Dilemma - to pay or not to pay?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
MAYBE A DOSE OF CONSUMER EDUCATION SHOULD BE IN ORDER

• The the service writer you demand the estimate with the following points clearly spelled out
• Estimate is to be titled REPAIR, DIAGNOSE, OR DIAGNOSE TO DETERMINE REPAIR ESTIMATE ESTIMATE
• The second or follow-up estimate should read ESTIMATE FOR REPAIR
• When diagnostics are performed INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS and circuits troubleshot and results must be detailed
• This protects the customer from diagnostic failures that another shop may find in that circuit
• Ninety five percent of so-called electrical technicians replace part after part and chalk it up to parts sold AS ELECTRICAL PARTS CAN NOT BE RETURNED or EXCHANGED
• The customer may get a whole basketful of new, unneeded expensive parts added onto the bill
• Because of what I did for a living I was exposed to this PRECISE issue repeatedly. I did not take time out to do car harness troubleshooting or repair, but as an example I did find shops that did work on my level and even more talented. Ed's Auto Electric in Lancaster California is such an example. This guy was talented and fast
• Such good shops exist but percentage-wise seem to be in the 5% minority
• Protect yourself DEMAND all replaced items to be returned to you in a bag. Even a bad electrical harness plug
• In California the state department of CONSUMER AFFAIRS BUREAU of AUTO REPAIR (800-952-5210) used to be an incompetent's or Crook's nightmare
• I appeared for three depositions for the plaintiff after performing counter-diagnostics and finding obvious incompetence or fraud.

I am sitting on a 20 k mile used oil filter, used cabin filter, used fuel filter, and a $410 broken electronic black box labeled a trailer controller. VW Customer Care offered to pay for half of the black box cost, since I pointed out to them it only lasted 44% of it's expected warranty 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty life.

The check is in the mail, I am satisfied with how VW handled the problem. Did I get a full 3 year warranty? No, but they at least made things fair enough such that I only paid prorated for the portion of service I got out of the unit. Fair enough, in my books. Better than grabbing the ankles and taking one dry in the shorts.

Next time, I will make sure that the trailer package is preinstalled by VW when I buy new. I just was unable to find one I wanted with a tow package already on it. VW fixed that in 2014, all Touaregs came with trailer tow packages and hitches, in the USA.