Volkswagen Reviews 

As written before, I wish I had read these reviews before I parted with money for a car from Group 1 Maidstone.
Disappointingly, a list of issues with my vehicle, with Issue 4 below leaving me doubting the vehicle is even safe to drive.

1) Delayed collection for the smart repairer who couldn't smart repair. Altering the collection date cost me £45 to alter the insurance twice.
2) The inside of the vehicle looks like it has been valeted by a blind man with a dirty cloth and dust pan & brush. There is rubbish under the seats, dirty fingerprints on the headlining and there appears to be dried vomit between the rear seats.
3) The service due light and oil change warning is on, even after a "service".
4) While driving the vehicle and applying the brakes there is a loud grinding from the rear.
Issues 3 & 4 suggests either no service, or at best a very poor service, has actually been carried out??

Remains unresolved.

Poor design, got my radar sensor stolen a few days back. I didn't even know this was a thing.
It's so poorly designed that it takes somebody 15 seconds to take it without starting the alarm or having to unlock anything. They just pop out your front badge and unscrew the £700 sensor.
I did not notice before, but knowing about the issue, around 50% of the VW's I see on the road now are missing the badge and sensor.
VW has a boilerplate email that tries to shift blame for a truly crappy design.
And they will charge you £1600 to replace it, without any fix for the issue. So it will probably get stolen again within a couple of weeks.
They deserve to go out of business, will not be buying a VW group car in the future. Chinese cars are better...

OHME reference; quote SO273598

OHME are criminal and corrupt!! And VW will not help! Do not get an EV charger through your salary sacrifice if it is installed by OHME and supplied by VW! Pay separately and get one through Octopus

We had a VW ID4 EV through the NHS salary sacrifice scheme. It was delivered on 27/04/25. As part of the deal from Volkswagen, it came with an OHME EV charger installed by them. At the point of taking out the deal my partner had to pay up front for installation extras which included a surge protection device.

OHME were booked to install the charger on 01/05/25. OHME sent a contractor from ‘Plug in stations’. On arrival he said he’d only recently completed a EV installation course and hadn’t worked on a stone property before and wasn’t happy using his battery drill to make a hole in the wall to reach the consumer unit. We were surprised at this as the hole was already drilled and had ducting installed as part of a property renovation under the instruction of building control! We had taken a day off work for this and lost out on a days wages.

Out of the blue OHME sent us a bill for £666.60 we asked for an explanation and an itemised bill. In that bill they charged us for items like the surge protection device that my partner had already paid for and circuit breakers and sundry items clearly included in the package. Most concerning was a costing for the use of a drill and purchase of a drill bit for a hole that didn’t need drilling and £500 labour on top to cover the cost of an engineer(in addition to the first engineer) to drill the hole that didn’t need drilling. After a number of frustrating calls to OHME where the normal wait is in excess of 20 minutes we asked to raise a formal complaint! We were promised the findings would be sent in writing in 7 days but this never materialised!

We felt ‘plug in stations’ were incompetent and lacked honesty and integrity so asked for another installer. OHME were very clear on the phone that a new installer would mean the bill would be the same or even higher! We were assigned ‘Fusion Electrical’ who used actual qualified electrical engineers not just someone qualified to instal an EV charger. We took a day off work to do a remote site visit on 14/05/25. We found them to be very professional and explained our issues and that we felt there was a previous attempt to defraud us. Fusion electrical told us that OHME will often inflate the bill and it’s how they make their money. Fusion agreed to blind CC us into all correspondence to ensure transparency and integrity. We were told there would be an additional 1 hr labour and an extra 13 meters cable which would be around £100.
OHME then sent us another bill for £666.60
We challenged this and asked OHME to double check it and itemise it. The invoice was fully itemised, in a different font and layout to the previous one. OHME confirmed this is the correct invoice from Fusion however we contacted Fusion and they were happy to confirm this was correct. I contacted OHME and informed them I had evidence they were trying to defraud us and had inflated the bill. I asked to speak to a manager and they refused. We spent several days phoning VW customer services who passed us from department to department. We sought independent legal advice and were told our contract is with VW not OHME and put this to VW. We asked them to supply us with a trickle charge to plug into our mains supply at home and charge for free. To date this has cost us £3173 in addiction to a monthly cost of £573! We could have run a brand new diesel cheaper.
VW have refused to help us, they have refused to give us a trickle charge cable and we still have no charger!!

