# My 9 month, 22k Mile journey with an Atlas named Ruby



## bgc996 (Aug 27, 2004)

And what a whirlwind love affair it was! 


After much deliberation with my wife, who up to this point had not owned anything other than a Honda or Toyota; I was able to convince her to loosen up and be open minded. It took convincing, but with perseverance I succeeded and convinced her to let me bring her home. We named her Ruby. The journey began on March 21st, 2019; a sunny and beautiful day. I flew out to Denver, CO to bring our new family hauler home. You may be looking over at my location and ask why would I buy a car 1,800 miles from home. There are 4 answers to that question. 


Road trip home from Colorado.
There were only 3 Atlas’ available in the configuration we wanted at that time. (Fortana Red SEL R-Line 4 motion, black interior and bucket seats) They had one of them and gave me the best price.
Close friends live in Denver so I turned the whole thing into a long weekend trip type of deal.
Road trip home from Colorado.


Atlas by Brian Guerri, on Flickr


Atlas by Brian Guerri, on Flickr

Had an amazing road trip home. She did amazing in the little bit of snow I encountered leaving Denver and was just overall a very comfortable toad trip car. The miles went by effortlessly. And that’s exactly what we bought this car for. We take a lot of road trips as a family and put a lot of miles on our cars. Ruby was mostly my wife’s daily and served to haul our 7yr old and two dogs around. As soon as I got home I had Ruby fully tinted, clear bra and other protection along the car and for the finale; had her polished up and ceramic coated. I knew she would be around for a while. 


Two weeks after getting back from Colorado I went to New Jersey on a car part retrieval mission. The more I drove her, the more I fell for her. She did everything I asked of her without issue. 


Atlas by Brian Guerri, on Flickr

Atlas by Brian Guerri, on Flickr


I thought I was in for the long haul with her.... and then, on a rainy and stormy day; the first red flag emerged. Got into the car and water was leaking from the A Pillars and from the center overhead console. And I don’t mean just a little damp. Ruby was dripping wet. My wife was very upset. Ruby only had 4K miles and had been with us 2 months and she’s already causing problems in the household. Some of you may know what I mean if your partner is a Honda or Toyota aficionado..... ‘My Honda never leaked... and neither did my RAV4! Why is this car already leaking?’... that type of conversation. No biggie. I calm wifeys nerves and say not to worry!! Ruby will be checked out and returned to normal in no time. I take her in and after ordering a new headliner for her, she goes back in and gets all fixed up. Crisis averted. Ruby is back and ready to keep
Wife happy. 


In May we take Ruby to her first car show and have her tow down my friends Corrado for European Experience in Savannah. She did excellent and I was even more impressed as the miles ticked by. As summer hit, we took Ruby on multiple beach trips, mountain trips as well as serving as the daily for wifey. All was well in the universe. 


Atlas by Brian Guerri, on Flickr


Then, out of nowhere Ruby started complaining again in late July. From that moment on, our relationship would never be the same. 


I will spare you the details, unless you really want them, in which case I will be happy to share. But the cliffs notes are as follows:


Ruby was serviced every 5k miles, despite the manual calling for 10k mile intervals. At the 15k mile oil change I complained about the front end suspension noise. They ordered parts and I would bring the car back in, which I did a few weeks later, but not before Ruby went full psycho on us. Within those two weeks, she started throwing random small evap faults, ACC faults, Remote Start stopped working and the sunroof started leaking again. I don’t know what triggered her but she lost it. From therein out it was one issue after the other. The dealer kept resetting the codes and saying done, it’s fixed. They threw parts at the front suspension noise and never fixed it (strut bellows, sway bar links, strut mounts and eventually an entire new steering rack). The car was in and out of the dealership, sometimes returning the same day due to issues not being fixed after ‘repair’. This was mainly the suspension issue. 


It’s now late October and my wife is over this mess. She’s been in and out of loaners for weeks and is just fed up. It started becoming an issue that was affecting our relationship. So, to diffuse the situation with her; I bought an Acura MDX as a replacement for her Ruby. The deal was that she had to drop all talks of Ruby or VW in general. It was no longer a subject she needed to worry about.


