Antwerpen Volkswagen — Local services in Pasadena

I highly recommend reading this in its entirety if you're looking to buy a vehicle from them. Just be sure to not sign anything until you're given a complete breakdown of every penny. My girlfriend was asked what payment she can afford and to circle it. She circled I believe somewhere in the vicinity of $880. That's pretty much the extent of the breakdown on pricing before you head over to meet with Kevin (the finance guy) because you go to the dealership based on the advertised price so you assume that's what your paying. He will tell you how expensive the car's infotainment system is to repair if it goes bad and then tell you 7 more times about it while confusing you with extended warranties all the while he just keeps saying sign here, sign here, sign here. He will also show you and tell you how large his Docusign pad on his desk is while actually never showing you a breakdown of the actual cost of anything. He will then take your payment of $2,000 down on a debit card that you aren't quite sure if the payment went through the first or third time he ran the card. Nonetheless you leave the dealership generally with a decent feeing that you got a really good deal based on the advertised price. You then go home and go on with your life only to find out there is something seriously wrong with the radio because it only gets about half as loud as any of our 5 other vehicles. 2 Honda's, 2 Subaru's and a Jeep Grand Wagoner (oldest vehicle is a 2023). You then notice that there is nothing to connect the rear sunscreen for on one of the windows in the back seat. You then notice that there isn't a spare tire and the biggest thing you notice is that at night the volume control and the heating controls don't light up so you need to wear a mining helmet if you want to see it. All of this is disappointing but not the end of the world because things happen and people make mistakes. So I schedule an appointment to have the missing piece installed and have the radio looked at with Chris P. Now by this time a piece of mail comes from Truist bank as you can see in the attachment and I think to myself there has to be some kind of mistake because of what we believed the car was purchased for. So I take the car on Monday morning and what was believed to be an easy task of gluing a missing piece and radio setting turns into a 2 hour time frame. During my 2 hour wait time I make my way inside because I want answers. I never lie so I'll be the first one to admit my tone and demeanor were not friendly and I was cursing. Chris P. asked me to chill out so I did because I genually like the guy. Out comes Kevin to meet me and take me back to his office to try to explain to me what I received in the mail. We sit and he begins to talk to me, I'm irritated and listen all the while trying to make my point. Then he made a huge mistake by insulting my intelligence. He kept saying you know you have to pay interest and taxes don't you, you know you have to pay tax and interest on the loan? He told me that what was purchased will cover everything on the car bumper to bumper for 8 years including rims and tires. Now my blood is boiling and I simply get up, walk out the door and say I can't wait to make a Google review for you. So as promised here it is and here's a little background on me not that it's any of your business. I'm a former licensee that made products for the NFL and my customers were Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Amazon, Dicks Sporting Goods and Toys R Us. The fact that you said to me do I know I have to pay interest on a loan and did I know I had to pay taxes on a new vehicle is extremely insulting. In short the radio still has not been addressed but that's a conversation with Corporate Volkswagen and was told they don't give spare tires anymore even though our other 5 cars have them. I've been told my girlfriend can cancel the warranty that was sold to her but instead I told her to keep it just so I can go back and see Kevin whenever anything happens over the next 8 years. LOL In short do the math from the attached photos...

Zero stars would be more accurate but I had to give Antwerpen a star to write a review. All of the sensors on my vehicle stopped working ( cruise control, park pilot, all parking assist, lane departure, etc). I took my 2018 VW Atlas to this service center and the only thing they are upfront about is, they don’t know what’s causing this issue. I was informed that they may have a courtesy vehicle for me since it was looking like they would need Thursday to continue troubleshooting. They said they would call be back. I believed them. They didn’t call back. So it’s Friday, Oct 11, 2024, and I called this morning to tell them to return my vehicle and the service rep stated that the tech took my vehicle on another test drive. Did I mention that my issues are electronic? They had the vehicle since Wed (Oct 9th). I called a share ride company and got to the service center and they informed me that the technician was knee deep into the driver seat harness recall repair. Wait, you didn’t do the recall in two days?!?!? And, within an hour a tech did another test drive and is now beyond a stopping point and I’m waiting another 2-3 hours. I spoke with the service manager and he tried to blow smoke. This is what he said, with VW, sometimes things have to line up and driving it will help those things line up and help the technician with diagnostics. That’s when I informed him that I am an electronic mechanic journeyman and there is no need to test drive a vehicle that is having electronic issues, plus all the issues are made known during the internal self test at start up. He looked like his soul left his body. I asked for a courtesy car and he came back and told me he has two but they are on hold for customers who may be coming in later today. Terrible service, why? When they knew, Wednesday morning that they so need another day, that was the time to offer a courtesy vehicle. I cannot stress enough the importance of NEVER doing business of any kind with this location-EVER!!!

