Sunnyvale Volkswagen
Customer Reviews of Sunnyvale Volkswagen
Hides and dismesses dangerous problems in used cars
byon 04/28/2016
In short, a seemingly clean used Volkswagen was nearly sold to me without any disclosure of the major problems with the vehicle and its history. Sam K was very kind and attentive to me, but the time and money that I wasted here due to the dealership's dishonesty was deplorable. I was looking at a 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit S that they posted on Autotrader and various other online used car search engines. It had a detailed clean Carfax with no reported problems or accidents across its entire 1-owner history. The car looked very clean and well-maintained in the pictures and in person. The dealer also provided me with a record of the 120k mile maintenance that their service department had just performed. I felt pretty confident about the car with this information, but I still wanted to take the car to an independent mechanic to be sure. An inspection by an ASE-certified mechanic revealed numerous serious problems with the car. The immediate problems included: major rear cylinder head oil leak, corroded battery terminals, dirty air filter, discolored brake fluids, excessive drive belt pulley movement, excessive harmonic balancer vibration, cheap tires, and a dead turn marker bulb. Repairs for these problems were quoted at about $3,000. However, the mechanic told me to "stay away from this car" for an even more serious issue: the onboard computer revealed a history of startling fault codes. At some point, the doors, airbags, and steering column had been REMOVED from the car. Furthermore, the data bus had a "leaking" code (i.e. the internal wiring had been altered and scrambled). The mechanic attributed the likely cause to an unreported major accident that had damaged the wiring and internal components which required the removal of the doors, airbags, and steering column for repairs. This car was not in a suitable condition for driving without immediate costly repairs. Either the dealer's service department had completely missed all of these major issues or the sales department actively tries to sell used cars regardless of existing issues and without informing potential clients. Both inspire little confidence, but the latter is more likely because the salesmen were unsurprised and dismissive when I showed them the report. Plus, they did not want their own copy because they were not going to fix the problems! The car is worth less than half of what they are selling it for - they would not even lower the price after I learned about the $3,000 repairs needed. Their lack of disclosure and regard for the dangerous problems with this vehicle suggest a culture of dishonesty and borderline unethical behavior when it comes to used vehicles. Even the mechanics, including a former used car salesman, were surprised to discover the behavior of Sunnyvale Volkswagen. I would advise against ever considering purchasing a used vehicle at this dealership regardless of how cosmetically good the car may look, how clean the Carfax may be, the work of the service department here, and the car's price.
- Recommend this dealer? No
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? No
Will not negiote
byon 04/01/2016
Stay away from this dealer if you're in the market for a new/used car. They will not negotiate at all and this is coming from their own salesman. Not once did I discuss a price and the salesman David B. flat out stated WE DO NOT NEGOTIATE HERE. Save your time and STAY AWAY.
VW Sunnyvale (Stay Away)
byon 12/22/2015
Worst car buying experience. Sales representative non-transparent (Branko) and apparently out of touch with customer. Quoted an internet price today and wouldn't honor this price when trying to close the deal. A clear example of putting the dealership first without regard for the customer or VW brand. Stay away from this dealership.
- Recommend this dealer? No
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? No
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? No
Leased a 2015 e-Golf
byon 04/28/2015
I shopped around for the deal I wanted, and the salesperson I had been speaking with at Sunnyvale VW was able to beat that with multiple scenarios, allowing me to choose the size of down payment that suited me best. Most of the negotiating was done via phone/email and after verbally agreeing to a deal on the phone, I came in to sign the paperwork only to discover that my salesperson saved me a little more money on the deal. The final paperwork process was smooth. Before driving off in my new car, someone else in the shop took me to the car and showed me every feature, including walking me through pairing my phone to the car and what that allows you to do. I was very happy with everyone that we worked with.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
Good experience
byon 01/01/2015
Needed to get an economical vehicle. Went in and drove off in it 2 hours later.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
Very Professional
byon 06/21/2014
Bought a new Passat TDI SEL from Samer/Eli. Very direct and professional experience. No games and no surprises, and I got a great deal on my new car. Definitely a 10+ experience!
