Volkswagen Problems

As your car clearly has a problem, and is still under warranty, VW has a clear responsibility to fix it, regardless of how long it might take. And to suggest you might be prepared to live with it is ludicrous. The first port of call should be to the dealer where you need to spell out your disappointment in the car itself and in the treatment you have received, and don't waste time talking to anyone but the dealer principal. If you feel you are not being taken seriously at dealer level go to VW Australia in Sydney and tell them of your dissatisfaction. And don't pull any punches when doing so.

Yours is not the first report we’ve had of this on the Golf, and on the surface does appear unusual. It’s quite common for cars to have drain holes in the doors so any water that does get into the doors can drain away and not accumulate in the door and potentially cause rust to occur. Check that the seals are not damaged and check the drain holes to make sure they are not blocked. If it is all in order there should not be a problem. It’s not something I would be concerned about telling a prospective owner, or that it could affect the resale.

That's a little premature given the company has agreed to replace the engine, which they claim is the source of the problem. While I can understand your frustration, I would let them rectify the problem first.

I don't believe the problem is related to the engine itself, instead I would be looking at the fuel and electrical systems.

I would start by discussing your problem with your dealer and request the help of VW’s commercial vehicles experts to come up with a solution. But it seems as though you have bought the wrong vehicle, and maybe need to move up to a Crafter to get the load carrying capacity for the job at hand.

Cooper makes tyres with tread patterns to suit highway use and others to suit offroad use with more aggressive tread patterns that can be noisy if used on the highway. There are plenty of choices available for an alternative tyre, just make sure the tread pattern is one that’s designed for the highway.

According to VW you have been misinformed and there is no need to select ‘Neutral’ when stopped for any length of time.

We haven’t had any reports of failures of the door locks you mention, but I would appeal to VW to reconsider its decision. You have reported a problem with the door lock, presumably that was while it was under warranty, so you have grounds to claim it should have been fixed under warranty.

It should have a dipstick to check the engine oil; it should be identified by an orange knob. But it doesn't have a dipstick to check the auto trans fluid, the trans is a filled to life at the factory, and theoretically doesn't need changing. What that means is beyond me, as "life" could mean anything. Like you I like to keep track of oil levels and oil condition and I would be changing the trans fluid on a regular basis.