Seaside Volkswagen

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  Charles Colgan
a month ago
My car was in for an oil change. My wife brought the car in and left her phone number for notification when the work was completed. Although my wife left her phone number I was called on my phone. But no message was left and the phone call came from another number than the one I have stored as Seaside VW. My wife tried calling the service department but got no answer despite repeated attempts. Finally she called me but I was traveling to my home in Maine and did get her call until I arrived. I called the Service Department several times and got no answer. I called the general number and got no answer. Finally I called the sales department and found someone who was willing to go to Service and check on my car. I finally got a call following this and arranged for them to send a car to pick up my wife, who by that time had been forced to cancel several teaching commitments that day. On the other hand, the oil did get changed.

  Tom Schmidt
2 months ago
I feel I was lied to, they wasted my time and money. The part that I told them was broken. Many vw forums claimed is common to go out and we're covered under warranty. But they said was not. After messaging the quote to fix my vehicle. I tried to message them through there portal and multiple calls they never got back to me. I ended up driving to the dealership to discuss my car. And they said they can offer a temporary solution and it would be done while I wait. I said I would be back in an hour. When I came back my car still wasn't done but was told they were working on it. Wait another hour then just asked for my car back without them even doing the temporary fix. Will not be recommending this dealer.

  Rob Boese
4 months ago
Ive been having problems with my iphone in particular with how it interacts with my outlook calendar. Story short my calendar read my service appointment was at 11:30 but the service manager said it was actually scheduled at 9:40 AM. They were able to accommodate me and get me out the door way quicker than I imagined. Top marks for the service manager and everybody in the department

  Sarah Hunter
2 months ago
Laly, Don, and Steve ...from drivers to upper management, all went out of their way to help solve many issues with my jetta. Between August and December 2023 we all became good friends they never gave up on figuring out how to get my baby back on the road! Grateful to all of you

  Tarin Muir-Davis
4 months ago
OK, so this was straight up the best car buying/leasing experience I've ever had. My husband and I were scammed and conned into buying an electric car last summer from a dealership in San Jose that ended up being a money pit and unsafe, and when we had enough, I went into Seaside Volkswagen to check out the ID.4's that I had been researching. I was helped by salesperson Matt Smith, and we took a test drive of an ID.4 pro with the Large battery. Matt was the opposite of a stereotypical pushy cars salesperson, and he talked to me like an old friend and made the test drive and entire process fun and comfortable. We needed to trade in our last POS car in order to get the new ID.4, but our car had depreciated in value so much, we owed upwards of 10k over the cars current value. We had to somehow figure out how to tie in the additional money that we owed on the old car into the payment for the new car, and still be able to afford food and rent and not freeze this winter. Giuseppe Napoli one of the managers was able to broker us a deal that we could actually afford, and he listened to our needs, what had happened to us in the past, and make sure that we were comfortable with the entire process and financial agreement. Between Matt Smith and Giuseppe Napoli I feel like I won the lotto, and not only had a wonderful car buying experience but also had a car buying experience that fit within our life and budget. We were treated like family (the family members you like), and I thank Matt Smith and Giuseppe Napoli from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to get in a car and feel safe and comfortable on a daily basis. These guys saved us. Not sure what these guys get paid, but I plea to the dealership to give these guys a raise because they are amazing!

  John Hatcher
a year ago
I never write reviews, so the mere fact I've posted this is testament to my positive experience. I leased a 2022 Jetta GLI from Seaside based on the positive rapport I initially developed with salesperson Karlo Santos over the preceding three months. Karlo is professional, kind, patient, and someone with whom I'd buy from again and again.Karlo had the sales manager, Anthony, run the numbers for me to get me where I needed to be with NO dealer markup. They were the only VW dealership I could source within 100 miles in any direction with no markup based on supply. This is even more exceptional when you consider how rare the GLI was. I could find only three new ones in Northern California at the time.Everything was done virtually in a matter of hours. All I had to do was come in for 30-minutes to review the documents and sign. The Finance Manager, Bumi, went over the paperwork with me. He was an honest straight shooter who didn't try to upsell me on anything, and he made certain I left happy and confident in the deal. He kindly addressed all remaining questions I had. This included via text on his day off, which is unheard of.I was NOT an easy customer, and this dealership was highly accommodating. I would work with any of these three gentlemen and the Seaside brand again in a heartbeat.

