right-wing question

hi,

Approximately a quarter of a year ago, during a routine check, I noticed that the inner CV joint boot on the passenger side of my Passat was torn. So, I replaced it, and for good measure, I replaced the entire CV joint. I bought and installed a complete joint kit from ATU. It seemed to be fine. The other day, I suddenly felt a vibration in the front axle, and there was also a cracking sound. I stopped, looked, but couldn't see anything. I got back in and continued driving. The vibration disappeared. Then, yesterday, on my way home from work, it started up again, and it got worse. It was so bad that it felt like the front of the car was jumping. Luckily, I was close to home! I took the car apart at home. The cause was the joint. It was jerky and stiff. The grease was completely hardened. So, I need a new one.It was a faulty joint, apparently from a friendly VW enthusiast. This morning, I went to ATU to complain about the joint. Well, I tried to. I was completely shocked by what I heard there. I had to listen to things like 'you must have installed it wrong,' 'you didn't use enough grease,' etc. That was really frustrating. The grease I used was the original from the package, and replacing the joint isn't difficult with a little practice! And of course, there's no warranty because ATU didn't install it!

Okay, so here's my question. According to the law, I have a 2-year warranty, right? And does it really matter whether ATU installed the part or not? Is that correct? Has anyone here had experience with similar situations? How would you handle it? I'm grateful for any advice!

ps: It's not about the €80; it's about the principle!

Hi.

joergs wrote:

... said and done. I got a complete set of joints from ATU and installed them. It fits. The day before yesterday, I suddenly experienced a vibration on the front axle, and a cracking sound was added. I stopped, looked, but couldn't see anything. I got back in and continued. It went away. Well, and yesterday, on the way home from work, it started up again, more intensely. It was so bad that it actually shifted the car forward. Luckily, it was just before I got home! At home, I tore the car apart. The cause was the joint. It was jerky and difficult to move, and so on. The grease was completely hardened. So, I got a new joint from a friendly VW enthusiast. This morning, I went to ATU to try to return the joint. I mean, that was the attempt. I was completely blown away there. I heard some things."They had to install these parts, and they were so poorly installed, no attention to detail... It really bothered me. The parts were the original ones from the package, and replacing the joints isn't difficult with a little practice! But there's no warranty because ATU didn't install them!!!!" Okay, so here's my question. According to the law, I have a 2-year warranty, right? And does it really matter whether ATU installed the part or not? Is that correct? Has anyone here had experience with similar situations? How would you handle it? I'm grateful for any advice! ps: I'm not concerned about 80

; I'm concerned about the principle!
Well, that didn't go as planned. When a CV joint boot tears, the joint usually doesn't break immediately; typically, you only need to replace it when it's completely worn out.
If you're not getting anywhere with the people at ATU, and you're sure it's installed correctly (without any small parts or a forgotten retaining clip that might crumble inside the joint during driving ), I wouldn't go to the cashiers, but rather speak to the store manager.
If that doesn't help, draft a letter in which you credibly threaten to involve a lawyer, and casually mention that you have legal insurance (threatening often works, so hiring a lawyer would be pointless in that case, especially since it would be covered by legal insurance, but there are enough litigious people who burden the courts, and ATU certainly doesn't want to deal with that). In the letter, you should state a 2-week deadline for the refund of the purchase price, plus the registered mail fee and postage, upon return of the new, defective joint.
Send the letter by registered mail with proof of delivery to the market manager.

Best regards, Rainer.

'Thank you! I was thinking something similar.'

I only replaced the joint as a precaution, because of dirt and so on, since I wanted to have peace of mind! The opposite has happened! I am sure that everything was replaced correctly and that there were no crumbling parts. After all, the retaining ring was still there during disassembly!

Well, let's see if the threat of involving a Ra's (presumably a regulatory authority) and the use of a truly existing RV (presumably a reserve vehicle or resource) helps!

Okay, it's me again. I don't know if anyone is even interested in this topic, but I think the results should be made accessible to everyone!

Okay, here's the translation:

'So, the current situation is this: After a lot of email correspondence with ATU headquarters and a strong threat of reporting them to consumer protection agencies and filing a lawsuit, there was quite a stir at the local branch. Then, it turned out that the part had been lying there for over three weeks without any further processing, and nothing had happened to it, which only added to the stress. The part was then urgently shipped to ATU headquarters for inspection. It was determined that there was indeed a lubricant error. Then, on Saturday, a letter arrived from ATU, mentioning the lubricant issue, blah blah, and, more importantly, offering 100% goodwill. I quickly packed up the letter and went to the ATU branch to get my money back.' Got it! *wipes sweat* By the way, I was greeted with handshakes by several employees there, which had never happened before! *grins*

conclusion:
- You just have to persevere and not let yourself be dismissed by people who may have something to say, but who aren't actually interested in making a difference.
- One must also have the will and the courage to go to the utmost extreme (speak out and take legal action).
- I will never buy spare parts from a.t.u again, because I will only have problems afterwards, and a.t.u seems primarily focused on proving to hobby mechanics that they have made a mistake. (I am now a customer at a smaller vehicle parts dealer. I explained this problem to him and inquired about their procedures. He said that he and his colleagues are experts enough to assess the type of defect and fault, and that they would immediately and without bureaucracy claim the part from the manufacturer and provide a new part for installation! Let's hope that's the case in reality! (-)

a satisfied Jörg

Hi, great that you're writing to tell me how it went! Congratulations on your success!

Best regards, Rainer.

Thank you for the congratulations! I did, however, end up missing the start of the race because I was busy working on my car. That's just the downside of being a hobby mechanic!

However, all this trouble might not have been necessary if a.t.u hadn't tried so hard to prove something to me!

Hi Joerg,

I hope you have more luck with your new ET dealer. But I've also had a very similar experience (unpleasant and sluggish) before.

I think the exit is great for you. Congratulations!

However, what I find shocking is the fact that, according to reports, someone in the store simply wanted to let the situation go (Servicewüste Dtl.). Why else wouldn't the item be sent to the supplier immediately? I think if the guys had installed the part themselves, the process would have been different.

hello bertil,

Yes, if they had installed it themselves, they would have had a major problem!
'But, as one workshop foreman said, hobbyist mechanics are simply not experienced, knowledgeable, or equipped with the right tools to perform such work!'

Furthermore, they wanted the axle boot at some point. My mechanic suggested that I should remove it just in case (because I hadn't replaced the axle boot when I installed the new joint – there was no need to, it was only a quarter of a year old!). He thought I should just show it to them briefly so we could have our own evidence. It was clearly visible that the wrong grease was in the boot (it was hard and solidified), but even that was ignored and dismissed as normal!

By the way, a friend of mine had the rear wheel bearings replaced on his Passat by the same people because of loud noises.
After six months, the same problem persists. They told him it was due to his driving style. I then took a closer look at the issue. The fact is, the wheel bearing wasn't actually replaced, but rather the bearing clearance was adjusted and a little grease was added! It's perfectly fine if that's what was done, but then the invoice should clearly state 'wheel bearing adjustment' instead of 'wheel bearing replacement.'

Hopefully, this news will spread quickly, and everyone who can afford to will avoid this particular ATU branch! This is simply unacceptable!

joergs wrote:

... Hopefully, this news will spread quickly, and everyone who can afford to avoid this particular a.t.u branch will do so!

It simply can't be like that!

... unfortunately, it seems that this is not the only workshop that does such things...