The Bob Rohrman Auto Group has a dealership located in Park City, IL and also known as Gurnee Volkswagon, sold me an unsafe car.  I am able to say this because it was deemed to be unsafe and a fire hazard by a VW Service Center. I was a proud owner of what I thought was a GREAT car, when I purchased the Volkswagon Jetta 6 months ago on December 31, 2001.  I was told that I had a warranty with my auto purchase and that my car was VW Pre-owned Certified, which meant that I had a 2 year warranty on the vehicle and it was inspected and passed VW standards (I have the tag that hung in the window showing this).  I would not have taken the car had it not carried a warranty. The car was a 2000 VW Jetta GLX with 10,000 miles on it.  The car visited the VW service office in Park City 4 times in the last two months for a Service Engine Light and Emmissions Workshop light going off.  Gurnee VW fixed it each time that I brought it (which I have the paperwork for each visit).  Just this week, June 24, 2002, the check engine light came on again, the car felt like it was going to die on me.  Gurnee VW told me to drive it to the Liberty Auto Plaza to be serviced in Libertyville, IL.  I found out at that point that my warranty was to expire in 4 days.  I stated that there was something wrong, this couldn't be.  I called Gurnee VW and Regina told me that she did not see it in my file to talk to Dan Bundalo. I spoke with the service manager and was told that they lost my paperwork but he'd speak to his manager.  Dan Bundalo in the finance office told me if he was going to screw me that he would tell me that I was on my own and he was not going to help me.  He told me to get him the card that came in the car and he'd talk with the service manager about it.   I faxed it over to him.  I have a witness that was there with me on the day of December 31, 2001, the day I picked up the car when the salesman, Mark, and Dan Bundalo, both stated that the car had a two year warranty on it and I could probably have it paid off in that time.  I was concerned about this because they told me that the car had a bad battery in it but that they would replace it before I took it home. I wanted to make sure that all of my bases were covered, especially seeing as I went with dealer financing and the cost of the car was going to be high. I was also told that my warranty was in the computer and I was all set.

I waited for a call from the Libertyville VW Service Center.  The service advisor, Bill, from Liberty VW called me and let me know that the car was unsafe to drive due to an "Auto Start" on the car.  I said, "what do you mean, my car doesn't have an auto start.  No one has ever told me this before."  He stated that its a fire hazard and I'm having electrical problems due to the "hack job" someone did installing this prior to me purchasing the vehicle from Gurnee VW.  An Auto Start automatically starts the vehicle with a wireless remote control.  The service advisor stated that my car is 80% computer and 20% car.  The Auto Start was a "hack job", in his terms, and installed to the heart of the computer on the car.  It is causing electrical problems and failures.  It could start a fire.  Thank you Libertyville VW for being honest, extremely attentive and for finding the issue that Gurnee VW overlooked and/or blew off in my opinion.

Most people would wonder what are the chances of my car starting on fire.  I am not prepared to take that chance, AGAIN.  The car I owned prior to this was a 1997 VW Jetta that burned to the ground in my driveway.  Which, by the way, I paid $9000 in cash for it, because I had the money to pay this.  This car was also serviced at the Gurnee VW prior to starting on fire.  The fire chief on the scene stated that it looked to be an electrical fire due to where it started on the engine.  I thought that the chances of this were one in a million, not for me, it happened to me already.  This vehicle was very well maintained and had records to proove it.  This I account to the fact that the car was an older model and was bound to have problems.

Once I was made aware by the service advisor, at Liberty Auto Plaza Service Center, of the problems that my 2000 Jetta had, I called my Auto Insurance company, Farmers Insurance Group, to make them aware of the problem at hand.  I explained that this is my second VW Jetta in the last year with electrical problems.  I wanted to make sure that he knew that I was not happy about the situation and would spend any amount of money to fix the situation so that my family didn't live through the horror of the first car starting on fire.  I LOVED my Jetta.  I thought that they were safe family cars.  I've always beleived that Volkswagon cars were better built cars than any other imports.  In my opinion, I was unfortunately wrong.  I wanted to be sure that my insurance agent did not think that this was my fault and I wanted to explain the facts as they came to me.  He assured me that my vehicle is fully covered and no need to worry.  Its not the value of the car I worry about, its the value of the lives in it.

