Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 09:38:48 -0700
Reply-To: Jeffrey Earl <jefferrata@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jeffrey Earl <jefferrata@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Dealer repair disaster '89 Westfalia
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Sally,
Sorry to hear of your recent and ongoing dealer
troubles.
If I understand correctly, the latest offer from this
so-called Service Manager is the following:
"Labor free. Short block aftermarket motor and all
coolant hoses for $1731 (regularly would be $4075), no
compensation for tow back to them. Motor warranty
12/12 with motor dealer, labor warranty with VW."
Let's look at these individually:
1) "Labor free."
Well, you've already seen the quality of their labor
when you're PAYING for it; what sort of quality do you
suppose they'll provide for FREE? When a potential
mechanic starts moaning and groaning about how
difficult a job is going to be, and seems obviously
disinclined to work on my vehicle, I take it somewhere
else. I don't mind paying more, but dammit, if a
mechanic doesn't WANT to work on my van or car, I
don't WANT him working on it.
2) "Short block aftermarket motor and all coolant
hoses for $1731 (regularly would be $4075)."
He doesn't say who the aftermarket rebuilder is, but
$4075 sounds high, especially for a short block. Heck,
GEX International will sell you a crummy rebuilt
LONGblock for $1900. Add a complete coolant hose set
from Bus Depot for around $400 and you've got $2300 in
parts.
Or assume an expert-rebuilt longblock with new heads
from the highly-recommended Boston Engine Exchange for
$2500, plus an OEM coolant hose set from VW for say,
$800, for a total of $3300.
Where they get over $4000, I do not know. It's
apparent that they are burying their labor costs in
there somewhere, and making full mark-up on the
coolant hoses.
3) "Motor warranty 12/12 with motor dealer, labor
warranty with VW."
The 12/12 is what GEX offers on their motors, so I
suspect that's the motor your dealer is proposing. If
so, run screaming from the showroom and throw yourself
off a bridge before you pay a penny to install such a
motor: they are notoriously defective and shoddily
built. As for their warranty, GEX routinely blames
their failed motors on a bad installation. Your
installing dealer will of course refer you back to
GEX, and you will likely get caught in the crossfire
of finger-pointing.
It's also possible that the dealer is responsible for
your susequent engine failure, but that's only
speculation. Because you had the broken-down van towed
to THEIR shop, you'll probably never know whether the
engine failure was actually caused by a randomly
failing hose as they claim--maybe the idiot mechanic
forgot a clamp, or neglected to properly bleed the
cooling system, leading to the engine overheating. In
any case, as the Service Manager has already admitted,
the hoses should have been replaced.
I suggest you get your dealer's offer in writing.
According to his own numbers--a $4075 value for only
$1731--he's offering to 'throw in' the remaining
$2344, primarily thru shoddy, over-priced, and
disinclined labor. I suggest you demand a cashier's
check for that amount plus $1000 in potential court
costs and related ancillary expenses, for a total of
say, $3500.
He will undoubtedly howl. Offer him the option of
settling it in court, in which case the actual costs
could be much higher (are you prepared to make good on
this threat?). Because you've asked for the ridiculous
amount of $3500 out-of-pocket, and threatened
expensive legal action, he may now regard the $2344
payout as a viable fall-back position and issue a
check. Or he may offer to pay you half that amount.
You'll need to decide how far you are willing to
pursue the matter.
Take the money and go back to your original mechanic
to have him install a rebuilt motor from Boston Engine
Exchange. For the additional costs of coolant hoses
and labor, you'll have a quality motor with zero
miles, and you can get back to enjoying your Westy.
Good luck on this matter, and please let us know how
it goes.
Jeffrey Earl
1983 diesel Westfalia "Vanasazi"
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