Thursday, May 03, 2007
Thelen
If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know I have a less than satisfactory relationship with my car dealer - Thelen VW in Bay City, Michigan. Today I went back there for a 70,000 mile service and because the infamous Check Engine Light (CEL) has been on in my New Beetle.
My appointment was for 8AM so I'd have time for them to drive me back to work while they did their nefarious deeds to my car. That's when things started to get weird. I turned it in at 8 and mentioned I just wanted the factory VW service and they agreed with no hassles. Normally they try to tack on 3 or 4 added services that they at Thelen have decided your car will fall apart and kill you if not done. No argument at all. Just the oil change and a charge for the troubleshooting (total about $110) of the CEL. After about an hour I double-checked with the desk and they said, they were almost done with the troubleshooting run and would get back with me.
Around 930AM, the service desk gal (now there's two gals working instead of the guys) came out and explained that they found a cracked vacuum tube and would charge $10 for it - nothing more for labor or other parts. I actually looked around the room to see if I was really in Thelens or had wandered into the wrong dealership somehow. It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Two hours after I'd dropped off my car, I was back at work, with a bill no larger than they originally said, and a car that was working again. That is about the first time that's happened in six long years of dealing with them.
