs Tuesday.

Wednesday rolls around, 03/14/2007. I get a call at lunch from the service writer updating me that the parts didn’t make it in with the morning delivery and the service manager wont be in until the afternoon. Once again I am completely understanding and patient. Around 4pm I get a call fro the service manager. He calls me only about the wheels. We talk about it but the majority of the first 5 minutes of the call are spent by him talking to me like a child and trying to explain to me repeatedly what causes that damage. I on numerous attempts tried to respond by letting him know I understand what caused it. What’s more important is what is going to be done to rectify the situation. Now of course there are issues that make this a hard situation to prove. It really is a case of my word versus theirs. Which if you have ever dealt with a dealership usually means their word trumps yours and you get screwed.

I stayed as calm as I could talking on the phone with this service writer, but without using the exact words he basically said I was out of luck. Personally, I think this is a load of crap. My wheels were in perfect condition and they are all now ruined. So either McDonald VW did the damage or some wheel fairy snuck in and took the wheels off the car, threw them up on the machine and did the damage. Now I don’t believe in fictitious wheel fairies so that leave only one real culprit, McDonald VW.

They continue to deny they did anything, but honestly, if you jacked up 4 wheels on a car are you really going to admit it? So now, here I sit, still without my car, my car with 4 ruined wheels that will cost about $800 or so to replace. EDIT: I guess they are more like $1000+ to replace!!!

If I have learned anything from this experience, never trust a dealer, especially McDonald Automotive Volkswagen in Littleton, CO. They will ruin your car and tell you you are out of luck.

Got the Scout started after it sat motionless for nearly 4 months. I guess no matter which way you cut it, it’s my fault. I think I last started it in October, maybe early November. Then I got a Bronchoscopy in mid November and everything spiraled out of control with my health after that.

So through a blizzard it sat, in a snowy auto cocoon of sorts. Now that we have seen some substantial melting of the snow I figured it was time. Got the Passat out there near enough for the jumper cables to reach. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get enough juice to get it started. I then went through the process of pulling the battery and taking it to Checker Auto Parts to have it load tested and see if it would hold a charge. Nope, unfortunately the battery drained all the way (damn radio) and it was totally dead. The only good thing is that the battery wasn’t that old so it was only $20 for a new one…woot! I also picked up a new can of starting fluid since my old one was empty.

We got back, I installed the new battery, doused the carb with starting fluid and she started right up. Let it sit running for about 15 minutes then wiggled the Scout around in its spot a little bit so I could get it into 4lo, and just crawled out of the 1.5ft of snow and ice. We took the Scout for a drive after that, the dog was being a real pussy and wouldn’t get it while the Scout was running, it was to “scary” for him I guess. Then he refused to get in the way back because I don’t have the rear seat setup right now. Once we got him back there it was good.

Now that the Scout is running I decided it would be a good idea to be destructive with it and try to take out as much snow as I can in front of the house. Yesterday it was about 60 out so it was perfect weather. Fired up the Scout and went to town. I realized now I only need 2wd to get in and out of the parking spot, that’s just how badass this rig is. Still, for the snow smashing I decided 4hi would be best. I’m sure my neighbors are convinced I am a lunatic already, if they didn’t already think that then they do now as I was going to town just flooring it and plowing over the well packed snow. I didn’t do as much damage to the snow as I had hoped, but I think it was enough to help the melting process along, not to mention it was fun!

I also took the pooch for a walk, it was his first walk in months! I know that sounds cruel, but he does have a big yard to run around in and we have taken him places to stretch his legs. He did pretty good on the walk, but had some erratic behavior that almost got him run over. Sometimes I think Kona might be retarded. otherwise, he walked well on the leash and it was good for both of us.

March will be here soon and that means a lot more activities outside. Not to mention I am getting better still and now I am working on putting on weight and getting some strength back. I am really looking forward to this Summer.

Ok, no I’m not, but I wanted on the bandwagon.

I guess as long as I have your attention. I get these infusions now monthly, little tiny bits of thousands of peoples immune systems get pumped into mine. I get really invigorated after receiving the infusion, it was really bad almost. I mean I couldn’t sleep last night and I thought of 6 different ways to cut down the 50ft blue spruce in front of my house to minimize the loss of life in the process.

I also determined that I am going to finish the Scout this year hell or high water. I know I say that every year, but I mean it! I really do! I swear!

Right now I am really tired but also feel wired, I am like a junkie.