Under the circumstances, I asked Volkswagen of America to buy Ruby back. I pleaded my case to them as to what we have been through thus far. For the sake of giving you further context; I have been a Volkswagen and Audi owner for over 16 years. I have purchased a total of 7 new Volkswagens and have owned a total of 18 Volkswagen’s and Audi’s over the years, including current ownership of a B7 S4 Avant and a 2011 Tiguan. Furthermore, I founded a local VW and Audi car club in Charlotte in 2007 and it’s still going strong. I also worked at a Volkswagen dealership for 5 years, first in sales for a year and then in Service. My family has Volkswagen’s, I’ve brought many new owners to the brand. In short, I love the brand, I love the cars, I love the ownership experience and the sense of community these brands and enthusiasts represent. In short I’m a geek for Volkswagen’s. 


VWOA picked up the case and started looking into the issues. They were in communication with the dealership and even as the case was ongoing; Ruby was still in and out of the shop. I was updated weekly with ‘we have not received a decision but once we do we will let you know’ type of thing. First week of December comes and I finally get the call from VWOA that I’ve been waiting for. Unfortunately for me, we were not on the same page as to what the resolution to all of this would be. I fully expected Volkswagen to stand behind their badge and reputation and buy this car back. They informed me that would not happen. As much as they ‘valued’ me as a customer, they didn’t feel that what I had endured with the Atlas would warrant a buy back. Their offer consisted of ‘trade assistance’ by way of a discount on a new Volkswagen. I just could not believe what I was hearing. 


I appealed the decision and was contacted by the Customer retention department. The person I spoke to was very nice and seemed sympathetic to what had occurred. At this point the Atlas had been in possession of the dealership for 34 days. In addition to that, the same problem (suspension noise) took 5 repairs to correct. As per N.C. lemon law, these two are immediate qualifiers for lemon law buy back. As I’m pleading my case with this very nice lady, we start going through RO’s because the data she has is not matching the data that I have. We discover that the paperwork sent to Volkswagen of America from the dealership was incorrect and missing dates the car was in their possession. She asked me to email her everything I have so we could straighten this all out. Fortunately for me, due to my line of work; record keeping and due diligence is crucial. I sent everything I had. This included repair orders, emails with the service writer as well as with the Service and General Managers that served to prove the Atlas was in their possession. I even sent screenshots of the text messages the dealer sends you when you drop off the car and when it’s ready for pickup. I sent her all of these documents and a cover letter going through the evidence I had attached. I now thought for sure this will be taken care of! 


Much to my dismay, about a week later I received an email telling me that the case had been reviewed and that VWOA stood by their decision to not buy the car back. They insisted my loyalty had been rewarded by way of this discount on a new vehicle. That was it. My file was closed and nothing else would be done. Volkswagen was done with me. Take it, or leave it. I had 30 days to act on the offer. I can’t tell you how crappy it made me feel. I was so disappointed. 


Now please understand that I am absolutely appreciative of the discount they extended. It’s definitely better than nothing. But here’s my thing; with the discount and taking into account the abismal resale value on the Atlas; I’m still upside down over $4000. And before you ask, no negative equity was rolled into this car. I bought it without a trade in, 72 months through VW Credit at 1.9 APR. Also not taken into account are the $3000 I spent on the Tint, Clear bra and ceramic coating. But even taking that loss, I asked VW to at least cover that difference and wash me out of the car. Nope. Nothing. 


So at this point in the story it’s December 20th. Christmas is almost here. My mind is all over the place... keep it, sell it, drive it into a lake maybe? The real options were to just keep it and drive it. My hang up on this was that we don’t need Two seven row SUV’s in the house. Also, as hard as I fell for Ruby early on, my feelings had most definitely turned. The thought of keeping her around for years was depressing to me now. Especially since she’d be spending it with me now that wifey was back to living the Honda ‘reliability’ life. Do I really want to spend that much on a car I don’t even like anymore?


Option 2 was to take her to Carmax or selling her privately. Issue there was having to come out of pocket $10k to get rid of her. Made no sense to me to part with liquidity that could be much better allocated elsewhere. 

Cars by Brian Guerri, on Flickr

So option 3, and what I ended up doing was taking Volkswagen’s offer. Yup. I’m that guy. Complains about Volkswagen... Buys another Volkswagen. Crazy, stupid... perhaps. But listen, I was tired of fighting them. It’s exhausting and time consuming. If I want to get a good attorney on the case, it starts to cost me money. Not to mention the stress and annoyance of having a legal preceding ongoing. It’s never fun. Even when you can prove you are right, it gets expensive and it’s incredibly aggravating. So in an effort to leave this very bad experience behind and closing the Ruby chapter seemed like the best thing to do. I wanted to start 2020 fresh, with a clean slate. So what did I buy you may ask? I brought home an Arteon SEL-P R Line 4Motion. Took her home on 12/21/2019. Exactly 9 months after taking Ruby home. 


