2010 VW GTI - White One!

[Mike]

Just ordered a set of Whispbars. Not cheap ($400), but they receive glowing reviews. Will likely pick up some used Peloton carriers on Craigslist.

[Mike]

They arrived. Look really good. Picked up some Thule Echelon (the high-end ones) racks from REI. Went to install... Need the aero-bar feet. Gahhhhhh. Nobody anywhere in the area stocks them... Gahhhh.... Thank god for Amazon Prime / $4 overnight. They'll be here tomorrow

Bars: $400
Racks: $300
Locks: $35
Adapters: $30

This was not cheap.

[Mike]

Picture does the setup no justice... It looks REALLY nice and high quality. Super low profile, little to no wind noise (after I put some scotch tape over some hidden holes)... Very happy and convinced I have the nicest roof setup for a 2010 GTI available in the US Have not seen any pics online of folks with the exact setup... Possibly unique?

[balactm]

very nice. I love roof racks.

[JustinG]

Do you like to burn money, just give it to me if that's the case.

Roof rack costs more than your civic.

[Mike]

Suck it, Trebek.

[WRXtranceformed]

Looks good man! Seems pretty low profile as far as bike racks go.

[Evan]

nice plaid, McCollins.

[HAULN-SS]

How easy is that to steal?

[Mike]

How easy is that to steal?

Not impossible, but the bars are locked to the car and the racks are locked to the bars. Would be quite a hassle so it's as vulnerable as anything else. If someone wants it, they'll take it.

[Sijray21]

very nice! i love those bars

my bundle was a little north of $550, but yours looks nicer

with the convenience of the roof rack you won't regret it

[Mike]

Seeing Dave's update on his WRX reminded me of this...

Have had the car ~15 months now and put 8200 miles on her. 6000 of that is six highway trips to visit my family... Yeah, I don't drive much.

Nothing to report other than my free yearly service was a nightmare from a human standpoint.

Step one... Making an appointment. I try their online service appointment thing, but nobody ever gets back to me. The sales manager sends out an e-mail at my 1-year anniversary asking if there's anything he can do. I reply "Yes, I'd like to schedule my 1-year service, but I received no response when using the online appointment thing. Can you put someone in touch?" I know, I could pick up the phone, but I'm not in a rush and it's principle at this point. He never replies. Eventually, I call and set up an appointment.

Step two... The service. Took her in on a Friday morning for an oil change and whatever else is included in the year/10k interval. I threw my bike on top and rode to work straight from the shop... Around noon (I had a 10AM appt.), the service guy calls to tell me he was running a bit behind and hadn't gotten to my car yet. I assure him it's NBD; I was planning on picking it up after work anyway. He said he'll call when he's done. Around 5PM, he hasn't yet called. I hop on the phone, call him directly (gave me his cell). No answer. I call the service department and they tell me he's gone for the weekend. Uhhh. What? The car had not yet been returned to the dealership (they have offsite service), it isn't in the "Done" section of the serviceyard, and there is no record of any work being done to it... They can have him give me a call on Monday with its status. WAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!!!! I drop my car off for an oil change and then at the last possible minute you tell me you're keeping it for the weekend? No. I sit on hold for about thirty minutes while they try to reach the guy. No luck. I demand a rental or loaner. "We don't do that." WAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT!?!!!!! Michael angry. Eventually, they get a hold of someone at the service place who hasn't gone home yet. He locates the car in a section it's not supposed to be in, also finds no records of work being performed, but can get the car back to the dealership so I can have it for the weekend. It's now about 6:45. They close at 7 and... they have my car. They can't wait around long for me... HOLY FUCK I HATE THE SHIT OUT OF YOU, WES GREENWAY VW (Google bot, pick this up). I've been on the phone with you car-hostage-assholes for two hours and you're going to just peace out on me? I literally run to my girlfriend's house (she doesn't get cell reception there... another FML), grab her, grab her keys, and supercharge the shit out of a 10 mile trip in traffic in 15 minutes (Mini S is fun!). I barely make it. They brush it off like it's no big deal, kind of laugh at the situation (with me visibly livid, which takes A LOT), and tell me that dudeman will give me a call on Monday to let me know if the service was actually done or not. As you may guess, I still have yet to receive a call (this was around a month ago). My oil change light is off, the squeak in my shifter bushing is gone [at that time... a month later and it's back], and the TSB for the leaky rear washer nozzle looks like it's been done because... the nozzle is leaking again (long story short, the TSB makes the problem worse) so it's pretty safe to assume all necessary work was done. If it isn't and the car blows up, their problem. No wash or vacuum is kind of weak... Don't know if that's due to me having a roof rack, the whole debacle, or they simply don't do it... Oh well.

Still loving the car, love the roof rack, but this was one of the worst customer service experiences of my life... I'll likely be finding a new dealership.

[Dave]

Holy hell, that's the worst dealership customer service that I think I may have ever heard of. Any way to report them to a regional or national rep?

I also find it crazy that by the end of the month, I will probably have passed you in mileage and owned the WRX half as long as your GTI. You need to get out more...

[Mike]

I e-mailed the above to the dealership's owner. That got the service manager's attention.

They have apologized, are looking into why things went so wrong, and most importantly, what was actually performed on the car:

- regular service done
- shifter squeak unreproducible (i guess it was just an odd chance that it went away for a week)
- nozzle had to be ordered (i confirmed with two people that day that they had them in stock... it wasn't worth coming back for)

I reply to the service manager and owner thanking them and commending a couple people on their staff, but I get an automatic failure because the service manager's mailbox is over quota. Le sigh...

I will give them a 2nd chance, but only because they're much more conveniently located than anyone else.

[Apoc]

Are they the type to read social networking and/or review sites? Curry's called me to offer a $100 credit after I wrote an honest, but troubling (for them) review on Yelp. Your experience was much worse than mine, so it couldn't hurt to write one and tweet it publicly a few times.

[Mike]

Don't know. Once the back and forth has ceased, I'll likely throw the final verdict on Yelp. I wish I could pinpoint this on the single tech who failed miserably, but as you can see, almost every aspect of the experience was terrible.

[WRXtranceformed]

I personally wouldn't give them another chance, I know it may not be convenient to drive further to find another dealership but who knows what could happen next time?

[Mike]

Springfield could happen next time. Ungh.

[Jake]

Mike, how's this thing treated you since your last big WTF-service-experience update? Anything catastrophically break?

(I only ask because I'm starting to kinda-maybe think about a newer car after the new year, and GTIs are my Easy Button choice)

[Mike]

Car has been bulletproof. Dealt with a bunch of shenanigans when I had my yearly service again, but those were people problems.

Still love it. Don't know of anything that can match the fun, comfort, style, and versatility for the buck. Would buy again++.