Vanguard Volkswagen

I went to Charles Maund VW in Austin, TX and worked with Gordon Spencer. He did not have the 2010 Jetta Sportwagen TDI I wanted on the lot, so he got it in from another dealer. I went in to pick up the car Gordon Spencer. He did not have the 2010 Jetta Sportwagen TDI I wanted on the lot, so he got it in from another dealer. I went in to pick up the car - it was Gordon's day off, so Ken helped me. I walked around the car to check it out & saw a huge scratch on the driver's side near the front of the car. I touched it & said, "there's a scratch on my new car", then Ken touched it and said, "no, it's a dent." Ken said they would pound it out, then buff it and it would be like new. I was so excited to be getting this new car and it really took the wind out of me when I saw this and Ken's response didn't help. I felt like he thought I was being ridiculous in my reaction. He said they were going to fix this car either way & if I didn't want it, they could easily sell it to someone else. I told him I'd think about it overnight and he agreed they would try to get me another car if I decided this one wouldn't work. Gordon called & spoke with my husband the next day. Gordon thought it was silly that I didn't want this car - as 'it's only a dent & we can fix it'. My husband backed me and said 'she knows about it & it will drive her crazy to have that car now'. So Gordon finally agreed to find another car for me. I was not happy with my experience and sent the following email to Gordon on Saturday: Hi Gordon, I'm really disappointed that the car had a dent on it when we went to pick it up on Thursday. I was expecting a perfect car from Volkswagen and it fell far below my expectations with the dent. I've given this a lot of thought and if I take this car, I'm always going to know there was a dent on it before I got it and it got fixed. I'm Not okay with that. Buying a new car is supposed to be a great experience - especially when it's a Volkswagen - and it was until I saw the dent. I understand that was the only one in Texas like it, but I don't want a car that had a dent fixed on it. After driving the 17" tires and the 16" tires on Thursday, I can't tell that much of a difference. I remember you said it opens up a lot more cars if we go with the 16" tires. So let's go with the 16" tires. I put the requirements I have below. I'm flying out early Sunday morning and should be back on Friday around noon or so. If you can get the car in anytime next weekend, that would be great. Feel free to call the house at *** and leave a message once you have located the car. If we have another experience like this, I'm not sure I will want to go with a Volkswagen, as it is I'm a little leery now. Thanks, Laura Gordon wrote me back the following Thursday at 4:15pm and said, "Laura, I have your white/black diesel Sportwagen due in tomorrow. The new VIN is ***. Gordon" There was no empathy in his email, nothing saying I'm sorry about your experience and we'll make it better from here, nothing. My expectations were not even close to met from this email and that is when I made the final decision not to buy the car from Charles Maund. The only reason I even tried Hewlett was because I liked the car. I wish I would have went there first. If the sales guys do this poorly when you're a prospect, I don't think you can expect much more when it comes to service as an owner. I will never go to Charles Maund again. I almost didn't buy a VW because of that experience. My husband encouraged me to try Hewlett VW in Georgetown, TX since I really did like the 2010 Jetta Sportwagen TDI. I read reviews on many sites and Russell Blackstone stood out as a wonderful salesman in all of them. I called to make an appointment to meet him and told him of my other experience. He apologized and promised me that Hewlett VW was different. Russell was friendly, efficient, and professional during my entire experience - he is the reason I purchased a VW. He took the time to show me all the features of the car - the big things and the little ones - and it's clear he knew this vehicle inside and out. He did not have the exact car I wanted on the lot, but he was able to get it in a reasonable amount of time. He kept in touch with me and gave me appropriate status updates. Everyone at Hewlett VW has been very friendly and helpful - including the receptionist and Edward in the parts dept. (I decided I couldn't live without the base carrier bars & luggage rack). They have a nice, clean waiting area there with 2 computers you can use, wi-fi for my MacBook, and free bottled water. I went to pick up my new car and Russell exceeded my expectations making this experience perfect. He took a picture of me next to my new VW and sent me that with a personalized letter thanking me for adopting my Jetta from him at Hewlett VW. His follow through has been amazing and I'm happy to say he has far exceeded my expectations. More

Salespeople really pushy and not interested in what kind of car *you* actaully want. When asking for a new vehicle of a particular transmission and with particular options, they put me in a jetta to test dr of car *you* actaully want. When asking for a new vehicle of a particular transmission and with particular options, they put me in a jetta to test drive instead. When I said I wanted to wait until they had the right Golf in, they said "Well - Can't you just use your imagination - I mean help me out here." Getting a vehicle appraised is also no good. They take the car to be appraised without you present and then even with CarFax info at hand they won't believe your story over whatever the Used Car salesman has said. Don't both with these guys. (oh and when I was going to look at a car to test drive they had me wait close to an hour) More