Avoid VW as their customer support is non existent and you will be left out of pocket!
We have since spoken to a significant number of other people who have been ripped off by OHME and had zero help from VW

ABSOLUTELY APPALLING VW ID.3 ELECTRIC CAR BATTERY RECALL EXPERIENCE – AVOID VW (and these retailers!) AT ALL COSTS!
My experience with Volkswagen regarding their electric car battery recall for my ID.3 has been an unmitigated disaster, leaving me utterly furious and £3650 out of pocket for their failure. This is not just a negative review; it's a stark warning to anyone considering a VW, especially an electric one: run in the opposite direction!

The nightmare began with the battery recall. Getting a booking was a Herculean task, with wait times that were frankly ridiculous. And to add insult to injury, the VW Wimbledon service battery center was utterly unhelpful, contributing nothing to resolve the issue. My attempts to get assistance from Lookers Volkswagen Battersea, 100 York Road, Battersea, London, SW11 3RD, Drift Bridge Volkswagen, Ruden Way, Epsom, Surrey, KT17 3LA, and even trying to book with Volkswagen Walton, Esher Road, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 4JY, were met with similar stonewalling and a complete lack of urgency. The collective incompetence from these Volkswagen Retailers is astounding.

The real outrage came when I was informed my warranty wouldn't cover the fix for a problem they should have sorted in the first place. VW demanded £3650 from me for an issue they failed to address in a timely manner. This is absolutely scandalous and nothing short of a scam.

Naturally, I escalated the case to their customer service complaint team, even providing them with case number 06165889 for their investigation. What I got was an even deeper descent into frustration, compounded by the involvement of Customer Relations Manager. They made me wait a preposterous 15 days, only to offer a measly £500 as a "goodwill gesture." A goodwill gesture for their incompetence and my financial burden? It's insulting.

I can unequivocally state that I will never, ever recommend buying a car from Volkswagen, especially their electric vehicles like the ID.3. The service is horrendous, customer relations are abysmal, and their staff are shockingly rude towards the customer. I've already lodged a formal complaint with the Motor Ombudsman, and I felt it was my duty to leave this review so that other people don't fall victim to the same appalling experience. VW, you are scammers, and your treatment of loyal customers is disgraceful.

Tried three times to book a service online. Tried calling multiple times to ask about a warranty claim—just got passed around and then cut off. Still no answer after two weeks.

VWID7 has had the following issues since new May 2024, VW has not yet been able to fix these.
1. No data
2. No internet
3. No navigation
4. No SOS
5. Faulty Speed limit recognition
6. Cruise control speeds up to 70 in 30 limit area and brakes to 30 in 60 & 70 limit area
7. Occasional emergency stop for no reason
8. Child lock fault
The car is positively dangerous, it has been in to dealership numerous times, they say it is fixed and I drive away as its fine, the next day it is not all the faults return. I also tried a second dealership, same there they fixed it on the day and the next day all faults returned.

Even when logged in to Volkswagen ID the link to Digital Manual is simply a generic version, not specific to the car (VIN) specified, in other words useless! Their customer services state a VIN is required to provide accurate info - but it doesn't, & the button pushers can't see how stupid they are! When asked for info they usually refer you to dealers, but when info is provided it's often wrong, & don't realise when they repeat useless info. Perhaps someone can explain exactly why these people get paid?

Purchased the car from VW cichester. Golf r 2022. Front bumper had some slight paint missing from the front bumper near the drivers side wing. Salesman touched it up and i went on my way. Realised the tracking was out so i drove back and they told me that they would reimburse me for the tracking and to get it done locally. So I've drove back to manchester with dodgy tracking. Also found out later on that my tyre refill kit was missing the canister to repair the tyre.