  William Brown
a year ago
(Note) When checking on the review, I noticed my comments were deleted so I am repostingI had purchased a 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan from this dealership in July. Rodney Golden was the sales rep who helped me through the process. He was extraordinarily professional, courteous and knowledgeable. He made everything easy, hassle-free, and was extremely understanding of my needs and what would be the best fit. I highly recommend you reach out to him if you are searching for a new/used car. It's a pity that I have to PCS to Georgia before my wife returns from overseas. Otherwise, we would be working with Rodney again.

  Eduardo Espinosa
6 months ago
I went in for the oil change and tire promotion, when I was getting charged the clerk was not aware of the promotion that VW had online and I was charged an installation fee. We called the service manager following business day and he also said we were charged correctly. We were overcharged and the promotion online isn't being honored.

  Keith Brockie (Arroyo Valley HS)
5 months ago
Dan Lopes in the service department was TOP NOTCH. Communication was great. Speed of service was great. And to top it off he was just a really nice guy to work with.

  Chief Of Vikings
3 months ago
I needed a replacement key and it to be programmed. The whole crew, starting with Joshua in parts, and Dan and Frank in service were outstanding !With the exception of a young lady in the parts department who gave me bad advice, a pleasant experience altogether.

  Charles Bradley
5 months ago
All the staff were very nice, even when I did not understand the new signage. The signs can be more informative for VW owners. Scheduling online or even using the website was impossible, it did not work.

  Rodrigo
8 months ago
I was able to change the terms or my lease after I had realized I had made an error calculating the value of my trade in the day after I made the deal.Unfortunately I was so intimidated, that I still fell 2500.00 short in what the trade in for my 2022 Toyota Hybrid was worth. The Dealership netted nearly 4000.00 on the deal. I spoke to the sales Manager recently, and he assured my that I had gotten a great deal on a highly discounted vehicle referring to the ID.4 s 7500.00 rebate. Sad but true.

  Euri Cabiluna
9 months ago
Staff were friendly and accomodating, from the front desk, cashier, parts and management. Made the experience seamless and less waiting time. Gave us price quote so we know ahead of time what we're looking into without surprises. Overall great experience, we'll see you next service!

  Michelle Dyslin
3 years ago
I love my new Atlas, thanks CJ!I went to test drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee and met CJ on the lot ... he was really easy going - he let me take it on a solo test drive to really experience the car myself. I liked the JGC, but wasn t in love - he asked about other options I was thinking about like VW Atlas. We walked across the lot to go see what the adjacent dealership had.Even though he mainly works for Jeep, he helped answer questions about the VW Atlas and did research to find answers that he didn t already know - and easily set me up with a test drive on the one I ended up buying; when I got back, he still wasn t too pushy so I felt comfortable to give him a realistic timeline for purchase. I m so glad I got this 2018 Atlas, it s perfect!We stayed in constant communication, he helped make the transaction really easy and stress free - we started paperwork over the phone after business hours and ended up in the dealership again to finish and pickup car within the next dayIt all happened so fast that they did a quick detail on it, but he let me know that I could bring it back for a deep clean.Great guy, he really took care of me and went above and beyond the whole time - and filled up gas in the car before I drove away; 10/10 would recommend CJ to anyone looking to buy a car!

  Leo Villalobos
a year ago
I will never be taking my vehicle to this dealership again for maintenance nor will I recommend it to anyone I know. My car has been in the shop for 6 days now and I still don t know when I ll get it back. The worst of it is the lack of transparency and communication. I took my car in for maintenance in November and the parts were placed on order. After almost two months of waiting and hearing nothing, I called for an update. I was told the parts would be in the following week. One week later no phone call. I again called and was scheduled for repairs a few days later. I was told it would be a one day job. Later that same day I was called and told the parts weren t in, the parts were later foun and later that due to weather, repairs had to be rescheduled. Last week I took the car in again and is where I am at now, with a one day job now on day six. At the end of day two, I called for an update and was told that apparently one part was not ordered with the initial set and that hopefully it could be finished on day 3. It wasn t. On day three I was told it was a bit more complicated than anticipated. I was told I could pick up the car if I needed it because there was no loaner available. On Monday I again called for an update and was unable to get through to anyone. Today I spoke again with the service agent and was told that the shop didn t have the correct tool to finish the job and would receive an update later. We are close to the end of the day and again no update and no loaner car offered. This is an unacceptable way to treat a customer. If the parts weren t all in and the tools weren t all available then that should have been disclosed. It also shouldn t take a customer constantly calling to get any sort of update. I have been able to manage without a car but not without causing issues. There is no way I will recommend this dealer to anyone for anything.

