Don Valley Volkswagen

Their service staff are great. But the dealership does not stand behind their product.
I bought a dealer-​certified car, whatever that means. I had to take it in the following two days after I bought it because when the car was started in the morning it wouldn’t go above 500 RPM (not 5000) for the first 30 seconds of driving. The dealership said it was a problem with the air intake sensor on the turbo. And that on the past two particularly colds days the turbo-​charger couldn’t handle the air until the engine warmed up. They said they replaced the MAF sensor, and it wouldn’t be a problem.
Five days later, the car had jerky rough shifting. Suddenly lost power, speed and RPM dropped. Check engine (MIL) and ASR\ESP light went on. I pulled over, turned the car off and on, dash lights were still on. Pulled into parking lot, opened hood, dash lights went off. Then tightened gas cap. When accelerating, not quite hissing sounds like wet rubber. For the next ten days there was a hissing sound when accelerating and the car took a deeper press of the pedal and more acceleration to achieve speeds. The dealership checked the car and said that computer reported the issue was intermittent and they couldn’t do anything useless the light stayed on.
Two days later the car stayed on but lost all power to the engine while idled. Wouldn’t move without being turned off and on. Battery dash light was on. Another day later, in the afternoon, while car was at idle, car stayed on but lost all power to the engine. Wouldn’t move without being turned off and on. Battery dash light was on. In the evening, the car wouldn’t start. It took 15 seconds and three tries to start. Several dash lights on, including the battery dash light.
So I dropped the car off. They had their «best» mechanic look at it. They kept it for 2 days (gave me a rental at least). Charging voltage was low and alternator cable overheating at battery fuse tray. Cable and tray road-​tested.
For the next week the engine light kept coming on. The car took a deeper press of the pedal and more acceleration to achieve speeds. The car began losing all power to the engine (stalled) while idled. Wouldn’t move without being turned off and on. Battery dash light was on. The car jerked whenever gear changed.
Finally, 1.5 months after purchase, while driving, car began violently shaking when shifting up or down a gear, at any speed. Car could not go much above 60 km/​hr, even when shifting up and going to 5K RPM. This would continue until car was shut off and on. The dealership replaced wiring to MAF sensor. Three days later tubing came loose. All of the alternator fluid leaked within a half-​block.
And a month later a tire blew.
What on earth does dealer-​certified mean, if all this happens right after purchase? Why so many visits, were they doing the bare minimum?

I took my car here for some body work in the summer. My car ended up looking great afterwards. The price was pretty high but insurance was paying for most of it.
The service was friendly. I’d bring my car back here for sure.

Not sure everyone feels about going to a Dealership to get their car fixed, but I’ve been a VW owner for almost a decade (which — don’t say it, leaves me feeling pretty old!) Nevertheless, I had an awesome experience today, and have to give Loretta and the rest of the service team a shout out. They are really amazing — they provide great recommendations and timelines for when the work should be done (not gounging, particularly for a dealership). They are truly great, and make me feel less bad about spending my hard-​earned cash, on my well-​loved car, keeping it well maintained and trouble-​free.