Volkswagen Of St Augustine

Ten days after purchasing a pre-owned 2015 Tiguan, the vehicle sustained a “major” mechanical breakdown. The breakdown occurred even after passing a “thorough” inspection by the dealership prior to the sale. The repair for the breakdown involved replacing a valve spring at a total cost of $1,905.77. I contacted the dealership and spoke with the General Sales Manager, Daniel Parker and advised him of the issue. Due to the short length of time (10 days) that had elapsed between the purchase and the breakdown, along with the high cost of the repair, I politely requested to Daniel that Volkswagen of St. Augustine split the repair bill with me 50/50. Most would have been embarrassed by such a breakdown following a pre-sale inspection. Mr. Parker instead chose to assign responsibility and blame to me, a customer that had just spent more than $12,000 in his dealership. His reply: “You purchased the vehicle “As Is” and were offered the opportunity to purchase a warranty but declined, therefore the repair is YOUR responsibility.” I responded back that I “assumed" the vehicle was “thoroughly” inspected, and the dealership "assumed" their inspection meant the vehicle would operate as intended for longer than 10 days after the sale. Unfortunately, both sides were wrong and for this reason, I asked for a 50/50 split. Additionally, had I purchased a warranty it would not have gone into effect until 30 days AFTER the sale anyway. Mr. Parker disputed this fact saying that I would have been covered from day one. The dealership’s Warranty Company however, advised otherwise. Rather than meeting half-way as requested Mr. Parker offered a mere $500, something he attempted to pass off as a “goodwill” offer. I politely refused his offer and again asked to split the bill 50/50, meaning that each side would pay $952.88. After several weeks of delay tactics and numerous opportunities to make things right, Mr. Parker elected to forgo Quality Customer Service over the difference of $452.88. Realizing that I was dealing with an unreasonable individual I chose the $500 rather than receive nothing. It should be noted that these funds were NOT accepted as an agreed upon amount by the two sides. It was only after it became clear that Mr. Parker was more concerned about the money than having a satisfied customer that the funds were received. It should also be noted that, the actual purchase of the vehicle was a smooth process and the sales representatives, Katrina Burton and Richard Hirsh, were true professionals. My low review rating is not a reflection of “their” performance. My issue was my treatment as a customer by the dealership, as represented by their General Sales Manager, subsequent to the vehicle breaking down. I only asked that the dealership be fair, and they were unwilling to rise to the occasion. In the end, a potential for a good dealer/customer relationship was ruined over $452.88. Truly pathetic!