Garnet Volkswagen

Garnet Volkswagen responded

Mr. Ireland, We will NOT do anything to sell a car. I'm sorry you feel you were lied to. The Federal Government does not say this vehicle "maxes" out at 40mpg. It is clearly listed on the window sticker of the Passat TDI by the Federal Government that "the expected range for most drivers" highway is 33-47 mpg. And further if you read most of the online forums of TDI owners, they are seeing mpgs in the high 40's even 50 mpg!! So yes our customers do achieve quite a bit more than the 40 mpg. We are not a sleazy, deceitful grind shop. Being that you have never visited our dealership, I feel you are unqualified to make that statement. Bottom line: maybe this is not the dealership for you, but to air this on a public forum without all the information is clearly not the best way to handle the situation. I wish you all the best with you car shopping and hopefully this way have helped change you mind about Garnet Volkswagen. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Best wishes Mr. Smith Internet sales leader

irelandt responded

Mr. Smith, Just because my review isn't in your interest does not mean this isn't the best way to handle things. You 're entitled to your opinion, but I obviously disagree. In fact, I have visited your dealership -- twice. (Interesting how you concluded that I did not visit your dealership before you checked your facts. But as we both know, Garnet Volkswagen typically plays fast and loose with the facts.) For the record - on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter of 2011 - I visited your dealership, looked at your cars, admired their design and asked your sales people about past reliability issues with Volkswagens. They nodded a lot, but they didn't address my concerns -- an evasion I observed during both visits. They were, however, very eager to explain how quickly their cars were moving and to have me fill out a whole bunch of sales paperwork. I declined to fill out the paperwork. So by your standards, I am indeed qualified to evaluate your dealership, and in my opinion -- based on online and personal contact with your staff -- Garnet Volkswagen is indeed a sleazy, deceitful grind shop. The "TDI owner" internet mpg numbers you cite are electronic hearsay, and it is wildly dishonest for you or your staff to represent them possibilities for real drivers. You don't know whether those numbers were posted by actual owners, and even if they were, you don't know the conditions under which those numbers were achieved. For all the public knows, you and your sales pirates posted those numbers on the internet themselves. Energy department numbers are standards. Cars are tested under similar, varied driving conditions and their gas mileage is compared based on those conditions. When I offer your sales people an opportunity to compare your mpg numbers to those of another automobile, you and your people know full well that I'm comparing the fuel economy sticker on that car to the sticker on yours. If you offer me a number that isn't taken from a TDI window sticker or other authoritative, neutral source, you are engaging in a premeditated deceit. Frankly, nothing in your note -- not your eagerness to jump to factually incorrect conclusions nor your thin-skinned defense of a reprehensible use of fuel economy numbers -- persuades me that I was wrong in my initial assessment of your business. Now I know you weren't making a negligent error. You guys are proud of misleading potential customers. Sincerely, Tim Ireland

Garnet Volkswagen responded

I'm sorry I was not told you had visited. We do not mislead our customers. We have heard multiple times from our customers that they have achieved these numbers. Again even on the Federal window sticker it states highway mileage between 33-47 mpg. I'm sorry you feel this way about our dealership. I also don't think I will be able to change your mind about the dealership, so again best of luck with your car search. Hopefully readers of this review will just consider it "electronic hearsay"

irelandt responded

I did visit. That's one of the reasons I asked your sales staff about financing. I had already seen and driven the Passat TDI. Their efforts to oversell a car I already appreciated led to this fiasco -- which, incidentally, wasn't anything like the experiences I had at three other VW dealerships (Beans, D'Ambrosio and Smith) and two Buick dealerships. Those folks were pretty straight shooters. I don't know what people will think about this post. I know what I saw in those emails, and I know what I experienced in your dealership. Frankly, I suspect folks will find my account pretty credible. If you want, I'd be happy to post the entire email chain between me and your folks -- unedited. People can draw their own conclusions. Then there won't be any hearsay at all.

irelandt responded

I'll make you a deal: Fuel up a 2012 Passat TDI, and let me drive it (sales rep in the car to keep me honest) on the highway of your choice at 65 mph for 10 miles. The car must contain all of the equipment listed on the sticker. No pulling the spare tire or playing any games to save weight. If the car gets 45 mpg -- three mpg less than the ludicrious number your sales rep gave me -- I'll remove my post and amend an apology to your dealership. We can use GPS and the vehicle's onboard computer to calculate gas burn. If the fails to hit 43 mpg, I want you to write and post -- prominently, on the Garnet Volkswagen website -- a public affirmation of my online critique, and a promise that you won't deceive any more potential customers about VW gas mileage. Will you take my bet?