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
1 Comments
No pressure, no surprises
byon 03/24/2014
We found the best deal on a used Golf TDI here. Great communication with Hardik via emails. We drove over three hours to purchase the car and found Hardik to be just as pleasant and easy to deal with in person as he had been in our email communications. Overall a very pleasant experience with no pressure or surprises and we're very happy with our new /used car
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Not Applicable
1 Comments
No-Hassle Sales
byon 03/11/2014
Hardik responded to questions promptly, found a car on the lot that he knew we would like, and gave us an offer that we couldn't pass up. No hassles.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Not Applicable
1 Comments
Great service purchasing gti
byon 03/05/2014
I purchased a golf gti from Sunnyvale VW. Samer was very friendly, honest and helpful. He replied to my emails after purchasing the car, rather than just leaving me to it. The team seem very competent and open about their pricing.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
1 Comments
Very firendly
byon 02/14/2014
I just purchased Passat SEL Premium from Sunnyvale Volkswagen last week. The purchasing process was pretty smooth and friendly. It met my expectation.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
2 Comments
Very good experience
byon 11/21/2013
Had very good purchase experience two days ago. We agreed with purchase price via email in advance which made the overall purchase process to be super simple.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Not Applicable
1 Comments
Good communication skills
byon 12/05/2012
Out of all of the dealerships I e-mailed, this is the only one that stayed in contact consistently, got all of the information correct, gave me a quote promptly, was honest about having the car in stock, and was willing to match other dealerships' quotes. If this dealership had been closer to my house it would have been my first choice, and even at 80 miles away it was a very close second because of the excellent customer service attitude.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? No
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
Worst dealership ever
byon 12/29/2011
Haggled price back and forth like in the old days of car buying. When signing papers, the finance manager got my address wrong. I've told the sales rep I wanted to transfer my special license plate to the new car but this was not communicated to the finance manager. I had to tell him and he needed to print a form from the DMV website and then he wrote in the wrong VIN. I didnt find this out until I had my car insurance switched to the new car, and the insurance agent couldnt find the car in the computer. So I had to return to the dealership to have it corrected. It will most likely delay the registration or cause confusion at the DMV. While signing the papers, the finance manager kept complaining about how people in that shop never communicated and kept rushing him to do the finance part. One should never complain to the customer about your work problems. I was very put off by this. Finance manager rating is a -10. After I bought the car, I asked service to clean the car window which got paint all over it, and the service guy poured wax on the window and scrapped the paint out and in the process he scratched the window all over the place. When I've discovered the scratches the following day, I took the car back, but they wont replace it for free even though it was the service guy who damaged it. When I told the sales rep they damaged the window and should replace it, he simply said "we've tried to make you happy, I dont know what to say". So I talked to the sales manager who pushed the problem to the service director. The service director didnt seem to want to deal with the problem either and wont return my calls. I had to return to the dealership 5 times after I bought the car because these people couldnt solve problems and just kept pushing it to another person. And the sales rep asked me to give them a good review "put 10 for everything please.". After driving the car for 1 week, I've started having back pain. So I called the manager again and asked if they could stuff the car seat because the bucket seat was too tilted and deep and it's killing my back. He said they couldnt alter the seat, that service wont even touch it with a 10 ft pole. I told him it was painful to drive the car, and he even insulted me by saying that he knew it, that I would have buyer's remorse, the first time I've returned to the dealership with problems. So I've escalated the problem to the dealership general manager and to complain about their lousy customer service and the arrogant condescending attitude of the sales manager, but the general manager was on vacation. When I've asked who's in charge of the dealership since the general manager was not there, nobody could tell me. What a joke this place is. Totally unprofessional. Will never buy a car there again, will never take my car there for service, and do NOT recommend this dealership. Worst dealership experience I've ever had.
