Missing Options. Compensation levels?

[dickt]

It is clear that VW have made some corporate decisions and corporate ****-ups on Options since they first launched the Mk7 Golf. It appears from other threads that they have failed to provide electric wing mirrors with some cars, and they withdrew the Seat Memory Option on the leather with electric seats between launching the car last year, and deliveries in 2013.

When a mega-corporate such as VW makes these corporate decisions, and ****-ups, I think they ought to refund a large portion of the price of the car. (10% or 20%??).
After all, VW make huge profits based on customers buying their cars with a lot of Trust. When VW deliberately and/or accidentally break that Trust, they should be heavily penalised.

I am still upset that some corporate big-wig deliberately withdrew the electric seat memory. It is not as though they cannot do it - they have the software and have had it for years. They have just decided that lying in their brochures is OK by them. Naturally, the brochures have the legal wording that allows them to tell whatever tales they want in their brochures. So I've wasted a lot of money on leather/electric/memory as the key bit - memory - is not available.

So, how much compensation should people get for corporate **** ups and corporate decisions that impact customers?

[mactrack]

Personally I don't believe that VW UK deliberately lied because, as you say, it causes no end of upset customers who may well not buy another VW car in the future as a result. However what VW UK have been is breathtakingly inept at clarifying with VW AG as to what is, and possibly more importantly what is not, available for the UK market as far as the Golf MK7 is concerned.

Like you we originally ordered the leather/electric/memory seats as we had them on our previous Audi A4 and I think electric seats without a memory are pointless. Fortunately our build had not been confirmed when this came to light so the option was deleted as it is £2k+ wasted IMHO. I think the best any of us can expect is to get the cost that missing/compromised option refunded and if this is not what you want I would be thinking about rejecting the car entirely.

We also ordered the Bi-Xenons, thinking they came with the LED DRLs, and now find out that they don't but even more annoyingly is that they WILL become available to order as early as the 26th of this month!

[westie383]

This ongoing debacle with cars not being supplied with the chosen (and paid for) options is seriously putting me off purchasing another VW. I personally think that if the car has shortfalls in its spec, the dealer should take that car on as a demonstrator, and give the purchaser the option of either re-ordering, or walking away from the deal. Given that options can vary from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds, the buyer should not be fobbed of with the basic cost of such missing/altered items.
This probably won't happen of course, but until buyers vote with their feet, VW seem to be more than happy to send out anything which trundles off the production line.

[Evil Dan]

This ongoing debacle with cars not being supplied with the chosen (and paid for) options is seriously putting me off purchasing another VW. I personally think that if the car has shortfalls in its spec, the dealer should take that car on as a demonstrator, and give the purchaser the option of either re-ordering, or walking away from the deal. Given that options can vary from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds, the buyer should not be fobbed of with the basic cost of such missing/altered items.
This probably won't happen of course, but until buyers vote with their feet, VW seem to be more than happy to send out anything which trundles off the production line.

Legally it has to happen if the buyer stands up for their rights. The Sale Of Goods Act protects the buyer from goods not as described but you have to be quick to notify the retailer when you find things.

[h5djr]

This ongoing debacle with cars not being supplied with the chosen (and paid for) options is seriously putting me off purchasing another VW. I personally think that if the car has shortfalls in its spec, the dealer should take that car on as a demonstrator, and give the purchaser the option of either re-ordering, or walking away from the deal. Given that options can vary from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds, the buyer should not be fobbed of with the basic cost of such missing/altered items.
This probably won't happen of course, but until buyers vote with their feet, VW seem to be more than happy to send out anything which trundles off the production line.

I very much doubt if it's Volkswagen Germany that is at fault as each car is built to order. Some of the options for the new Golf may not yet be available but VW(UK) are not telling the dealers or the dealers are not telling the customer to ensure the order goes through and hoping the customer will accept the car anyway.