Two weeks and 650 miles in, I have butterflies in my stomach. I get that funny feeling when I look outside and see her out there, just waiting to put a smile on my face. Maybe I’m forgetting the pain of heartbreak too soon. Maybe this time it’s for real. Only time will tell. But so far I’m head over heels for the new addition to the family. Did I need a 3rd personal vehicle? Yes. Because I’m a car guy and car guys need cars. 


Cars by Brian Guerri, on Flickr

Of course I didn’t. Nobody ‘needs’ to have 3 cars. But based on the available options, I’m happy Ruby is gone and my Arteon is home. I should probably ask her name, but at this point I’m too afraid to ask. 


Hope you have enjoyed reading this long novel. This is my first post on Vortex in years and am looking forward to being more active on here again.


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## bgc996 (Aug 27, 2004)

Not sure what I’m doing wrong with the pics


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## Andre VW (Dec 12, 2018)

Good transparent writeup. Sounds like a case of early build 2018s based off some of the suspension and evap issues you were having which could have been addressed eventually with time. But I also understand how the wife can get frustrated with dealing with it. But teething issues is the main reason I never buy the first model year of any car model. 

My 2019 has been great so far minus a window rattle and oil cap gasket covered under warranty. 

Enjoy the Arteon. And keep the expectations for a first model year in that too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kazimir80 (Mar 15, 2019)

I would srongly recommend to change the dealership first. There are huge differencies among them and their approach! I had bad drivers rear window at delivery and the dealership from I got the car didnt even care. The other one was perfect to repair it under the warranty overnight.

German cars are not "delete errors" ones. If there are errors, there is reason for that. And yea, leaking roof is known trouble once tubes are blocked. Some fall leaves come in and there you go. It needs to be cleaned.

So dont be upset and try some other guys to help you.


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## Fgv1it (May 23, 2017)

Sorry to hear about the bad experience with Ruby. My wife and I have a 2018 Atlas SEL which we bought new the first day that the Atlas was available for sale at the local dealership, so it is as "early" a new model as it could be. After almost three years, not a single problem (knock on wood). It has undergone several recall and repair campaigns, and quite frankly, the only "problems" that it has developed (a little squeak here and there) all happen to be in areas that were dismantled by the dealer in carrying out that work. The suggestion to try to find a different dealer that does better repair work is a good one; from your story, I am left wondering if the mechanics, when trying to fix the initial problems, simply made things worse or inadvertently created new problems that showed up later on. Another alternative, which is very plausible, is that the initial "flood" event got water into all sorts of places where it caused later corrosion and electrical faults that gave you all the headaches that you had. In any case, enjoy your new Arteon, good luck with it, and let us know how it does over time.


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## bgc996 (Aug 27, 2004)

Thanks for the feedback! I agree that a change in dealership was warranted. The problem here is that they were already so deeply involved in the repairs and the case with VW that it seemed counter productive to change dealerships mid cycle. I agree that the dealership probably made things worse. The fact they couldn’t get their records straight was a huge issue for me. As for the Atlas itself... like I said we absolutely loved the car. Nothing in the category came close to the space this car has. I just think that Ruby was a Friday or a Monday car. The build date was November 2018. My best friend and his wife have the exact same spec Atlas with a November 2018 build date. They are at 25k miles and have not had a single issue! 

as for the new model thing, I see what you are saying there and can appreciate why you are saying it. With that being said, I’ve been an early adopter to several new models (MKV GTI, PQ Tiguan, CC, NA Passat) and have never had the amount of issues I had with Ruby. All in all I take it as a learning experience and am glad it’s done with.


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## golfzex (Mar 29, 2004)

Stopped reading a few paragraphs in cause I can’t take how you talk about a car like it’s a person. 


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

golfzex said:


> Stopped reading a few paragraphs in cause I can’t take how you talk about a car like it’s a person.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


I agree!! 

I couldn't believe this........It started becoming an issue that was affecting our relationship.