  Sarah Lilly
2 months ago
Seaside service department grossly understaffed. Took them 1.5 months to fix a problem they created on my 2018 Atlas.

  Eric Betancourt
a year ago
I rarely write reviews, but this is important for potential clients of Seaside Volkswagen. All indirects and mud slinging aside, here's my experience with this dealership:I found a lease deal here online, so I showed up and asked for it. I had a trade-in for an agreed ~$20,000. I only put down $6,000 on the lease so I can have a down payment for a future EV or property. They found this unusual but agreed. Once I was with financing, the representative told me the actual value of my trade-in, which he was yelled at for. I sign and get the keys, and the general manager pulls me aside to download the VW app. This is normal, although he was so eager that he reached for my phone.3 weeks pass, and I receive a phone call on Friday from financing. They state that the contract was void and they needed to sign a new one. I call my sister, who works at a dealership, to explain this. Typically, a clerical error only takes 1-2 weeks to fix, so I signed on Monday after a weekend out of town. Before then, I receive many phone calls, where he once says, "If you don't want to sign, just give us back the car."3 more weeks pass, and there is another clerical error, so I call my sister to find me a car on her lot so I can be done with Seaside VW. When I told them I was returning the car, the general manager said, "I want my car today! Or I'm sending someone to pick it up. " I respond, "Can you pick it up in Salinas? It's closer to Seaside than my house." The GM responds, "Bring it here today, or I'm reporting it stolen! "I take it to them, and they have 4 workers, including the GM, inspecting the car. After 3hrs, they brought me the paperwork and my full refund. The whole time, the representative was playing the victim, while he made me drive 2hrs through a storm to return a car on a contract that they couldn't honor and left me on foot with my wife, toddler, and newborn.

  Kevin Lazarcheff
5 months ago
Dan was so helpful in taking care of our daughter and working with the tow truck driver. Great Experience.

  Alissa Healy
a year ago
I scheduled a service appointment specifically with a loaner car only to arrive and find out that there was no car available and a shuttle was the only option. With the shuttle not on property and 6 people waiting, this was disappointing to say the least. Emergency brake light goes on unexpectedly and after reporting this at service was given no feedback. Oil change light is still on although they did an oil change and tire pressure is off one day after pick up.

  Natalie Galvan
5 years ago
I dropped off my vehicle at Seaside Volkswagen with a service provider (name has been covered) with a full tank of gas on 2/11/19 for the EPC light being on. Seaside VW seldom called to keep me informed, I had to be the one calling to see what the status of my vehicle was, and was always given vague responses with no details whatsoever. I was finally able to pick up the vehicle on 3/29/19 on an empty tank of gas. Mileage in was 59,135. Mileage out was 59,797 (photo attached). Upon calling to find out why 600 miles were put on my vehicle, the service provider told me I "should just be happy the vehicle works" because "would I have rather they gave me the vehicle back not working and I would just have to go back"? The service provider could not tell me where the vehicle was road tested/driven, which of the 4 technicians had worked on the vehicle, nothing. I called Corporate Volkswagen on Friday, April 12th to file a complaint. One week later on Friday, April 19th, Corporate Volkswagen followed up to see if Seaside Volkswagen contacted me. I have heard nothing from Seaside Volkswagen since their service provider told me "I should just be happy my car works." Corporate Volkswagen said there was nothing else they could do, my complaint was documented and sent to the owner of Seaside VW, and they informed me that they had documented the fact that Seaside VW never resolved their customer complaint. At this point, I feel taken advantage of. My auto insurance card with my personal information was of course in my glove box and I have no idea who was in my vehicle for 600 miles with access to my information, especially because they will not tell me who was in my car. I feel violated, I feel like the dealership took advantage of my trust in their service and I am now 600 miles closer to my $520 60k service. I feel women should not take their vehicles into this dealership because the male staff there will take advantage of them. I just feel robbed and sick to my stomach, and the fact that they are now choosing to ignore my complaint is an injustice.

