Dead VW

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eddiecanuck
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Dead VW

Post by eddiecanuck » Wed Aug 20, 2003 3:32 pm

Well since nobody else is posting anything and Bio is MIA or sleeping, I'm going to post my boring problems for all to read :)
Got a phone call yesterday from the wife, her car broke down on the freeway. Luckily it was close to my work, so I head out there, get AAA setup and the guy tows it away. Get a call soon afterward that the timing belt on it is gone and the serivce warrenty we bought for it (we bought the car used) doesn't cover it after 60,000 mile cause it's a maintenence issue and should be replaced then. Well it wasn't (previous owner) and so now on top of that there may be some valve or cylinder damage in the engine. So off to the VW dealer to see if I need a new motor or not. That probably isn't cover either. On the plus side my wife got a $3000 bonus yesterday, guess we know where that is going. :x
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Post by saki2mesue » Wed Aug 20, 2003 3:53 pm

I hate having car problems. Hope everything works out. Thank God for the bonus!
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Post by mmeowgrl » Wed Aug 20, 2003 4:40 pm

You wife must be like me. I listen to music so loud in the car I don't hear things like squeeky belts about to go out. My BF drives the car and hears those sort of noises and then fixes the problems for me
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Post by eddiecanuck » Wed Aug 20, 2003 4:56 pm

well, for a little more background...
It has been making a noise. We took it in, the mechanic didn't know exactly what the problem was but wanted to put in a kit that is recommended by the manufacturer for the model/year/etc. So they call the serice warrenty company and they send out an adjuster. He drives the car and all of a sudden the noise is gone. The mechanic swore to him there was a problem. So he says, nope we aren't paying for it. So the work isn't done as it was a $1300 kit. But it was something to do with the suspension. So we did have it in for "a" noise. But it might not have been the same noise. There might have been another noise that was masked by this original problem.
Unfortunately we still owe a lot on it so I can't just dump it. Grrr!!
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Post by bio » Thu Aug 21, 2003 4:32 am

Ahhh, the joys of automobile ownership.

Don't even get me started.
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Post by eddiecanuck » Thu Aug 21, 2003 9:41 am

I just talked to the mechanic this morning and he said basically the same thing he already did. They sent the car over to the VW dealer to do the engine tear down and see what other damage there is. The guy I talked to said usually when the timing belt breaks at high speed there is valve and piston damage. Some possible good news is it sounded like there was a good chance the insurance will cover this. God I hope so, I don't really feel like buying a new engine myself.
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Post by mmeowgrl » Thu Aug 21, 2003 10:37 am

Next time get a Toyota. They are impossible to kill, and believe me I've tried. No matter how much I neglect it, it keeps on rolling.
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Post by Moxie » Thu Aug 21, 2003 4:29 pm

The old VW's are good when it comes to running, too. I had a '76 Super Beetle in high school that I treated like ass and it dutifully took my daily beatings. But it started and ran every single time for me. I have a '71 Super Beetle right now, too, that is a good little car. I've heard the new VW's have issues, but my heart will always belong to the old bugs.
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Post by JerDevil » Sun Aug 31, 2003 1:19 pm

SO? What's the verdict? Is the VW dead? Need a new motor?
Depending on what's wrong I might be able to hook you up with a mechanic, or help with some of it myself......
I do a little work on the side.
Not on Sprague Bio! Dammit, those days are behind me.....
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Post by eddiecanuck » Tue Sep 02, 2003 10:42 am

Well here is the update. I stopped by on Wed of last week to get some stuff out and talk with the mechanic. He of course was at lunch. I left a note for him to call me when he gets back. Wed goes by, Thurs goes by, Friday starts to go by and I call them back. After finally getting SOMEONE on the phone I leave my number and I'm told he'll call back. And he actually did. So he tells me that they have been swamped this week with the holidays and all and they are just getting it in for the tear down. So supposedly he's going to call today with a verdict on if it's just the heads or if the motor is shot.
On the bright side, he talked with the service warrenty company and it sounds like they may pay for it either way. God I hope so, otherwise we may have a dead VW for a while. Looks like they may also re-emburse me for the timing belt I paid for. Hopefully I'll have an update later today.
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Post by eddiecanuck » Thu Sep 04, 2003 4:51 pm

Here lies an old piece of shit. It wasn't around long but the time it was was memorable... as being a pain in the ass.