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## golfzex (Mar 29, 2004)

*DesertFox* said:


> I agree!!
> 
> I couldn't believe this........It started becoming an issue that was affecting our relationship.


Same here, dude seems a little mental. 


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## bgc996 (Aug 27, 2004)

Jeez you guys need to lighten up a little... I’m mental? Haha come on dude. 

Also, what I meant by affecting our relationship was in reference to my wife despising this car, that I pushed to buy because I’m a VW fanboy.


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## DallasLoneStar (Jan 2, 2020)

Dude, I know what you mean about the reliability of the car that you had to have affecting your relationship. Same experience I had with a Range Rover.


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## vbrad26 (Oct 18, 2009)

When your B7 S4 is more reliable than your wife's daily, you know you're in for a bad time.
Sorry to hear about all the troubles. I'm glad we have that 6 year warranty, and my wife does not rack up the miles!


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Nice write up. My question is - why not take this up as a lemon-law case? My understanding is attorney's take the case on the premise that they only get paid if they are able to settle with VW so nothing out of pocket for you...there are lawyers that specialize in it. That's what I would have done (I think!) if I was in your shoes and clearly had the ability to prove I met the requirements (assume based on your write up you did) i.e. time out of service within a certain period after purchase, number of times in for same repair, etc.

On the equity etc., the way I think about it is like this - VW doesn't owe anymore than the value of the vehicle (and that value shoudl be at the time it starting having the issue). I realize they gave you a discount on a new one with a trade-in at market value. Negative equity/upside down/etc. is not VW's issue. Rationalize it with a cash purchase. I own my Atlas outright. I paid ~$42K in Jan 2018 and it's worth $28K private party today. If VW bought it back b/c it $hit the bed today, they owe me ~$28K. If they did your deal for me, I'd expect $28K trade allowance a discounted price on a new car. Any loans I had are not relevant to the discussion.


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## Justin7983 (Nov 18, 2008)

I hope you didn’t buy that Arteon from the same dealer. 


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## Andy A (Dec 25, 2018)

Keffer VW in Charlotte / Huntersville NC?????? The last pic with the arteon looks very similiar to their layout. Hope the arteon gives you many trouble free miles.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

VWofA sucks. We had one of the first atlases, and it was bought back when the digital cockpit went haywire and started causing all kinds of electrical issues they couldn't fix. They were the worst and kept insisting that they wouldn't but it back, but ultimately did due to safety concerns after almost 90 days.

We had a few cars between that, then ended up liking the Arteon, so we got one only to find out they crashed it at the port and shadily repaired the front end without disclosing it. It only became evident a week after we bought it when the paint was literally peeling off the front end. That was another three month fight with them as they didn't feel it warranted a replacement until I got an attorney the second go around. 

Needless to say we won't be buying anymore VWs- like you we've been loyal to the brand, but that doesn't mean diddle to them post dieselgate.


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## bgc996 (Aug 27, 2004)

vbrad26 said:


> When your B7 S4 is more reliable than your wife's daily, you know you're in for a bad time.
> Sorry to hear about all the troubles. I'm glad we have that 6 year warranty, and my wife does not rack up the miles!


LOL thats a very accurate statement sir. Well played. 




KarstGeo said:


> Nice write up. My question is - why not take this up as a lemon-law case? My understanding is attorney's take the case on the premise that they only get paid if they are able to settle with VW so nothing out of pocket for you...there are lawyers that specialize in it. That's what I would have done (I think!) if I was in your shoes and clearly had the ability to prove I met the requirements (assume based on your write up you did) i.e. time out of service within a certain period after purchase, number of times in for same repair, etc.
> 
> On the equity etc., the way I think about it is like this - VW doesn't owe anymore than the value of the vehicle (and that value shoudl be at the time it starting having the issue). I realize they gave you a discount on a new one with a trade-in at market value. Negative equity/upside down/etc. is not VW's issue. Rationalize it with a cash purchase. I own my Atlas outright. I paid ~$42K in Jan 2018 and it's worth $28K private party today. If VW bought it back b/c it $hit the bed today, they owe me ~$28K. If they did your deal for me, I'd expect $28K trade allowance a discounted price on a new car. Any loans I had are not relevant to the discussion.