Spoke to the dealer and they said they would sort it. They did not. I ignored it and notice some paint chipping off. Took it to a local dealer (group 1 bury) to get my puddle lights and steering wheel replaced, due to travel assist errors and scattered image on the puddle lights.

The local dealer said the paint wouldn’t be covered as it was indicative of stone chips, this was not included in the warranty. I got customer care involved and after weeks of back and forth the resolution was that the original dealer would refund me £175 for the paint chips, send me a tyre refill kit and an additional £45 for the dodgy tracking.

I did have to replace one of my tyres, probably due to driving all the way from Chichester to manchester with dodgy tracking. The original dealer did in fact send the £175+£45. No tyre refill kit unfortunately. Ive given up waiting on that.

A couple of months pass and i notice the paint chips spreading and one of them was getting very large. Spoke to customer care again, they advised me to get a second opinion.

Took it to volkswagen oldham, they advised that the car has been damaged and repaired. Fantastic. Spoke to customer care and they were leaning heavily in favour of the dealer. Essentially saying that the if the dealer doesn't know about the previous damage its up to their discretion to rectify it.

At this point i am bewildered. If the original retailer has overlooked it, which of course is a valid possibility. I would expect volkswagen as a company to rectify the issue. But no, they are separate entities to the dealership.

Time passes and i speak to the original salesman at cichester (philip bramble). Philip then goes on about how i was happy about the paint at the point of purchase and we both looked over the car extensively. Correct, we did, at the point of purchase i did also ask multiple times has the car been sprayed, has it been in an accident.With complete confidence philip said no to both.

Philip then asks what i would like as an outcome, i tell him that i am happy to send back the £175 that was sent to me for the smaller paint chips, and that i just want the paint sorted.

Philip told me to email that to him in writing. Which I proceeded to do. A couple weeks fly by and nothing, customer care asks me if I’ve heard from them.

I replied saying no they haven’t contacted me. Another two weeks fly by and nothing from customer care or vw Chichester.

I called today and spoke to Debra Lyn. She had been looking over my complaint. She told me they were unable to do anything as the original dealer did not want to do anything more out of goodwill.

I was not happy, i told Debra that the car is a VW used approve vehicle. If the car was sold by VW, and the original retailer is not willing to fix the damage, then VW should step in.

I told debra that i was stupid for thinking that the dealer and the company had the same responsibility for the sale. She gave a ridiculous analogy that supermarkets sell different brands but do not represent the brands they stock. Im sorry Debra supermarkets dont put third party brands on huge signs infront of their own logo. If a dealership has a huge VW logo infront of me i am going to think its a dealership run by VW.

Very disappointed and i wont be buying another used approved vehicle from volkswagen again, i would have better luck buying from a private individual, at least i’ll know beforehand that i am on my own if anything goes wrong

Wish I had seen these reviews before I parted with 20K plus for a car less than two years old with defective tyres! Had a blow on the M6 … did not think it was reasonable to provide me a tyre inspection report! No empathy or questioning about how many miles I had done with purchasing the car only 6 months previous despite them knowing I hadn’t been very well. Not looked after AT ALL. Take your hard earned cash easily enough but don’t want to know you when something goes wrong!

The radio in my VW R Line beetle (2018) has completely packed up. Although the car is 7 years old I have only done 30,000 miles so radio use is comparatively low. Quoted £2,500 for a new one!!! VW “customer service” have been next to useless and have no interest in addressing the terrible quality of their components. After spending far to long on phone and sending emails the finally offered me a price of £470 (probably the cost price anyway) although this was more down to the dealership. I have refused this offer as I am not prepared to fund this second rate company further. I have been a lifelong VW customer but will certainly NOT be spending any more money with them - not that this appears to bother them in the slightest. They are currently happy to live off their past reputation whilst knocking out cheap, inferior products. With so many brands on the market do yourself a favour and avoid at all costs.

