Principle Volkswagen Grapevine — Local services in Grapevine

The Service Department at Principle VW is unethical and out of control.

I made an appointment and took my car in for an oil change, an emissions test, repair a tire and replace the rear shocks.

I arrived, Nick greeted me, went through this list with me, told me the shocks were already on order, and notified me that there is a $200 diagnosis fee but it would be waived if I completed $200 of service work. I agreed, signed his tablet, and departed.

A day later I received quote for $5000.00+. The largest single item was $3,023 to replace the shocks. I called a nationwide repair shop and asked them to quote the same list. Their repair price was $1,000! The parts cost for front and rear shocks and struts is $165.99!

ISSUE #1 - Uncompetitive prices that are 300%+ higher than they should be. I would pay a modest premium for a dealership to do the work.

So I planned to apply the $200 "diagnosis fee" fee towards changing radiator fluid, for which they charge $249.

I called and approved this item and was told by Nick the $200 "diagnosis" fee is only waived if I perform the shock replacement. I reminded him he said it would apply to "repairs" and was not specific to the shocks.

Nick said he would check with his manager, Jason

Jason called me, explained that Nick had confused me with another customer when I dropped the car off and that the $200 fee can only be waived by doing the work on the shocks.

ISSUE #2 - I am responsible for Nick's confusion regarding which customer he was talking to.

I thought this was not logical nor ethical, so I would escalate to the dealership GM.

ISSUE #3 - There is no general manager at this dealership! Nobody knows who they report to! Even their corporate offices in San Antonio (Carson and Catherine... and they both consulted with their own management) had no idea who was in charge of this dealership. The GM had quit the prior week and no replacement was announced. They are adrift. The service department has no oversight. Jason can behave as poorly as he wishes without any repercussions.

I tried to speak to the sales manager, Shane, and he abruptly said he has nothing to do with service. No "customer service" in his tone...he acted angry. Surely he knows there is no general manager and what a great time for him to step up and act like a person concerned about customer service and the dealership's reputation! I will not be buying a new VW from him any time soon! Jason reiterated he is the final word...end of discussion!

When I tried to discuss this when I picked up the vehicle, Nick and Jason reiterated the same story. They confused me with another customer and that was in some way my fault. When I tried to ask how I can be held accountable for such an error, Jason said I was raising my voice (I was not!) and that he was done debating (he had not provided any explanation other than Nick's confusion). He raised his voice and demanded I leave the premises.

To add insult to injury, The first day I was aware the car was ready for pick up was Friday. I received no other prior notice from the dealership. I picked it up Saturday morning and Jason added a $35 overnight parking fee on the invoice. Insulting, vindictive and totally ridiculous. Out of control!!!

There is even more, such as them initially not returning my calls for 3+ hours, then blaming their admin for sending them messages on post-it notes, which they ignore. They explained to me she should have been sending them emails! That is their excuse for not ever calling me back!!!

This dealership is a case of the inmates running the asylum. I suggest you stay as far away as possible. Unethical behavior. Price gouging. No management in charge. Poor operating practices.

If the person actually in charge wishes to have a 3-way discussion, I would be happy to do so. The poor, unethical behavior was the conduct of the Service Dept., not me. This will be exposed after just 30 seconds of them trying to explain themselves to a rational 3rd party.

You have...

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! If I could give a zero star rating I would.

My Terrible Experience at Principle

I had a more than terrible experience at Principle Volkswagon of Grapevine Texas. Let me tell you why.

I started the car buying process online, Kelly blue book appraisal suggested 3 car dealerships interested in my vehicle I was trading in.

I reviewed all of them and based on the looks and feel of Principle Volkswagen, I chose them T buy my next car.

The saying is true, don’t judge a book by its cover and boy was this ever true. I think if you buy any other car than a Volkswagen you may not get the best service. But this locations Service Center stays Busy with their own vehicles. But back to my experience.

I go to Principle Volkswagen at 11am didn’t leave until 9pm and do to starting the process online I was advised it wouldn’t take anymore than two hours to complete this transaction.

When I walked in met Stevie and he couldn’t find the information online although I had set up and appointment and had the information automatically forwarded from Kelly Blue Book. So everything had to be done over. Frustrating but still trying to work through it. Stevie gets the value of the car finally and then. I start asking questions about the vehicle being that it’s used. Has it been in any wrecks no. Which wasn’t true. I asked were there any maintenance issues? I was told no. That wasn’t true either. Keep reading. I was there for 10 hours and they only pulled the vehicle out at night time for me to look at and test drive when I came there specifically for that particular vehicle.