I cant say I disagree with you as for the best course of action. i know that putting up a fight and going the Lemon Law route would eventually turn the situation in our favor. I do have proof and everything is documented. Here is why I chose to just get out of it.... No matter what, my sanity, peace of mind and time with my family are the most valuable things I have. Like most of you reading this, life is hectic and busy. I have a demanding job and a 7 year old at home. By the time I bought the Arteon; I had already been fighting an uphill battle against the dealer and VWOA for 5 months and it was incredibly frustrating and time consuming. I was, and am not willing to sacrifice any more time on this nightmare. So, cut my losses and start over with the Arteon. It may not be the decision some of you would have made, but for the reasons I just described, it was the best option for me at the time. 

As for the Loan bit.... I absolutely agree with you. They shouldn't have to pay more than the car is worth. However, this wasn't a trade it because I'm bored with it scenario. I was trying to get out of it based on it being down for as long as it was in a relatively short amount of time. As per Lemon Law, when a manufacturer is ordered to buy a car back from the consumer, they must pay the FULL amount at time of purchase (Regardless of what the car is worth at the time) in addition to fees, taxes, registration etc. That would add up to a lot more than what I was asking for. 




Justin7983 said:


> I hope you didn’t buy that Arteon from the same dealer.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Absolutely not!!




Andy A said:


> Keffer VW in Charlotte / Huntersville NC?????? The last pic with the arteon looks very similiar to their layout. Hope the arteon gives you many trouble free miles.


Haha good catch. That is indeed where I purchased it. 




ice4life said:


> VWofA sucks. We had one of the first atlases, and it was bought back when the digital cockpit went haywire and started causing all kinds of electrical issues they couldn't fix. They were the worst and kept insisting that they wouldn't but it back, but ultimately did due to safety concerns after almost 90 days.
> 
> We had a few cars between that, then ended up liking the Arteon, so we got one only to find out they crashed it at the port and shadily repaired the front end without disclosing it. It only became evident a week after we bought it when the paint was literally peeling off the front end. That was another three month fight with them as they didn't feel it warranted a replacement until I got an attorney the second go around.
> 
> Needless to say we won't be buying anymore VWs- like you we've been loyal to the brand, but that doesn't mean diddle to them post dieselgate.


Oh man... I remember seeing your thread about that a while back. What a crappy situation to be in. That really sucks. I could not agree with you more that Dieselgate was the culprit, and turning point of the company as it goes for the lack of customer support. I can't believe what a night and day difference it is compared to the VWOA of 10 years ago. I say that both as a long time customer, and former employee of a VW Dealership in both Sales and Service. I spent 5 years working there and experienced many situations where VWOA stepped up to the plate to take care of loyal customers. Whether it was helping with repairs out of warranty, or providing assistance to get into a newer VW; they actually cared about the community. I feel that they are just another Corporate giant where what matters is volume and profit, not so much the customer or their experience. It's a shame to see this happen to VW as well. It seems like thats just how the Corporate world works now. Consumers have less and less power to advocate for better service. That goes for most industries, not just saying it on the Automotive industry front. I work for one of the large mega banks in Charlotte and I see the same thing happening with our customers. It's not about their experience or satisfaction; it's about how much money we can make our shareholders. Period.


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## Acsom (Dec 29, 2019)

KarstGeo said:


> Nice write up. My question is - why not take this up as a lemon-law case? My understanding is attorney's take the case on the premise that they only get paid if they are able to settle with VW so nothing out of pocket for you...there are lawyers that specialize in it. That's what I would have done (I think!) if I was in your shoes and clearly had the ability to prove I met the requirements (assume based on your write up you did) i.e. time out of service within a certain period after purchase, number of times in for same repair, etc.
> 
> On the equity etc., the way I think about it is like this - VW doesn't owe anymore than the value of the vehicle (and that value shoudl be at the time it starting having the issue). I realize they gave you a discount on a new one with a trade-in at market value. Negative equity/upside down/etc. is not VW's issue. Rationalize it with a cash purchase. I own my Atlas outright. I paid ~$42K in Jan 2018 and it's worth $28K private party today. If VW bought it back b/c it $hit the bed today, they owe me ~$28K. If they did your deal for me, I'd expect $28K trade allowance a discounted price on a new car. Any loans I had are not relevant to the discussion.


Negative equity situations often get remedied with substitution of collateral: VW finds an identical vehicle and swaps it into the finance contract. In the OP’s case, this wouldn’t have worked due to the purchase of the Acura. But it is a viable solution in many cases.


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