Story from vwvortex
I bought my (old) 2015 GTI brand new on January 3rd, 2015, from Camelback VW in Phoenix, AZ. I traded in a 2014 2.5L 6AT JSW that I had bought CPO a few months prior (before I got a new job and moved across the country.) The GTI was a 2-door S, 6MT, with no options - none. I loved the thing, and had a prelim oil change done at 1,000 miles. Right after that, I drove it back across the country to/from Springfield, MO. When I got home, the car had approximately 3500 miles.
I started getting "CHECK OIL PRESSURE" warnings, consistently. The first time it happened, I was obviously quite concerned. The light turned off about 10 seconds after the warning came on. I pulled over, checked the oil. Called my service adviser. Light went away, and there were no issues. It kept coming on, almost every day. I finally had an opportunity to get it down to Camelback VW, and they had it for three days. They replaced a sensor, and thought the car would be fine. The light came on the day after I got it again. I brought the car back, and a regional tech came to look at the car.
At this point, I was obviously concerned about the long-term reliability of the vehicle. I filed my initial complaint with VW Corporate, in hopes of receiving a maintenance plan, or extended warranty. VW Corporate was attentive of my case, and quickly checked in with the dealer (who I was completely happy with in regards to their service as well.)
Meanwhile, the regional head tech couldn't figure it out, and ordered an entire long-block (engine) replacement. ETA? Who knows. A long time. At this point, I started calmly hinting that I'd really just rather have another GTI. When an ETA finally came in, my case at corporate was escalated to a senior customer care adviser. My car was going to be "out of service" (AKA - not in my possession) for about three weeks before the engine even showed up. At that point, I'd be dangerously close to the 30 days of out of service time that Arizona requires in the first two years of new-car ownership for a forced lemon-law buyback by the manufacturer.
No, I didn't "GET AN ATTORNEY!!!!" or LAWYER UP!!!. I simply discussed what I felt would be appropriate...another GTI S. After all, my car was under 3 months old, and had about 5000 miles on it. I have owned VWs for a long time, and purchased my fair share new (for being 26), and had yet to ever have a VW burn me.
Well, whatta ya know. VW offered to replace my car with another identically spec'd GTI S. Of course....I kinda wanted the lighting package...and a four-door is a little more convenient, as the length of the doors on the two-door car started to get a little bit old. I asked how I could arrange to purchase those options with the deal. Well, my dealer had received a 2015 S, four-door with LP & DCC. They knew I wanted it, badly. The service manager (who handles buy-backs, not sales) locked the car down and kept my name on it...for over TWO weeks while the deal was negotiated with VW Corporate.
I picked it up today. I paid nothing. Every service level I dealt with in this 'fiasco' took care of me. I was also polite, and I never had any fits. The dealer was kind enough to swap the brand new rubber over to my BBS SRs, and tinted it just like my prior car as well.
The night I first drove the new GTI, right after receiving the initial buy-back (for identical spec) offer.
And 30 minutes after I drove home the new one today, with 30 miles! Of course, debadged and unplugged the soundaktor immediately.
TLDR: Car was a lemon, but hadn't yet reached the legal bounds. I didn't act like an *******. VW bought my car back, and gave me a better one.
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