That's right folks, she's dead. Ding, dong, the v-dub's dead!!
Just talked to someone at VW. Jeff, the guy I was working with, who said he would call on Tuesday, is on vacation until NEXT Wednesday. Nice of him to call and update me. Anyway, moving on. I talked with Tony something and he gave me the bad news. There are at least 3 cylinders that are damaged and the only fix is a new engine. Parts and labor, about $5034. I told him about the service warrenty I had, which he had no idea about cause Jeff went on vacation, so he is going to call them and see what they are willing to cover. Man they had better pony up for this. No way should I have to replace an engine in a vehicle I've only had for a year and only put 7000 miles on. The damn engine is almost half of what I paid for the car.
Well, I'm outta here. Off to flag football practice. I think I'm going to swing by the dealer's lot I bought it from and have a chat. :)
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Post by Moxie » Thu Sep 04, 2003 6:26 pm

[quote="eddiecanuck"]
That's right folks, she's dead. Ding, dong, the v-dub's dead!!quote]

*cries*
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Post by eddiecanuck » Thu Sep 11, 2003 9:51 am

Yes that's right an update. I know you have all been waiting with great anticipation.
Well when I last left you we were waiting for Tony to call me back with news. He was supposed to call on Friday and SURPRISE, no call. So I finally call him on Tuesday (work is slamming me right now), and he says that he has called the extended warrenty place, they sent an adjuster down and he concurred with the assessment. So now we are waiting to hear back on what they will cover. He then tells me "as soon as I hear from them you will be the second person to know". Okay, so getting irritated with the whole situation I head down there yesterday at lunch, Bio was shotgun, to talk to them and find out about getting a rental. Well low and behold my buddy Jeff is back from vacation, and apparently VW has a policy about talking to your co-workers when you get back from vacation, and the policy is DON'T. I asked him the status and he pretty much had no idea Tony had even talked to me. Oh and by the way, no Tony, he was MIA all day yesterday.
So after updating Jeff on the situation I tell him that if Tony hasn't heard anything that they need to call the warrenty place and get the ball rolling. Jeff takes my number back and says he'll call me :roll:
Well as it turns out he actually DID call. Unfortunatly the story gets worse. Jeff called the warrenty place (remember Tony is MIA), and the story he gets is that they want the heads sent to a local machine shop and they will repair them and then VW will install and we see what happens. :shock:. I ask Jeff what happened to "we need a new engine"? He said the guy (Chris) never mentioned that. So I told him how Tony said it needed a new engine, blah, blah, blah. Jeff says that when he talked with Chris and with his mechanic that the adjuster didn't see sufficient bottem end damage to warrent a replacement. I was stunned, so we go from need a new engine the thing is dead, to, we'll repair the heads and hope for the best. Well at this point VW's hands are tied, I'm pissed and the story is not over.
After this conversation I mull things over for a while and call Jeff back to enquire what damage there is to the motor then. Well Jeff has actually been doing some work and has even MORE great news for me. He called the local machine shop to make an appointment to send the heads in and finds out they don't actually work on the heads. They were expecting to get the car, tear it down and send the heads out (christ everyone wants a piece of the pie). So Jeff called their outsourced place to just eliminate the middle man. They say that once they get the heads, they are going to do their own evaluation to see if they can even be fixed. AAARRRGGGG!!!!!!!!
So I tell Jeff to arrange for a rental for me and I'll be by in the morning to get it. Well as I'm writing this post I stopped to call VW and confirm the rental so I can arrange transportation over there. Jeff tells me he's talked to Chris and they have approved a rental for me. For 3 DAYS. All I have to say is they are lucky I'm a Canadian and can't legally own a gun. Otherwise you'd all be seeing me on the evening news tonight. I'm done, for now. :)

God I hope this day improves.
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Post by bio » Thu Sep 11, 2003 10:00 am

Eddie + automobiles = trouble.

His Camero is dead, his VW is dead, his Truck needs to go to the shop, and the headlight on his motorcycle isn't working.

Buy a horse... at least you can shoot it when it pisses you off (thus, giving you great satisfaction).
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Post by saki2mesue » Thu Sep 11, 2003 11:20 am

Nope that wouldn't be good for him either. He can't own a gun.
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