I called Jim Kennedy, General Manager, of Gurnee Volkswagon to discuss the matter.  I told him that I wanted the problem fixed, that he sold me an unsafe car.  Safety to me is extremely important, and protecting my family is my job.  I emphasized that I felt that I just wanted the vehicle to be safe for my family to drive in.  When I purchased the car, I thought that it was VW inspected due to it being VW Pre-owned Certified, and that the car would be safe seeing as it only had 10,000 miles on it and was two years old.  Jim Kennedy called me 7 hours later to tell me that they couldn't find my paperwork on my warranty and there was nothing that he could do about it and that he was not going to fix the unsafe car that he sold to me 6 months prior to that.  He told me that I never had the VW Pre-Owned Certification Warranty on the car.  Which in my opinion, again, is a cover up due to the fact that I have the card that was hanging in the window and witnesses were present when two people from the dealership told me the day that I took home my car that I had that warranty.  I then asked if he would sell me an extended warranty seeing as he was not going to honor my original warranty.  He stated that he just couldn't do that.  I found this amusing seeing as two other Volkswagon dealerships that I spoke with offered me the extended warranty when they heard of the problems that Gurnee VW had given to me.  He apologized. I felt if he was truly sorry, he would correct the problem that they gave me and make sure that my family was safe.  Where is the value for human life?

 

In my opinion, I find it extremely suspicious that Gurnee VW serviced my car for the same problem 4 times prior and never found the "Auto Start" or the safety hazard.  How did Libertyville VW find it the first time it was in their shop?  I can't help but question whether someone at the dealership was aware of this.  I am extremely upset that Gurnee VW did not do its job.  I have a card that hung in my car window stating that my car was VW Pre-Owned Certified, which you would think meant it was a good buy and it was safe, and more importantly, IT WAS INSPECTED.  Did they knowingly sell me an unsafe vehicle and cover up the REAL problem at hand every time that I brought it to their service center?  These are questions that have run through my mind all week.  These are not by any means accusations, just thoughts I can't help but to wonder about.

 

How coincidental is it that both Jetta's that I've owned in the last year were serviced at the Gurnee VW Service Center, and both had electrical issues that were not brought to my attention?

I love the VW Jetta, but I've lost faith in the Gurnee VW, and the service that they offer.  I am extremely disappointed that they did not make an extra effort to correct the problem.

 

I wanted a Volkswagon from the time that I had a drivers license.  With all of the problems that I've faced, I no longer want my Volkswagon or the problems that come with purchasing one.  This whole situation has me disgusted, upset, and unsure of whether or not I should get rid of this car even after repairs have been made.

Buyer Beware, Don't make the same mistakes that I have.  Is it impossible to find a reliable, SAFE, family vehicle?  I dread having to think what I'm faced with at this point or what kind of issues I will have to deal with next with this car.  Honestly and to the best of my knowledge tried to have the problem corrected through every known route to me and the dealer was still not helpful.

 

DON'T PUT YOURSELF IN THIS SITUATION.  FIND A RELIABLE, HONEST DEALERSHIP TO PURCHASE A CAR AND HAVE THE CAR CHECKED OVER BY SOMEONE THAT DOES NOT WORK FOR A DISHONEST DEALERSHIP.  YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT A LAWYER TO ACCOMPANY YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET EVERYTHING THAT THEY PROMISE YOU.  REMEMBER TOO, ITS NOT ALWAYS THE DEALERSHIP, BUT USUALLY THE FEW BAD APPLES THAT REPRESENT THEM - IF YOU GET A REFERRAL FROM A FRIEND BE SURE TO USE THE SAME SALES PERSON.

 

If this were you, or your child or grandchild put into a car like this, wouldn't you be upset that they were put in an unsafe car if it could have and should have been prevented?

 

Tiffany Patterson

My Experience was with the Gurnee Volkswagen which is located at:

This is a dealership owned and operated by Bob Rohrman:

Did you know...According to the comptroller for Bob Rohrman Dealerships, the VW Pre-Owned Certification Cards shown on the paperwork page, hang in every used VW car window as an advertisement meaning that they COULD be pre-owned certified and inspected. In my opinion that's false advertising. I was told that my car was not Pre-Owned Certified yesterday July 1, 2002, but yet I have the card that hung in the window (shown on the paperwork page)when I purchased the vehicle on December 31, 2001. Also when I was told by the Finance Manager, at Gurnee VW that my car had the VW Pre-owned certification and was good for two years after I purchased the vehicle. Like I said, bring a lawyer next time you purchase a car. Funny thing, the VW Certification Warranty is a standard cost of $300, do you think I would have walked out of that dealership without it?

 

Let's think about this:

1. I put $6000 in cash down on the car (how many people do that)

2. By the time the car is paid off it will have costed me $29K

3. Of course I had the warranty when I walked out of there, it was included in my package that the finance manager put together for me and we negotiated back and forth for a month before I finally came in to purchase THAT car.