The Digital Soapbox of Steve Truett

See below for a humorous, and true anecdote from my girlfriend about the roller coaster we have been on with our 2005 Volkswagen Passat.

Dear Volkswagen Corporate Office,

Have you ever watched the show “The Big Bang Theory”?  In this show, there is a female character named Penny.  Penny drives a Volkswagen Rabbit (or so it has been alluded to) with a Check Engine light that never goes away.  I often felt like Penny.

Before I continue, let me introduce myself.  My name is Casey Bretti.  I am the owner of a 2005 Volkswagen Passat GLS, 1.8T, 4Motion.  My boyfriend found this car for me in the middle of Winter 2009, and we immediately fell in love.  Feeling that we found a “great deal” (Fully loaded interior, sunroof, an ’05 with 22k miles on the engine), we jumped at the opportunity to own this fine specimen of vehicle.

Well, we didn’t exactly jump… we took the night to do some internet search and I had flashbacks to the ‘80’s when my mother’s Volkswagen Rabbit caught fire on her.  Not once, but twice.  I thought… that was the ‘80’s!!!  The ‘80’s had lots of bad things happen like big hair, shoulder pads, and Ronald Regan.  I couldn’t really take my Mother’s ‘80’s VW experience into account in the year 2009 could I?

The next day, I caught a flight for a week long business trip and by Noon that afternoon my boyfriend bought the Passat.  It was meant as a surprise for my return from the trip.  A surprise it has been indeed.

I’m not going to go into ridiculous detail on what an experience this car has been for me in the 1 ½ years of ownership.  What I will say is that if it had not been for one particular dealership, Evans VW in Dayton Ohio, I would have driven the Passat off a cliff a long time ago.

I first tried another dealership in my area (Dayton) – White Allen VW.   After taking my car to them several times they could NOT conquer what has gone down in “Casey Bretti Lore” as the “INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT”.  Friends and followers on both my Facebook and Twitter accounts have heard extensively about the INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, I’ve scoured the internet for hours upon hours seeking help… No matter what happened – the INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT always came back.

This is why I say that I often felt like Penny.  I tried to rationalize it after a while, saying to myself, “Well at least it’s not on fire like Mom’s car was.  Twice.”

In desperation, I ended up at Evans VW.  Donna and Rodney were eager to help.  This was in September 2009.

Again, I’ll save you from the horrific details.  If you REALLY want to know, have a tech call me.  Just because I’m a chick, doesn’t mean I can’t talk cars.  I can explain in detail all the issues I’ve had with this car.  What this letter is about is to complement and THANK Evans VW for saving my sanity, and saving a car which I wanted to love (and now do) very much.

For months on end, I brought my car to Evans.  I had the techs stumped.  This continued on as the coil recall began, and we all were convinced that this would fix the problem.  NEGATIVE.  Everyone there was at a loss – they wanted to see my car fixed, I WANTED TO SEE MY CAR FIXED.  Still, they never gave up!  We tried different things, and as soon as the light came back, they were there waiting for me with open arms.

Finally in March, they took the car for two weeks.  They selflessly gave me a loaner at no charge, even a week of that time the loaner was parked at the airport while I was on a business trip.  Apparently during this time, the Evans techs worked with the “techs in Michigan” and somebody somewhere decided to reprogram the computer.

I left a happy, happy camper.  Finally, 14 months after purchasing the Passat, it was running perfectly.

This was ALL because of Evans VW’s commitment to me and my car.  They could have sent me on my way at any time – I paid for the initial diagnosis of the issue in September, and never paid a dime after that.  I know these guys put many hours into my car.  I was willing to fix whatever was needed, but they could never pinpoint the issue.  And, it wasn’t because they didn’t try.  Oh, they tried.  We all tried.

I even had an INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT scare about a month and half later.  I had some body work done on the Passat, after a hit-and-run in a parking lot.  When I picked up the car, the INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT had returned.  I went into a fit of panic… NO NO NO!!  This can’t be!

I quickly called Rodney and he reassured me that sometimes the light can come on in the body shop.  A few days later I brought it in, and yep, the codes read were errors on emissions.  The code was cleared and the car has been INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT free ever since.

I want to sincerely thank Evans VW for their SUPERIOR CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE and that I appreciate all the hard work that was put into finally getting my vehicle running right.  Rodney and Donna (who is no longer with Evans) were always very supportive whenever I would call in a fit of frustration.  I owe many thanks to the technicians who worked on my car diligently.  I know they tried their best.  I also want to thank the management team at Evans – they could have at any time directed their staff to put no more work into my car, but they didn’t.  This shows me that there is commitment to the customer at the dealership that begins at management and ends when a happy customer walks out the door.

As of today I’ve had 3 months without the INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT (minus the mishap from the body work), and although Evans made me a very happy lady, and my car is running perfectly, I can’t say that I am completely trusting of Volkswagens.  I am still afraid every time I start my car that the INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT will return.  During the last 1 ½ years I have read horror stories from the VW message boards about various different problems that happen regularly with no fix (much like my INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT), have heard unsettling stories from other Passat owners, and of course found the sad-yet-quite-funny humor in the fact that the same time I was having the INFAMOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT issue on my VW, a character on a TV show was having the same problem with her VW.

I can’t say that I will be buying another Volkswagen ever again.  I love the look and style of the cars.  And, as many have told me – when VW’s run, they run well.  This has been very evident to me.  However, I need reliability.  As a project manager for Lockheed Martin, I travel frequently.  I also may be required to relocate for extended periods of time, and this just amplifies my requirement of having a reliable car.

Sure, I know that I can take my car to Evans, and they will do whatever it takes for me to leave as a happy customer.  However, I will not always be able to take my car to Evans, and I certainly shouldn’t have to take a vehicle ANYWHERE for months on end to get it fixed.  The car should be engineered with excellence, and any problems should be resolved quickly.  Like I said previously – it’s not that Evans didn’t try; they went above and beyond trying.  I work with process engineering efforts in my job – I know what it means to build quality into your product.  I’m just not seeing where VW is doing that these days.

I don’t mean to come off as a buzz-kill in the end of this letter.  I will give credit where credit is due – and that goes to Evans VW.  However, if something does not meet my high expectations, then I will express that too.  Please take this as a challenge – I challenge you to prove me wrong.  I challenge you to show me that VW does build quality products, reliable products, and products that offer solid value for each dollar a customer would spend on them.

It will be a while before I’m in the market for another car (2 to 3 years), so you’ve got some time to let me know how you’re doing.  I’m not just saying that – I’d like you to convince me to make my next car a VW.  You always say “Drivers Wanted”.  Prove it.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ms. Casey Amanda Bretti