I have now had the ID Buzz cargo for just over 12 months. It drives very well, quiet, quick, comfortable although the rear wheel drive on anything other than tarmac is tricky. Particularly gravel that isn't level.

The vehicle however has major problems with the technology which is at best unreliable, erratic, poorly designed and at times just dangerous.

There are no manual controls in the vehicle at all, therefore no point of reference for your hands and most importantly nothing to hold onto. Any changes therefore have to be done on screen which to navigate on a bumpy road requires holding the edge of the screen and looking at the display, not the road!

The display sometimes connects immediately, sometimes after 5 minutes, sometimes it turns the music on by itself, sometimes it interrupts you changing the heating to connect the android auto.

Yesterday on a trip of 27 miles it turned itself off completely, speed display changed colour and only restarted after 10 minutes and failed to connect to android auto - thankfully a passenger could fiddle with it for me, ended up just turning it off - it seems the clock is the only reliable function.

When I first got the vehicle I signed up for adaptive cruise control (ACC for £72/year) and a few days later dynamic road sign display (DRS £42/year), this year I have renewed the ACC online however VW seem to have withdrawn the DRS and despite them sending me on a wasted trip to the dealer and eventually offering a free version as compensation I still don't have it. Having ACC without the DRS is pretty useless. Thankfully my vehicle is on lease - if I had paid £55k for a vehicle to have the manufacturer withdraw features and driver aids I would be furious. Is this really the future of motoring when the manufacturer can fiddle about with your vehicle after they have your money? Frankly I don't trust them - how long before the hackers get into the systems?

Now to the ACC - this is supposed to sense vehicles ahead - sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't and the reaction time is woefully slow. On the same trip yesterday thew vehicle did an emergency brake for a parked vehicle in a layby on the nearside - that is frankly just dangerous. At other times it just fails to see parked cars ahead, I hope this is not the technology planned for driverless vehicles - it will be carnage.

After just over a year we have the erratic software, a driver display that failed suddenly (thankfully only 5 miles from home because you have no speedo or range indicator) a sliding door that has had 2 dealer visits to repair and a windscreen seal that is no longer connected to the windscreen.

As an almost final note before anyone tells me it is the fault of my phone for the connection - I also have a Ford Ranger - it connects immediately and senses other vehicles accurately and also has a distance control on the steering wheel not buried is some sub-menu on a screen.

Will I have another? No thank you I shall be delighted to hand it back to VW in 10 months time. The test drive before leasing was a novelty - one that very soon wears off!

Got a new car a year ago after giving my old one back, told me a bunch of things that I wanted to hear ( services included for 2 years, car sensors with camera ) i Agreed to taking the car, however they rang me and told me they had to go through another finance ( DSG) with only a extra 2 pound a month. Still agreed to this as it was the only way to get accepted due to having no credit. However when I have tried to take my car for servicing I have been told that due to not going through vw finance I wasn’t allowed my 2 years servicing ( they forgot to mention this on the phone when they rang me and told me about changing the finance company) Also sold me a car with a screen that doesn’t work I got told I’d have someone ring me. ( nobody ever did ) now I have a parking camera that doesn’t work and a blank screen now have to wait 2 months for this to be sorted even though I reported this when I first got the car.
Group 1 Volkswagen Bolton

Title: Disappointing Experience Despite Excellent Initial Service
My experience started well thanks to Tom, whose professionalism and helpful approach stood out — I left a five-star review as a result, and that still reflects the great service he provided.
Unfortunately, everything since has been extremely disappointing. I received a single email regarding the service plan that requested an e-signature, which was then cancelled a few hours later with no explanation. I’ve had no follow-up since, and no resolution from the service team.
When I returned to the dealership to enquire about scratches on my 8-month-old T-Roc Cabriolet, a polite sales advisor explained that “if I wanted a perfect car, I should have bought new.” He stated this was feedback passed down from his manager. I let him know at the time that I’d likely be leaving a negative review, as I found the remark dismissive and unhelpful — especially considering the car was less than a year old.
As it turned out, I acted on that very advice and went on to purchase a brand-new Mini from Sytner for my wife.
While Tom’s service was excellent, the overall VW experience since then hasn’t lived up to expectations.