- Recommend this dealer? No
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? No
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? No
Recommend this dealership
byon 12/29/2011
Overall I'm happy with dealership. Friendly and honest. I would recommend this dealership.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
The way internet car shopping should be.
byon 12/07/2011
Piece of cake and got a fantastic deal. Hardik Patel is the man! One inquiry from me yielded a great price and they followed through as promised. Quick and painless. Try shopping at the end of the month for killer deals.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
No Hassle; Easy Sales
byon 05/17/2011
I had researched the VW i wanted to buy. I had already made my deciesion so the last step was finding a dealership to work with. I hate this part of buying a new car. I contacted dealership in a 50 mile radius of my home. I was contacted by only 3 and the sales pricing was all over the place. The first dealership to contact me was Sunnyvale VW. The salesman, James Jamous, had the two vehicles i was looking for in stock. His sales quote was right on. I already knew what a good price for me yet a fair price for the dealership was. James hit that price right on the head, no games here. We then talked to James over the phone to confirm the quote and that the Vehicles were the ones we wanted. We made the arraingement to meet James the next day with our trade in. All our arraingements were honored and everything they promised was delivered. Our transaction was easy and we drove home that afternoon in our new car. I would highly recommend Sunnyvale VW and I hope to purchase our next vehicle there in the future.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes
After Sunnyvale VW sold me a Jetta TDI, they ignored my service needs.
byon 06/14/2009
I bought a Jetta TDI sedan at Sunnyvale VW over the Memorial Day weekend. Up and until Sunnyvale VW sold me the car, Sunnyvale VW salesman Hardik Patel (Internet-Fleet Manager) was in close communication with me via email. We had several email exchanges that helped me evaluate the car before I paid cash for it. After I purchased the car I had some minor "fit and finish" issues about the car that I wanted Mr. Patel to resolve for me, so I wrote him an email on June 8 to get his response and possible resolution to those issues. He hadn't replied by June 11, so I wrote a quick follow-up note again asking for his response. As I write this, today is June 14, and I have yet to hear from Mr. Patel following the sale of the car. The last I heard from Mr. Patel was on May 30, when he emailed me to congratulate me on the purchase of the car. In that email he added: "We value you as our customer and want you to be very satisfied with the sales process of your new vehicle. If you are unable to complete the survey with all 10 and yes answers or the highest score available, please call me at [violative content deleted]. I will ensure you are satisfied with the service you received at Sunnyvale Volkswagen." So even though he's no longer willing to reply to me in email, he does have the chutzpah to say that he wants and rates a perfect score in some survey that I have yet to receive either from Volkswagen America and/or from Sunnyvale VW. Well, based on his non-response in email, I won't be calling Mr. Patel, nor will I be rating him highly when I get the VW survey, for his message is clear: Sunnyvale VW will be happy to hear from you as long as you have not yet bought a car from them, but the minute that happens, it's bye, bye, birdie. As a result of Sunnyvale VW's non-response, I'm disinclined to *ever* have my car serviced at Sunnyvale VW; in fact, I am now actively looking elsewhere for a VW dealer who is willing to demonstrate loyalty to the customer (me) and stay with me well after the sale and offer loyal service and support; that kind of service is important to me for the optimum maintenance of the car for as long as I have it. For the record, I got much better dealer service for my Toyotas over the years, so it surprises me that Sunnyvale VW somehow doesn't think it's important to retain its new customers right from the get-go. Meanwhile, I'm keeping my well-maintained 2001 Toyota Camry for a bit longer, at least until I can find a VW dealer who is up to the task of providing good customer support for my new Jetta TDI sedan.
- Recommend this dealer? No
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? Yes
Bad test drive experience
byon 02/09/2009
I went in one evening after work to test drive a GTI. I was still evaluating different car options and made that clear. The salesman was pleasant and gave me a good test drive that let me really explore the performance of this car. They hard a good selection of cars so I could compare colors and equipment. Things turned bad on returning to the dealership. I thanked him and said repeated that I needed to test drive some other cars before getting into price etc. He offered a brochure and went inside to get it. He returned with a couple of sales man who surrounded me. One was the "manger" who asked about my views on the car, invited me inside, and asked what he could do to get me in the car today. A second was quite rude. He snapped that if I wanted to keep everybody outside in the cold that I should go to a flee market. I'm quite amazed at the experience. I asked that the rude gentleman leave the area immediately and told the "manger" that I would not return.
- Recommend this dealer? No
- Purchased a vehicle from this dealer? No
1 Comments