  Luke Vivian
a year ago
I am so disappointed. First off, I requested an appointment for an electrical/computer diagnosis. I was told it would cost me $200/hour, which I find to be excessive, but I acquiesced, considering other skilled mechanics had advised me to go to the dealership, as they thought I had a computer problem. When I arrived at the time the advisor chose, I was informed that my vehicle couldn't be serviced that day, and I needed it early the next day, so I wasn't going to leave it. I asked for a new appointment - perhaps earlier in the day - specifically at a time when my vehicle would actually be able to be serviced while I wait. Again, the advisor chose a day and time. That appointment was cancelled by phone barely an hour before its scheduled time. I was able to find a day when I could be without a vehicle (since Seaside Volkswagen is not providing loaners right now), and dropped it off. The next day I got called and told I had rodent wire damage, and furthermore, that a suspected 3 more hours would be required to fully diagnose it. I decided to go see the damage for myself. When I arrived to inspect the vehicle, I was able to see that not only was the damage very easy to locate, but it didn't even require any tools to see, and it could not have taken more than 10 or 15 minutes to discover - $200 charge. I opted not to spend another $600 for something I know another mechanic could do for a lot less. The one saving grace for VW is that the advisor, Sascha, is very knowledgeable, and was able to give me some thorough information, even though I had told him I'd be getting the rest of the work done elsewhere. Avoid bringing your vehicle here if possible.Long-delayed update: someone from season VW contacted me and gave me a refund for the fee - also said that there have been staffing adjustments. I would still recommend proceeding with caution and discernment

  Retired Navy Officer
a year ago
1. It took to long for warranty work, my car 2as in the shop for over a month. 2. When I asked about getting a loaner car, the service attendant laughed and said VW does not do that. So, I left it at that but once I found out that it would take a long time, I again asked about a loaner cat. I was told no before I even finished the question. It was ridiculous, the car was less than 3 months old and they would not even consider giving me a loaner car for warranty work. After more than a week, I spoke to the service manager. He had not heard of the situation. He was able to secure a loaner car for me. You would think that the service attendants would at least ask their boss before flatly refusing a reasonable request.

  Daniele Gozzi
10 months ago
Technicians level of training needs improvement, loaner cars for free its the least VW should provide, Anthony the Service Manager Coordinator was very kind patient and accommodating.

  Kristen Newman
a year ago
I dropped off my car to get an oil change and recall service completed the day before at 4:30pm. I put my key in the drop box as instructed by an sales employee and my appointment was at 7:40am.I call at 12:30 for an update and instead of getting an update they can t locate my appointment or car. They said they would call me back. I wait 30 mins for a call back and nothing. I call again. Wait on hold and finally they find my appointment and car, however the service advisor is unavailable to speak to me and apparently it looks like the car hasn t been worked on at all.It s now 1:30. I m told the advisor will call me. After another 30 mins I call back and ask to speak to the service manager. Then I m told he is out to lunch. Still waiting for either the advisor or manager to call me. I called back again after waiting another hour for someone to call me. I was told my car would be ready in 15 mins. Somehow they were able to get a half day work done in less than half a day. Which makes me wary of what was done and not done.Upon further review of the paperwork given to me.They did not complete the 10k inspection even though I was told it was all done. The brake pads were not inspected per the owners manual this should of been done at this service. Furthermore there is a note on the paperwork that I would be dropping it off the night before. There is no excuse to let me car and 7:40 am appointment sit in the drop box for half a day.I have to return for an ordered part (that I was told about after the fact) but I hope this next visit is short and timely verse the unprofessional service or lack of service rather I received for the oil change/recall/and incomplete inspection.Finally the staff changed. There is a new service advisor whom couldn t believe what had happened to me. I told him I no longer want to work with my assigned service advisor as she continued to falsely tell me parts were ordered however when I came for another appointment I was told by her that she never said that and no parts are here.Finally with the service managers help the issue was found and parts were order for it. One part arrived quickly. The other had no eta for months. Since then we have moved so now it s a whole mess to get the part, however the service manager is doing all he can to make it smooth.