[dickt]

I confirmed my order on 14th November. This was a private sale, not a corporate order. It included leather/electric/seat position memory. The first time I found out that it did not have the seat memory was after I had arrived back home and tried to set up the memory. Neither VW nor the dealer had bothered to tell me that the VW Boss-class had decided to remove the option from the VW.
Let me be clear here. Someone in VW decided to remove the option. It was not a mistake and not an accident. VW have this technology, use it on other cars, and I had it on a Passat back in 2005. It is clear that they originally intended to offer it - it is mentioned twice in the price list that I was given - and is still mentioned a number of times in the manual. The dealer's service manager went in to the electric system of another Golf that they had in their showroom, and confirmed that it should be available, but then spoke to VW who said that it was not available.
The leather/electric/memory option costs about 2,000ukp.
The first offer of compensation was 250ukp. I said that I would reject the car based on this offer. They then came up with 500ukp, which is where we are at present. I've done about 350 miles in the car, but I am still considering rejecting it. The dealer knew from first contact that I wanted the memory function.
I think that the whole 2000ukp should be refunded. Whilst the leather is fine, I only went for leather to get the leather/electric/memory combination........ the electric seats without memory are much the same as a car without an engine. Useless.
So I'm sat on their cheque for £500, not entirely sure what to do.
They have certainly lost any Trust that I had in VW, and our family has 3 cars from the VW group.

Quite simply, I see no reason to trust VW/Audi with anything any more.

[Evil Dan]

I confirmed my order on 14th November. This was a private sale, not a corporate order. It included leather/electric/seat position memory. The first time I found out that it did not have the seat memory was after I had arrived back home and tried to set up the memory. Neither VW nor the dealer had bothered to tell me that the VW Boss-class had decided to remove the option from the VW.
Let me be clear here. Someone in VW decided to remove the option. It was not a mistake and not an accident. VW have this technology, use it on other cars, and I had it on a Passat back in 2005. It is clear that they originally intended to offer it - it is mentioned twice in the price list that I was given - and is still mentioned a number of times in the manual. The dealer's service manager went in to the electric system of another Golf that they had in their showroom, and confirmed that it should be available, but then spoke to VW who said that it was not available.

The option was never "removed", it was falsely advertised as being part of the electric seats pack.

It is not available on a Mk 7 Golf anywhere in the world, though it may be coming at some point in the future.

[dickt]

Whilst I respect your opinion and perspective, I disagree about the "removal". (But like you, I only have an opinion). I have worked in big global corporates, and I know how they work. That price list, and the manual, would have been through many layers of corporate bureaucracy to become approved. Some one somewhere will be personally accountable for it.
Then, some one with even more power decided to remove the option.
I wish I knew the names of both these people.
IMHO, that is not false advertising, it is a corporate decision to remove something from the spec.............AND, someone also took the decision NOT to tell the customers.

However it came about, however, I wish there was an easy way to get them to take full accountability and responsibility, and to put it right. It is only software, and they already have the software.!!!

[mactrack]

Whilst I respect your opinion and perspective, I disagree about the "removal". (But like you, I only have an opinion). I have worked in big global corporates, and I know how they work. That price list, and the manual, would have been through many layers of corporate bureaucracy to become approved. Some one somewhere will be personally accountable for it.
Then, some one with even more power decided to remove the option.
I wish I knew the names of both these people.
IMHO, that is not false advertising, it is a corporate decision to remove something from the spec.............AND, someone also took the decision NOT to tell the customers.

However it came about, however, I wish there was an easy way to get them to take full accountability and responsibility, and to put it right. It is only software, and they already have the software.!!!

Like Dan has said the memory seats are not available at all (but may indeed come later). The fact is VW UK did tell all of their dealers, via a product update bulletin, which is how I found out about both this issue and the no LED DRLs. In your case it would appear that your dealer failed to tell you and, IMHO, this is what you need to impress on your dealer when taking the matter further that they have let you down!

[h5djr]

Whilst the leather is fine, I only went for leather to get the leather/electric/memory combination........ the electric seats without memory are much the same as a car without an engine. Useless.

Personally I don't agree that electric seats without memory are useless. I have an electric drivers seat in my Audi A3 and find it very easy to adjust to the correct position and change the racke of the back depending if I'm wearing a jacket or not. It's much easier to use than the normal wheel setup. Audi have never offered seat memory on the A3 so I knew that when I ordered it. The now offer the same for the A3 as for the Golf. Electric seats with memory on leather only. I can understand being upset because there is no memory function but they are not useless. It seems that it's your dealer that has let you down rather than Volkswagen by not telling that memory was not yet available before you placed your order.

My wife and I have the drivers seat in different postions and the electric operation makes it all very easy. The memory in my A3 is a small piece of insulating tape on the outside of the seat runner which I line up as necessary. Works a treat and very cheap!!

Strange thing is Audi have never offered seat memory on the A3 or A4 but Skoda have had on the previous Octavia without the need to have leather.