I was sold a car that was previously wrecked and had preexisting transmission issues. And Principle Automotive was aware.

The GM Shayne, was very unprofessional and rude and did not help at all with this situation.

Not only that I brung the car back the next day because of the transmission issue and the dent that was visible at night.

I had a warranty they just threw in there without me knowing anything about the warranty.

I was told by finance that I can’t use the warranty and to drive the car some more to let it warm up and the issue should go away.

So I purchase a warranty and recognize there an issue with the vehicle the very next day. I bring it back and am told I can’t have the care looked right now. I can’t use my warranty and to basically leave the facility.

Not only that the key that goes inside the key fob didn’t even match the car. So I can’t lock my glove compartment nor unlock my door if the key fob goes dead.

I went in to speak with Shayne the rude unprofessional GM and was told we will see what we can do about that. It’s been 3 months no resolution. I asked do you have a corporate and was told no.

I later found out they do have a corporate office in San Antonio. I hadn’t reached out yet because I was waiting to see if they would to the right thing at Principle Volkswagen of Grapevine. They won’t do the right then I advise people to it go here to purchase a car.

This place looks prestigious but has the characteristics of a Tote the Note side of the road type of Car dealership.

I had a terrible experience. Communication is terrible, professionalism isn’t present and integrity isn’t found here at all.

I am interested in speaking with a News Outlet to highlight this type of service at these types of places that look good but don’t have good customer service or business morals.

I was stalled out, sold a car that had known issues and was not made aware of those issues when asked at time of purchase.

Do you know Shayne said the transmission went out as soon as I purchased it.

So he is basically saying I brought the car and the next day the a perfectly working transmission went bad the day after I purchased the vehicle.

STAY AWAY FROM PRINCIPLE VOLKSWAGEN OF...

I want to share my experience with this dealership because I am extremely disappointed with the customer service and overall purchase process.

I first visited on 7/25 to test drive the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan and fell in love with it. I returned on 7/28 to purchase. Beforehand, I asked my salesman (J) for my purchase price. He provided a number, which I gave to my bank so they could issue a check. When I arrived with the check, the dealership presented a different, lower purchase price but then tried to add warranties to bring it back up to the original price. I declined the add-ons and requested a refund of the extra amount. The finance manager (Mike) told me that wasn’t possible and said I would need to either use the funds or get a new check from my bank. My bank informed me this would require a new loan application and another credit pull, which I didn’t want. Feeling pressured, I ended up purchasing an additional warranty just so I could leave with the car I wanted.

Next, the purchase price included a $1,694 accessory fee for window tinting. However, all my windows were not tinted. I asked J for either a price adjustment or to complete the tinting, and he scheduled me for 7/29. He said it would take 2–3 hours. That same night (7/28), I noticed the stitching on my steering wheel was unraveling. I texted J immediately, and he said it would be addressed the next day during my tint appointment.

When I arrived at 9 AM on 7/29, I noticed scratches on the lower front bumper and reported them to J and a service rep named Waylon. Waylon said it would be looked into. By 4:15 PM, I still had no update despite the 2–3 hour estimate. I finally received a text at 6:21 PM simply saying I’d get an update the following day (7/30). At this point, I had just purchased the car and still had not truly been able to enjoy or even learn how to use it.

I finally got my car back on 7/31 after calling multiple times to complain. The tinting was done. The manager, Shaun House, promised me a full tank of gas, delivery of my car, and replacement of both the steering wheel and front bumper for the inconvenience—but only if I left a “good review.” This was disappointing, as it made it clear that their focus is on optics, not genuine customer care. My car was delivered that day with no gas. I was told the steering wheel and bumper would arrive 8/5. It is now 8/11, and despite multiple calls for updates, I keep being told someone will call me back—yet no one has.

To make matters worse, my salesman never completed setting up my mobile app or took time to go over the car’s features with me. On purchase day, we tried to set up the app but got a “car not registered” error, and he promised we’d finish on 7/29. That never happened.

From price changes and pressured add-ons to incomplete accessories, damaged parts on a brand-new vehicle, broken promises, and poor follow-up—this has been one of the most frustrating and disappointing purchase experiences I’ve ever had. I would not recommend this...