At 05:22 PM 9/10/2007, Scott Daniel - Shazam wrote...
>Dealers are independent businesses of course - free to work on
>anything, or
>not work on anything.

Ay, there's the rub.

It's part of why VW dealers, on the whole, suck. If a business is
allowed to represent the VW marque, they should be required to service
any vehicle bearing wearing a VW badge. They're not (or shouldn't be)
independent if they represent the manufacturer to the buying public.
They should be held to a minimum standard of quality and competency.

VW has had a run going since the NB intro, almost 10 years ago. They've
now taught a new generation of buyers what "customer hostile" dealer
service is all about. I predict that for the next 10 years or so,
they'll be on hard times in North America. Then they'll be able to milk
a new generation of suckers.

If VW wants consistent, long term success, they really need to crack
down with serious dealer service requirements. Unfortunately, the
opportunity to do so occurred a few years ago (2001 was the most recent
peak sales year). With sales on the downturn, they won't have another
opportunity for another 10 years or so.