Garnet Volkswagen responded

Again I am sorry for your experience. I'm not sure what we are trying to accomplish at this point. We have had many happy customers. I truly believe we are "straight shooters" but I agree you had a horrible experience. I'm not sure what we would be able to do for you at this point. I know Kyle has offered you a very good price on the Passat and even the financing you were looking for. But it no longer sounds like we are the right dealer for you. So again I am sorry for your experience and wish you the best.

irelandt responded

I'm making a point. The point is that you aren't a straight shooter. I gave you an opportunity to substantiate an unsubstantiated claim. You rejected that opportunity and were wise to do so. You know that car can't and won't hit 48 mpg in anything resembling reasonable driving conditions. And yet you insist you're honest guy running an honest outfit. Ain't so. If anyone thinks I'm making this up, I'll show them this exchange. You had a chance to win back some honor, and you passed. And for the record, Kyle did not offer me the financing I was looking for. Kyle offered me the financing Kyle wanted to (or was able to) offer. Again, I'd be happy to send you the email chain. Going forward, please try to have at least a passing respect for the truth.

Garnet Volkswagen responded

I did not see you "bet" until after I sent the last email. But, I can not take your "bet". I do not have a TDI Passat for you to drive. And will not be getting one from Volkswagen for quite a few months. I believe Fran erred in his explanation of the fuel economy. But even the window sticker states you may receive up to 47mpg. Again I think it best to part ways at this point as I truly believe nothing will get accomplished from our back and forth. I wish you the best.

irelandt responded

... one last thing: Kyle didn't offer me anything until after I told her (a) I was a professional journalist, and (b) I was going to contact VW corporate. For the record, I'm not going to waste my time writing a story on one lousy dealership -- and once I tell you I'm journalist, my professional ethical code wouldn't allow me to accept your offer. So we can't do business together. A funny side note: In one of her notes, Kyle tried to dissuade me from buying a better financed Buick by explaining that cars sold with financing deals tended to be cars that didn't move. Given that VW is offering a special on almost every model -- except the Passat TDI -- I could only conclude that ALL of your other cars aren't moving. Just to make a point, Kyle threw all of your other cars under the bus!

irelandt responded

... one last thing: Kyle didn't offer me anything until after I told her (a) I was a professional journalist, and (b) I was going to contact VW corporate. For the record, I'm not going to waste my time writing a story on one lousy dealership -- and once I tell you I'm journalist, my professional ethical code wouldn't allow me to accept your offer. So we can't do business together. A funny side note: In one of her notes, Kyle tried to dissuade me from buying a better financed Buick by explaining that cars sold with financing deals tended to be cars that didn't move. Given that VW is offering a special on almost every model -- except the Passat TDI -- I could only conclude that ALL of your other cars aren't moving. Just to make a point, Kyle threw all of your other cars under the bus!

irelandt responded

Fine. Surely, you'll have a TDI Passat for me to drive in the near future. Let's be honest: You wouldn't take my bet if you had nothing in the lot but TDIs. You know that car won't hit 47 unless I'd driving it down hill, with the wind, at 35 mph. And even then, it may not hit 47 mpg. Fran didn't err in his explanation. He never offered one. Again, would you like me to send you the email chain? Look: Just admit that the guy lied -- and knew that he was lying. We both know it. Fran knows it. Really, you'll feel better afterward.

Garnet Volkswagen responded

I do not need the chain. Was he mistaken? Yes. Did he do a terrible job explaining the economy? Yes.Did he outright knowingly lie? I don't know. This is how I explain the TDI when I'm working with a customer either on the 'net or in the showroom " When your first start driving the TDI you should see mpgs in the low 40's, once you put some miles on it say between 5-10 thousand you should really see you economy increase. I've had customers tell me they are getting somewhere in the 45-48 range" This is how I explain it to my customers. Those are truly numbers I have received firsthand from previous customers. I have sold many TDI's in my time here and have never received a complaint about the economy. I hope this is a better explanation than you received from Fran.

irelandt responded

Well it would have to be better, wouldn't it -- since Fran didn't give me any explanation at all?