Suzanne Calling

Since the day I got my Beetle, it had a quirk. When cold, it would 'slam' from first to second gear. Every time I visited a dealer for maintenance (there have been three that have serviced my car), I brought the issue up, explaining it only does it when cold. Several times, I left my car overnight to ensure it was cold when the mechanic would take the car out through the paces. Every time, "failure to duplicate problem" would show up on my repair invoice. Until my car went out of warranty, that is. I've been less than thrilled with the dealership service departments locally. You can say I was spoiled by the VW dealers I went to in Maryland, but I think it may just be dealers in general nowadays. It's more about seeing how much money is on the 'payment due' line than forging a lifetime partnership with a customer. At least that's how it has felt, which is why I only go to a dealer when the mechanic a friend suggested tells me he can't do s...

I want to show you all something. What do you think this is? Yes, it is the interior of my car, specifically, the driver side door. It looks like something's missing, right? Like maybe this?: What I want to know right now: *Why this part broke, when I do 95% of the driving of this car and I don't abuse this item. *How this can happen when I have grip strength in my left that is about 30% less than most people (yes, numerous wrist surgeries and tests of grip strength bear this out) *Why the heck would a part like this would be made of PLASTIC? And the biggie... WHY THE HECK VOLKSWAGEN DOES NOT EVEN OFFER A REPLACEMENT PRODUCT TO REPAIR THIS ITEM, SHOULD IT BREAK! My options are to A. Epoxy the heck out of it and hope it doesn't happen again B. Take a piece of duct tape and fashion a pull tab on the door up by the window C. Roll down the window every time I want to close the door-which would be like, every time I want to actually drive my car D. Pull on the Netting in the...