My cars condition changed and got worse after going to the shop?!?

Question

I bought a used 2002 VW Beetle in February. Recently I've been having problems when I stop. It just catches a little bit and makes it jerk. I took it to the shop and they said they weren't sure whether it was the transmission modem or the valve body but they went ahead and replaced the valve body. It was covered on my warranty and I ended up paying $100 for it. On the way home the "service engine soon" light came on. I called the next morning and they told me to brink it in in the afternoon. Later that morning I noticed that it wasn't switching gears so I called again. I had it towed to the shop. Today they are telling me that that problem is not covered by my warranty and it will cost $800. What is the best way to approach this? I didn't have the gear changing problem until after it was at the shop so I don't feel that I should have to pay for it. Additionally, I don't feel that I should have to pay my warranty deductible twice just because they took a guess on what was wrong and they were wrong. My valve body was fine so I shouldn't have to pay for another, right? What can I say or do to get this taken care of by the dealership?

Answer 1

Im in a very similar situation right now, and my advice for you is to ALWAYS get a second, or even a third opinion from well-qualified mechanics. The best way to lose money is to take into consideration what an under-trained, under-paid mechanic has to say. Look at everything that already came out of your pocket- you even had to pay to have it towed! Im surprised you're still pretty calm about it. If I was you, I'd be 10x more pissed right now! But, back to your problem. The jerking can come as a result of many things. It can be something simple like, old transmission fluid, spark plugs, fuel filter, struts, bad engine mounts(unlikely, but worth a shot anyway), and many other things. Your ultimate worst case scenario is  complete transmission failure, where you'd have to pay for a transmission rebuild, or a new transmission(cost is in the $thousands!). Im in the same boat as you are- you're not alone. Good luck!

Answer 2

Your car is covered under warranty, if the service was done on the transmission was covered, and it was not fixed, then re-servicing it is the dealerships trouble...not yours. Tell them that it IS covered and that they need to re-read your warranty.