My painful experience of owning a VW Tiguan

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › My painful experience of owning a VW Tiguan

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#2671888 11-Mar-2021 20:02

A lot of people will reply to this with "I own a Volkswagen and I've never had any problems!". The reality is that there is random statistical variation with these things but overall VW has a very poor track record with reliability.

You need to get some CGA advice. I understood that the CGA allowed consumers to reject a product if it is 'substantially' faulty but, given the value of a car, you need to get proper qualified advice before going down this route.

As for better alternatives, I really like Hyundai and Kia product. I have personally owned Mazdas for the last few years with no significant problems and I have always got the impression that Mazda NZ and the dealer would be receptive if there ever were any issues.

HugoGC

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#2671903 11-Mar-2021 20:20

Thank you for all of your opinions.

I have owned many cars of different brands in New Zealand for 20 years. They are Nissan, Honda, BMW, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Suzuki and Volkswagen. This Tiguan is my nightmare. Before Tiguan, I had owned a Toyota Highlander for 7 years. I just need to perform regular services and the car never have problem.

Fred99

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#2671904 11-Mar-2021 20:21

alasta:

I really like Hyundai and Kia product.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Theta_engine#Engine_recall

"Based on information from Hyundai Motor company (korea), this recall is not applicable in the ASIA PACIFIC market."

I guess they would say that. But wait, there's more:

The companies are only waiting for regulatory approval for the proposed fix. The 171,348 vehicles being recalled in South Korea seem to be suffering from a similar manufacturing problem as the American vehicles, which both result in engine stalling.

Note that an "engine stalling" in this case seems to be a seized engine, sometimes they throw a rod through the block. The only fix is a new engine.

It seems it could be a design issue to me, not a QA issue at the US plant.

networkn

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#2671910 11-Mar-2021 20:42

If it were me, I would ask for a meeting with the service manager and GM of VW or your dealership.

I would take along the documentation of the incidents you have experienced. *calmly* explain that having purchased a brand new car you had a reasonable expectation of a number of years of trouble free motoring, and whilst you accept that occasional things can happen, you feel 6 things in 6 years is excessive and you are concerned about the ongoing costs you potentially face if the car continues at the current failure rate. Explain you felt it was necessary to buy the extended warranty because of the number of faults you had, and that now you are approaching the end of that period you feel even more concerned about ongoing expense.

The key here is to remove the emotion from it, as hard as that might be. Be factual, be logical and put it back on them to provide you some reassurance you can expect mostly trouble-free motoring as per the CGA and see what they say.

I am not sure what you are after here, but if you are keeping the car, I'd be asking them to back their product and provide you with an extended warranty for a couple of years Free of Charge, or ask them to create a financially viable package for you to move to a different vehicle (but you likely would need to accept a vehicle from the same manufacturer).

To me it feels like a bit of a lemon, despite the fact that some of those issues are pretty minor.

hsvhel

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#2671915 11-Mar-2021 21:14

^^100%, sometimes a good face to face.....without emotion will see you right

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nakedmolerat

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#2671960 11-Mar-2021 21:20

Just go with Japs. Even a cheap Mitsubishi will outlast any euro cars (fact).

I'm not surprised reading this. My advice to you - sell or trade now and go for something else. Cut your losses now and don't bother wasting your time with them.

Basil12

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#2672034 11-Mar-2021 22:34

gbwelly:

HugoGC:

But now, I am worrying about what will happen in the 6th and 7th year after the five-year warranty expires.

Sell it while it's still working.

plus one. If it's a lemon now it will only become a worse one in the future.

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Nate001

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#2672038 11-Mar-2021 22:45

As others have mentioned go and arrange a meeting in person and be logical. DO NOT get into an argument. But before you do, what is the desired outcome you want?

Do you want a solution to the problem, or just too vent your frustrations? (Thats ok too...)

xlinknz

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#2672140 12-Mar-2021 08:10

A good car is no good if the authorised service agent (as is required under warranty) is no good, so imho who you buy from get service from is as or if not more important than the brand one buys. A car is only as good as the people that work on it

New cars are a particular issue since you may only have the option of a single service agent. We would get our Euro car work done out of town since we refused to use the local authorised agent. Next time we get a car we may only consider a brand that has two authorised local agents so if we are not happy with one inside warranty we can go to the other

Dynamic

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#2672144 12-Mar-2021 08:35

Does the CGA apply to vehicles?

Answered my own question before posting.... https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/help-product-service/cars/finding-the-right-car/buying-car-from-dealer/

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#2672146 12-Mar-2021 08:40

It’s time to let go of the idea that your Tiguan is a new car. It’s not. You may have purchased it new, but that was 4 years ago. I understand the pride of ownership factor, it’s still an achievement to be able to purchase a brand new vehicle - many people never do.

When your car was new, Trump was sworn in as president, Brexit negotiations began, Wannacry encrypted far too many hard drives & Team NZ won in Bermuda. Your car is a 4-year old, previous model Tiguan.

I’m not saying this to be derogatory, I’m introducing this to possibly enable a less emotional mindset when approaching your VW problem. The issue itself appears to me to be “My car broke down outside of warranty period. There’s still a chance that I can get VW to fund it - what’s the best approach to make this happen?”

You could try aiming high - find someone in the VAG hierarchy who is too high up the tree to be bothered caring for your job. Someone for whom it’s cheaper to say “Just fix it” than to answer your persistent emails & tweets & DMs & phone calls. Then proceed to introduce yourself to them...

Megabyte - so geek it megahertz

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#2672148 12-Mar-2021 08:43

One thing this does shine a light on is the different length warranty that companies offer in different markets.

If a car has a 5 year warranty in Australia or the USA, and a 3 year warranty in NZ, then personally I’d go to the Tribunal if faults arose in years 4 and 5 then argue that if the manufacturer thinks 5 years is appropriate in one jurisdiction there is no reason it shouldn’t be here.

heavenlywild

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#2672149 12-Mar-2021 08:46

Sorry to hear about the messy situation you are in.

I own the same car and the only problem I've had is the battery dying. Luckily it was just within warranty so that saved me a grand.

I think you were just unlucky to have received a dud.

turtleattacks

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#2672150 12-Mar-2021 08:48

I would probably argue that six unrelated breakdown in four years is unusual for a car and not of acceptable quality/fit for purpose.

Can be a case for the CGA.

Furthermore, as a new car buyer and your depreciation on the vehicle probably equates to about $40-$50 per day so if the car has been in the workshop for ten days.... you can work out the depreciation on those ten days.

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lxsw20

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#2672152 12-Mar-2021 08:49

I was sort of thinking of buying a Golf when I come back to NZ, much as I don't trust a DSG as far as I could throw it. Thanks for this thread, its probably saved me a bunch of pain.

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