  Tyson Marshall
a year ago
The only reason I didn t give this place one star, is because there s some really good people who work here. But Rodney, Alyssa (I think that s her name) are he absolute worst. This place got me the wrong car, then pretended they didn t know what I was talking about, swapped out the wrong key fob, then charged me for both, and tried to squeeze any dime they could with false claims. If you have to deal w this Volkswagen, stay clear of Rodney.

  Donald Waibel
3 years ago
Dropped my atlas for oil change and issue with sunroof shade not working. That was Wednesday morning and was told they would call later that afternoon once a assessment was made. No call. Thursday no call Friday I called left message . Late that afternoon call back was received and was told problem needed parts and they would arrive on Monday. Tues following week no call .left message for call back .. nothing until I called back on Wednesday and was told needs more parts..problem was bigger that what they originally thought. Again part not expected till Monday/Tuesday. Tuesday again no call. Left several messages. On Thursday service rep I usually deal with called with apologies and said he would look into it. Hour later original rep finally calls to tell me part are not available and would have to wait . Asked about loaner vehicle he said they don't have any. My wife emailed supervisor with some harsh words about service. Next day rep calls back and says they have a loaner for me to use while my atlas was being fixed. Well 3&1/2 weeks at shop to fix sunroof shade. Finally done works great but car was a little dirty from techs hands . I have never had this problem at this dealership prior to this . We own 3 Volkswagen and service all at this place .. they just don't seem to be able to keep staff consistently the same .. always new people. Need better leadership and consistency.

  F R
2 years ago
The service staff were very professional. It was a little hard to get through to them at times, but that was not my main issue. They charged me $1300 to replace a vacuum pump on my breaks. That's $500 for parts, $700 for labor, and $200 just diagnosed the problem. Changing a brake booster pump can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the car. Even if it took 4 hours, at $700 labor that's $175 an hour. I know a business has to make money, but wow! If you need to get work done, do yourself a favor and shop around. Doing that would have saved me $500 dollars.

  Jonny Marsh
2 years ago
UPDATE: After a rocky start VW Seaside came through and we had a great experience with Anthony and Giuseppe purchasing a new ID.4. The car is fantastic and Anthony was extremely knowledgable and able to answer all of my questions. Giuseppe heard our previous issues and made sure that we felt comfortable and well taken care of throughout the process. Paper work was straightforward (thank you Misty) and all prepared beforehand.

  C.E.G.
2 years ago
The cost of labor for any service is extremely high, 3/4 of the bill was labor cost! They also charge $200 for a diagnostic fee and don't waive the diagnosis fee when you decide to stay with them to get the work done. Overall it felt like they were trying to over charge at any chance they could get. I clearly said (and it even said so on my receipt) that I didn't want any oil service done. While doing repairs they charged me and completed a premium oil change with lots of added charges like diesel additive, and apparently a screw!?! That amounted to an extra $100 charge. I am a loyal VW customer and have been since I bought my Jetta TDI in 2014. I will not be returning to this dealership for any future maintenance.

  Seth Thompson
3 years ago
Horrible customer service and quality of work. Cars transmission went out under warranty and had a few issues with Seaside from start to finish. First, the VW dealership pushed us over to the Cadillac dealer to get the car in for repairs, so things became very inconsistent from what the person on the phone told us prior to going in. They then don't offer or provide a loaner car... which usually wouldn't be that big of a deal except that they took over 3 weeks to replace the transmission. THEN after picking up the car, it begins to have similar issues again, so I had to take it to another dealership where they told me that seaside VW's mechanic didn't properly install the transmission.So overall I would avoid this dealership due to the lack of customer service, not even wanting to interact with customers, how slow they take with no concern over providing transportation while they attempt to fix your vehicle, and the lack of quality they have when it comes to actually fixing the vehicle.