Volkswagen review: If you enjoy throwing money away, get a VW!

In 2015, a whistleblower exposed what became known as Volkswagen “Dieselgate,” the company’s practice of installing devices on diesel car engines to cheat mandatory vehicle emissions tests. This led to a $2.8 billion settlement and several VW executives sentenced to prison.

While our whistleblower action here may not result in the same consequences, it definitely deserves a Congressional inquiry. We will make a point of following up with progressives in Congress (including Senator Sanders and Representatives Crockett and Ocasio Cortez) and in other influential positions (such as former VP Harris) to draw attention to VW’s consumer exploitation through monopolistic price-gouging. Obviously, only Democrats would be willing to conduct such an inquiry.

VW of America does not engage in transparency. For example, only mechanics directly employed by VW are trained to read the engine schematics. As a result, independent mechanics who could charge much more reasonable prices for repairs cannot service VWs, leaving consumers at the mercy of unscrupulous dealers who don’t hesitate to take full advantage of their position.

This is our experience with VW. If others have had the same experiences, please add your voice to ours. VW’s nefarious business practices need further investigation.

In the 1980s, we had a friend who owned a VW Rabbit that was still running well at over 100,000 miles. One of our neighbors had a 1990s-era Jetta that ran with minimal issues at similar mileage. Because of this, we associated the Volkswagen brand with quality and durability. Our own experiences have proven to us that times have changed, and not for the better.

We purchased our first VW from Kings Volkswagen in September 2015 for $17,500. It had about 5,000 miles on it at the time, so it was practically brand new. While we thought we had gotten a great deal, we later discovered we would pay a small fortune in maintenance costs much earlier than we had imagined.

We have learned that, today, mechanics who do not work for VW service departments cannot read VW car schematics. Thus, we have no choice but to go to a dealership’s service department. While the list price makes VWs very attractive, it seems like a gimmick meant to trap owners into paying exorbitant maintenance prices.

When we bought our 2015 Jetta, the dealership, Kings Volkswagen of Cincinnati, gave us free oil changes. Every time we picked up the car after an oil change, we were given a list of “suggested” maintenance at unreasonably high prices. We have a friend who is a mechanic and could provide the same maintenance at a fraction of the price.

Since this system seemed to work well, we bought a 2019 Jetta from Fairfield Volkswagen. In 2022, the signs that things were not as they used to be began to appear.

The heat stopped working in our 2015 Jetta, and our mechanic friend discovered that the heater core was no longer working. (Please note that we have had different model Japanese cars, and the heat always worked without issue even when they had over 200,000 miles.) He recommended taking it to the dealer, so we felt we had no choice.

The person at the Kings VW Service Department we spoke with seemed very nervous and was quite rude, insisting that we had to pay a $150 “diagnostic fee” even though we already knew what was wrong. Then came the real sticker shock: $800 to repair a heater. After we spoke out against this obvious price gouging, VW refunded the “diagnostic fee,” but the ridiculously high maintenance price remained unaddressed.

In the Summer of 2025, the “check engine” light in the 2015 Jetta came on, and it wouldn’t go off. After our bad experience with the fascist management at Kings Volkswagen’s Service Department, we took our 2015 Jetta to the Fairfield Service Department and were told the $150 “diagnostic fee” still applied. We felt we had no choice, so we “held our noses” and paid. They charged us $800, and the problem was not resolved. When we returned the car two or three times, Fairfield VW still couldn’t fix the problem, and the “check engine” light was still on. Finally, we were informed that their repair estimate was $7,200. It was more than the car was worth. Since we could not, in good conscience, sell it because of the problem, we gave it to our mechanic friend for free.

We were willing to give VW the benefit of the doubt and supposed the 2015 Jetta was a “lemon.” We shopped around and bought a 2025 Jetta from Joseph Volkswagen in Cincinnati since they offered the lowest price. Whether that will turn out to be another mistake remains to be seen (they've already issued one recall).

Then, at only 46,000 miles, a bolt above the timing belt in the 2019 Jetta came loose. I first took it to my own mechanic because I knew any dealership would charge me a fortune just for walking into the building. He repaired it and explained that if the bolt had fallen onto the timing belt, it would have cost an arm and a leg to repair. A few months later, during a routine check, my mechanic noticed a small oil leak. He suggested going to the dealer because of the schematics.

Since the management at the Kings VW Service Department had changed, we decided we would take the car there. I explained to the Service Department what had happened and why I was there. This time, the “diagnostic fee” was $99, which is more reasonable but still a symbol of corporate greed. Note that this “diagnosis” is done with a handheld instrument and takes less than one minute – but customers are expected to pay $99 – and it doesn’t even count toward the cost of the repair. If that’s not price-gouging, what is?

The Service Department called me and claimed that the bolt around the timing belt needed to be changed again, for about $700. Next, they said the timing belt had to be replaced, bringing the total to over $800. When I told my mechanic this, he was genuinely shocked because he didn't find that the timing belt needed changing. He is an ASE-certified mechanic and has over 30 years of experience.

Then, apparently thinking we hadn’t paid enough, the VW Service Department claimed all the bolts needed to be replaced, bringing the full amount to $2,428.87. They also told us we needed to replace the engine filter for $75. Really? $75 for a filter? Our mechanic charged us $25.

The only positive was that the new management was much more courteous and helpful. They even gave me a loaner vehicle.

However, this issue was clearly a manufacturing defect, as the car had only 46,000 miles on it at the time. Also, I understood we had a 100,000-mile warranty, but when I called Fairfield VW, they said it was in years, not miles, and that (conveniently) the warranty had just expired. I asked the service technician what could have caused this, and he replied that he’d seen it happen to cars with as few as 10,000 miles.

This car had already had two other recalls for manufacturing defects: springs in the trunk lid and faulty transmission coils. This defect should have been covered under a recall as well; if the manufacturers and assemblers paid this little attention to detail, then Volkswagen should take responsibility. But they won’t.