Good Morning

I am very disappointed with the extremely poor service I have been receiving at Alan Day Southgate. Based on my experience, I would not recommend anyone buying a VW from Alan Day.

The service fell far short of what I expect from an authorized dealership.
I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding the repeated and unresolved issues with my Volkswagen ID.7 (registration LM25SSZ) that I just purchased at Alan Day Southgate and the extremely poor level of communication and service I have experienced during my recent visits to Alan Day Southgate.

On Tuesday, 24 June 2025, I brought my vehicle in for the fourth time for the same unresolved issue—a persistent and unusual noise present since the day I received the car. This visit was arranged in advance through Lee Handisyde. However, on arrival, Lee was away and Mr Joseph collected my key. He informed me that the issue would be investigated within 48 hours, and if any parts were required they would be ordered for a follow-up visit.

Following this, I attempted multiple times to obtain an update. On Wednesday, 25 June, I called around 4:00 PM and left a message with reception but received no call back. I called again several times on Thursday, 26 June, without success. In frustration, I also sent an email at 13:10 on Thursday to:

southgate.service
southgate.sales
freddie.howard
lee.handisyde
I received no reply from anyone except an automated out-of-office response from Lee Handisyde stating he was on leave until 30 June.

Finally, I received a call from Joseph on Friday, 27 June at 11:44 AM, advising that no fault had yet been found and the car would remain at Alan Day Southgate until Monday, 30 June. As I rely on this vehicle for my work as an Uber driver, this has cost me at least four full days of income during one of the busiest periods of the year—on top of previous time lost for appointments on 17 June and 12 June.

Later on 27 June at 5:00 PM, I visited in person with my brother to ensure clear communication. I met Freddie Howard, who has always provided good service, along with Joseph. Joseph confirmed I could not collect my car but assured me I would receive a courtesy car with a TFL license so I could continue working over the weekend. He said I would be contacted by the courtesy car team and would need to pay a £250 deposit. I agreed to this arrangement and was relieved that I could at least work over the weekend.

However, I received no call or email at all from the courtesy car team on Saturday or since then. This left me completely stranded, unable to work, and unable even to transport my children to school. We had to rely on public transport and even Uber for family events in hot weather. This has caused my family significant stress and inconvenience, and has also created real financial hardship as I still need to cover rent, car insurance, and other living expenses while being unable to earn an income.

Additionally, I would like to bring to your attention an issue that occurred on the very first day I received my ID.7. The front passenger-side bumper was scratched. Freddie said he did not know how it happened, but assured me someone would come to repair it. Although someone did come to my home address to carry out the repair, the quality of the work was extremely poor. When I showed the result to Freddie, even he was shocked at the standard of the paintwork. This issue also remains unresolved.

Overall, my experience with Alan Day has been extremely disappointing, especially considering I had no such problems with my previous Toyota. This is not what I expected when purchasing a new ID.7 from Alan Day.

I would appreciate an urgent response confirming:

When my vehicle will be fully repaired, with the fault properly diagnosed and resolved.
When and how I will receive a suitable courtesy car so I can resume work immediately.
What steps Alan Day is prepared to take to address the loss of income and severe inconvenience I have suffered as a direct result of these delays and poor communication.
Please treat this as a formal complaint. I look forward to your prompt response.

Thank you.

Fahad Khan
07447021253

absolute sh1t show of customer service.
here's what I was trying to do:

1) return my VW at the end of its contract
2) buy a new car from VW

I had to co-ordinate between my VW dealership, VW Financial Services, VW Corporate and Manheim a third party who have the contract to collect and inspect VW's.

there is no way to co-ordinate these different entities.. I had to do it all manually. and its impossible to arrange all of these things to co-ordinate in the same way.. SURELY VW want people to switch from one car to another with them..

flip them for making it so so so so difficult and for none of these four entities giving a SH*T apart from just saying that I - the customer - had to try and organize this myself..

