Leasing Golf - was told expensive Maintenance is required

[sundevil]

Hi! I just got an eGolf this past weekend and in the final stage of the signing for the car, I was surprised to be told that an expensive battery drain (that could only be done at the dealership using their custom machine) would be required twice during the course of the 3 year lease. We were offered a plan to include the price in the monthly payment of the car, which drove the monthly price up substantially.

I'd asked several time for the overall cost for the car, and this was never mentioned until the very last step before taking ownership of the car. I've looked online and I haven't seen anyone mention any sign of this cost. I'm curious as to whether others have had a similar issue. Is this really mandatory or were we mislead?

Thanks!

 

[sweetwagon]

First time i've heard of it.

 

[miimura]

Hogwash. Slimy dealer trying to get you to pay them something extra up-front.

Even if the maintenance is expensive, I don't see how it can be twice.

 

[miimura]

Before you pay the dealer anything, be clear about what you're paying for. IMHO, the only extra thing you should consider when leasing is the Excess Wear and Tear policy. When you turn in a car at the end of the lease, they inspect the car and you have to pay for scratches and things that are broken, tires less than a certain percentage tread wear remaining, etc. The Excess Wear and Tear policy covers all this stuff, unless a certain item would apply to your collision insurance and it's over your deductible to fix it.

 

[Unbeliever]

You're being cheated.

There is a yearly maintenance for tires/lube/etc. that I was told about, but since it's required, they told me it will be free.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty act prohibits tie-in sales. Meaning, a warrantor can't force you to buy parts or service from them to keep the warranty valid. The only way to force consumers to use the dealer for maintenance is if the service is free. That's why you see all those "free scheduled maintenance" offers on car commercials.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance

In general, if a dealer is evasive about answering a question, or pops a "mandatory" item right at the last minute, threaten to walk away. He didn't answer your "overall cost" question twice. Everything is negotiable. You don't need to buy the car, and even less, you don't need to buy it from them. You can go somewhere else.

That's different than last-minute pitches where they lay a sheet in front of you and say "we recommend you get these services (LoJack, underbody coatings, etc...) and the deal still continues if you refuse them all.

 

[Frank3]

Warranty information that came with the car doesn't mention anything about this...therefore, it is NOT required. In fact, this sounds like a bunch of B.S. to me. Also, I've never heard of it. Sounds like they're preying on the uneducated consumer because electric vehicles are so new.

 

[sundevil]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I've called the main VW customer service number and they've opened up a case to call the dealership and find out what happened. I'll give you an update with how it turns out.

 

[TrailRider]

I was just about to post on here about this as I was told the exact same thing!! They pressured to purchase the extended maintenance plan to cover the 20k and 30k maintenance items because e-Golfs are "really expensive to maintain" per the finance guy. It is called the "Volkswagen Care Plan".

I was quoted an extra $20 a month for this which over 35 months is $700! The finance guy said the 20k and 30k maintenance is $450 each so would be saving me a couple hundred right there.

I had been reading these forums for weeks and never saw any mention of this. Luckily I turned it down... The 20k and 30k can be purchased up until the 20k mileage at other dealers for $456... So, it was a freaking rip-off!

Their reasoning was that it is a highly advanced vehicle and each dealer probably only has 1 tech that works on them...

But why is the 20 & 30k so expensive??

 

[bobk2824]

There is 1 tech that works on them if you're lucky. I get to talk to someone who went to some class last year and hadn't thought about it since.

I'm in NJ and I get the definite feeling that I am the only e-Golf owner in the state.

I got the same story about maintenance. In fact, they first tried to sell me on $15/month for tires/rims and service. When I questioned it, thinking that service for the e-Golf should be less than for a regular Golf, they came back and said they had made a mistake (of many) and said because this is such an advanced car the price is actually $20/month!

I had them get out the manual to look at what is required at each interval. It had such advanced tasks such as: check the wires for wear. There wasn't a heck of a lot there.

They did, however get me for $10/month for the tires/wheels. Probably a mistake but I've never had such expensive looking wheels.