Jim's problem is that VW, thru his dealer, it telling him is car IS NOT
covered under the recall. I had a similar problem with my B3 16V Passat
when the heater core blew. VW told me the recall for Passats was VIN
specific and mine VIN wasn't specific enough, so I wasn't covered.
What I did was call VWoA in Michigan and talk directly to them. Do NOT
try
to talk to VWoA thru the dealer, pointless. I explained that this was a
known defective part on more than one platform and was curious why, when I
was exhibiting the exact symptoms of a defective heater core, they were not
standing behind their recall. I kept pushing. That's the trick, be direct
and firm with them. They told me to take it to a dealer, have them tear it
apart and determine what failed, and if it was consistent with recall
failures they would cover it.
I did what they said. I actually had the service manager talk to the
VWoA
rep that I spoke with while I was at the dealer. After a couple weeks of
waiting and playing phone tag, they approved covering the replacement. I
firmly believe being cool to the service manager helped with a favorable
report to VWoA. Be prepared to have the dealer do a shitty job. I am still
finding out how badly they butchered everything up. But, at least when the
dealer does it, if they mess up something big, you can take it back to them
and have them fix it again.
Hope that helps...moral of the story, get VWoA involved and keep them
involved and don't take no as an answer from them.
Renard
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of
[email protected]
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 1:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: [a2-16v-list] Re: Heater Core Replacement?
My local dealer says the VIN does not fall under the recall. More research
on
vwvortex seems to indicate that once diagnosed, a call to VWOA will likely
then advise the dealer to handle it under a recall situation.
Jim
In a message dated 12/16/02 12:01:43 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
