[benb]

Anecdotally it seems like VW has had some dealer culture issue going on for a long time. This stuff gets driven from the top. I had an Acura, Acura (not the dealer, but often in addition to the dealer) was unbelievably proactive about calling owners and looking for any possible detail that the dealership could have screwed up on. And they would hold the dealers feet to the fire over the smallest thing. They wanted everything absolutely perfect. Not sure they do a good job at this anymore of course, that was a long time ago. I used to get free services if I reported something as trivial as incorrect tire pressure being put in my tires by the mechanics. If they actually screwed up a job there was hell to pay. So as a result the service & experience was exceptional. I own a Subaru now, it is not even on the same planet. They mostly do a good job but they don't have a relentless culture of trying to be perfect. I had Fords at one point and they were generally terrible in comparison..

There have been a lot of threads like this complaining about dealer service on this forum over the years.

I live < 1 mile from a VW dealer, only car dealer in our town, they have similar stories if you go read their reviews online.

I doubt it has anything to do with dieselgate, though maybe it's some how related through corporate culture.

VW/Audi Dealers have had a lot to put up with over the years, they have had many design flaw type scandals that caused recalls and TSBs that resulted in lots of relatively new cars needing repairs at the dealer. Lots of interactions with customers that could go wrong.

Who goes to the dealer for tires though? That's just a way to get taken for a ride no matter what kind of car you own. They'll have fewer selections and maximum prices.