The form will not allow me to put the estimated cost of AUD $9500 to fix the vehicle as per a quote from VW in Mackay Queensland. I am writing this on behalf of my sister and niece who live in the Whitsundays in Queensland. I am doing some investigation to help my sister who is at breaking point due to this car. It is her only means of transporting her 15 year old daughter Jessi, who is severely disabled and has an electric wheelchair. So she purchased the vehicle as nearly new (to which she is still paying off the loan), and had a wheelchair hoist fitted which the government did assist with under our NDIS scheme. They have been happily enjoying the vehicle, the luxuries of Air Conditioning and great sound system, which is very important in QLD & for a teenager :)

This is however a report of the second of 2 problems which has resulted in catastrophic engine damage to the Van and Jessi has not been able to leave the house for 8-10 weeks. Initially she could attend school being transported in Disabled Taxi’s, but since the COVID 19 situation my sister was reticent to put her in taxi’s, and then the schools have since been shut to flatten the curve. My sister nor her carers have been able to take Jess out for a walk/ride, or to do her art which is the only thing that gives her real joy. Most concerning for me is that if there was a problem at the house my sister would be unable to remove Jessi from the property, she can’t just go and borrow another car!

So back to what happened after the first problem of the fixing the shredded serpentine belt in December 2019 and replacement of “dodgy” pulleys in the beginning of January 2020. The vehicle ran perfectly until 4th March 2020, when my sister had gone to the run an errand and while reversing from the car park the vehicle stalled, she was in the way of several vehicles and attempted to restart the van, it started, she tried to move it and it stalled again. She was given help push the van into a safe area and she awaited a tow truck to return the vehicle to the local European vehicle mechanic to find out why it had happened. When it arrived, she was advised that there was an Amarok there with the same problem. He investigated her van and was advised that the fan belt had shredded again, this time causing much more damage. He spoke to VW Mackay and she was advised to send it down there for them to investigate. She did so at a cost of $440.00 for the transportation on the 9th March.

From here on she rang several times a week, to mostly be given the run around and eventually told that VW Australia would need the owner to make the claim to cover the cost of the rebuild (we have a detailed quote which totals $9500), so she did so on 1st May 2020. On the 11th May she received the rejection saying she should go back to VW Mackay and appeal again.

So I hope you can understand why I have flagged this problem as “really awful”, 8-10 weeks no vehicle and now trying to find $10,000 to fix something that just doesn’t feel right!! My sister is an amazing person and Jessi is an awesome kid, facing difficulties most of us will never have to deal with in our lifetimes, but they do without complaint. I (we) want them to be mobile for doctors appointments, school when it resumes and to just get back to normal, whatever “normal” is in 2020. We as a family are going to do our best to pay for the car to be fixed by the dealership, and insist on a written warranty from them, but there is the worry that it could happen again after the warranty period.

I have placed an enquiry into our Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) in the hope that they can see that this really is a VW parts/design problem as I wonder if there are other complaints for this situation. Not that I wish it on anyone, however, if there are multiple we might be able to have a voice.

I am seeing reports online for other VW vans, and there seems to be issues with the Amarok, not just reported by the local mechanic, but I have read of other issues down here in Melbourne and Sydney. As I say, I wish this on no-one, but if there are more people with this issue I would love to know about it. Thank you for reading this, it is greatly upsetting and I just hope we can get it resolved and it never happens again to them.