[woofa.express]

Are dealer workshops competent or do they have manufacturer authority to rip you off?

I have had an excellent trouble free run from VW motor cars,so when I decided to purchase an SUV it was a VW. An excellent specimen with only 100k km mileage with the recommended book price of only 20% of retail.
It didn’t take long for trouble to arrive and I’ll make this as short as possible. First a failure in the high pressure fuel pump. It appears these were troublesome in vehicles manufactured that year, well so be it. Dealer quote to repair $10,700, that is AUD. Trailered it home, purchased pump on ebay, mechanic fitted, total cost, $1,450.
When I purchased this vehicle the seller advised it had never had a crash. Contrary to that I found paper work for a front end panel repair, yes it had been crashed and because of this more repairs were required. A disconcerting noise started when decelerating. I was in Toowoomba at the time and took it to the local authorised dealer workshop. I was advised to change or repair the transmission. Bill for diagnosis was $100. I took it to a reputable non VW workshop and they did an extensive and expensive job, replacing the CV joins where the noise was coming from plus replacing other worn components. They were both competent and honest.

My wife bought fuel for an earlier VW from a country service station where the attendant refuelled for her. Both of them were jaw wagging instead of paying attention: the diesel car was filled with petrol and it didn’t travel too far before it quit. She phoned VW and was told she must take it to a dealer. Now this was most impractical as this incident was at a fairly remote location. The service station mechanic arrived and pumped out the petrol, refilled with diesel and she was on her way. Isn’t it good to deal with country folk. (At times my friends poke fun at me for driving a VW. They tell me it is Hitler's revenge).

Question. Does this occur only with VW or is this type of practice and behaviour also applicable to other manufacturer’s authorised workshops? Have you had a similar experience? Do tell me.