I will be looking for corporate contact info and sharing here. Another issue is my brother purchased a vehicle from here and somehow his vehicle is on my account. I purchased my car in Virginia; not Maryland. They said they couldn’t remove his vehicle from my account and could not find what was wrong with it. Unacceptable on so many levels.

UPDATE:

I took my vehicle to Ourisman Volkswagen of Waldorf. I arrived there the evening just before closing. The maintenance rep said, I see your address is in Severn, Md, and that's quite a way away. Will you need a VEHICLE until we find out what's wrong with your vehicle? True customer service!!! James was looking for ways to provide world-class service, not just waste people's time. I arranged for a ride back home, but did not need it because James arranged a rental at a super discount; better than being told that the two courtesy cars are on reserve for customers who might not show up but we still have to honor the reservation. Anyway, back to a real service center, Ourisman VW in Waldorf. The next day they had a diagnosis for me and said the part would be arriving the next week on Tuesday. I explained that I work Friday-Sunday and would need my vehicle by Friday (it was a Wednesday), and the rep stated that he would do what he could to try and expedite the parts. The next day, Thursday, around noon, I received a call that my vehicle was ready.

So, I will not be calling Antwerpen for any conversation. Any conversations should have been made when you had my vehicle for three days and decided, after I requested my vehicle, to perform the recall work. Maybe when you all promised to call me for updates and did not call for an entire day. Maybe when I called your shop, before the technicians arrived, and was told my vehicle was out for a test drive. I was sitting in your parking lot and watched your...

Scheduling appointments online with Antwerpen is easy, and the location is convenient, which is really the only reason I continue to bring my vehicle here. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience is highly inconsistent and, at times, unprofessional.

To start, my original appointment was scheduled for Wednesday, but I never received a confirmation via text, email, or phone call. When I proactively called to confirm, the person who answered informed me that two vehicles were booked for the same software update. They asked if I would be willing to bring my car in on Thursday instead. Wanting to cooperate and be flexible, I agreed, trusting this would help the service team stay on track.

However, when I arrived on Thursday, the communication and customer service quickly fell apart. The woman at the service desk with a piercing on her chin casually mentioned that another vehicle with the same software update had crashed the day before. Naturally, I asked why no one had contacted me ahead of time, either the day before or even the morning of, so I could decide whether to move forward or make alternate arrangements. I also inquired about a loaner vehicle since my car might need to be held longer. Instead of receiving helpful or empathetic support, I was met with a dismissive attitude.

Later that day, I received a text message, not a phone call, notifying me to pick up my vehicle due to server errors, despite there being an invoice already printed and waiting. I replied requesting shuttle service but received no response. When I called again, I spoke with the same young woman at the front desk. She responded with an unprofessional tone and hung up without a proper closing, no “thank you,” no “goodbye.”

When I picked up the vehicle, there was no follow-up conversation about rescheduling the software update or what to expect next. Since then, no one has reached out.

Today is June 30, and I have still not heard back from Ray, the service manager, despite leaving a voicemail on Thursday, June 26. I made that call in good faith, hoping to resolve this prior to posting a review. Sadly, the lack of acknowledgment only reinforces my concerns.

I am trying to get all recalls completed so I can move this vehicle into my rental fleet, but at this point, the service center is making that process unnecessarily difficult. I have even started considering purchasing a new vehicle, but if this is the level of service Antwerpen offers, especially for EVs, why would I return to the sales department when the service experience has been this...