In the end I had a choice between paying for two cars for an undetermined period or having no car for an undermined period.

Customer service is 100% not on the list of things they care about

Bought almost new VW Caddy from SINCLAIR VANS, CARDIFF. Had serviced by them as recommended. Timing belt went a couple of days before Christmas after doing 53,000 miles. Phoned VW who said they couldn't look at van until end of February. Said even if we left it with them there was no guarantee of any contribution by the dealership towards the repair. Said a replacement engine would be over £19,000 As it is my work vehicle I needed to get it fixed. AA therefore towed to local garage, J&P Autos Cardiff who were excellent and fixed the van by 10th January. Complained to head office who were absolutely useless as were the staff at Sinclair. So disappointed in VW. Thought we were buying a reliable van and never dreamed timing belt would go after such low mileage. They apparently suggest replacement at 100000K
We live and learn.

Bought a VW approved used Polo from Specialist cars Aberdeen, although dealer was helpful enough the car has had too many problems to list. In 42 years of car ownership this is the worst engineered designed car I have came across, everything breaks or shears as soon as you look at it. I paid about double the price of a similar branded car but quality is shocking. Parts prices are a disgrace I've spent over £3000 in 2 years of ownership and that's not including service costs.
I'm scared to look at the car now as always find another problem, this is my first and last Vw, like I told Vw the competition caught up years ago, overpriced and poor build quality, I'll be trading it soon before I run out of money.
I've never had problems with other brands other than routine maintenance, I also know ppl who have new models with many issues so not just me.
I'm not sure where the reliability thing came from but clearly it's marketing doing the usual, living in cloud cuckoo land.

I recently purchased a vehicle through Amir at Volkswagen Stockport and wanted to express my appreciation for the outstanding service I received. Although this review is a little overdue, the experience was certainly worth acknowledging.

Amir was extremely helpful throughout the entire process. He took the time to understand exactly what I was looking for and managed to secure the car I wanted—practically brand new and at a very competitive price. He was professional, attentive, and ensured that everything was ready for the specific date I needed the vehicle.

It’s rare to come across such dedication and efficiency, and Amir made the entire experience smooth and stress-free. I highly recommend asking for him if you’re considering a purchase from Volkswagen Stockport. A great guy who truly delivers excellent customer service.

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the recent service experience I had with your dealership Johnsons Volkswagen Stafford regarding my Volkswagen ID.3.
I initially brought the vehicle in for a routine service. However, upon collecting the car—after payment had already been processed—I was informed that it had been damaged by one of your technicians. Unfortunately, it then took an additional two weeks before the vehicle was booked in for repairs, during which time I had to continue driving a visibly damaged car.
The repair was scheduled for a Monday, and I was assured it would be completed by the end of the day. This was not the case. Over the following week, I was repeatedly told that the delay was due to efforts to ensure the car was “perfect,” including structural checks and a second respray. However, I could see via the vehicle’s app that the car had not been moved or accessed since Monday morning, and work only began on Friday. This lack of transparency was extremely disappointing, especially after the initial inconvenience.
As a result of this experience, I lost a day of annual leave, had to purchase a ceramic coating (£60) to restore the finish on the affected areas, and spent £45 on petrol for the week—despite owning an electric vehicle.
This entire situation has been frustrating and has significantly impacted my trust in your dealership. Regrettably, it has also affected my perception of the Volkswagen brand as a whole. Based on this experience, I would be reluctant to return to your dealership or consider purchasing another Volkswagen in the future.
I hope you take this feedback seriously and use it to improve your service processes and communication with customers.

Absolutely disgusting store was spoken to rudely by the parts department lady will never ever come to this branch again im disbaled woth various disabilities including tourrettes syndrome and to be told too shh and let her speak when she's telling I haven't done something correctly speaking to me like im a child ill never go to this store again its discrimination to its highest dirtiest level