Leaking VW / retarded service from VW

[nigidivitch]

Upon arriving back from work this evening I was greeted by a distressed wife (my own I hasten to add), who informed me that she had taken her mk4 golf to the local VW to find out what was causing the car to have a wet passenger foot well (the car, not a euphemism). VW had told her that they had checked all the likely causes and that they couldn’t find any leaks, so in order to fix the problem would have to remove all the seats and carpets (etc…), and that this would cost £262. Fortunately she did not pay this and book the car in then and there.
I thought I’d have a look online to see if anyone else had encountered similar problems, and within 5 minutes I’d discovered that such problems were often caused by blocked drainage from the sunroof. I immediately checked the car and found that water wasn’t draining from the sunroof at all, and upon squeezing the (ahem) draining nipples, all manner of gunk and water was released. I was overjoyed to discover such an easy fix to the problem, but enraged that such an obvious cause of the fault was overlooked/ignored by so-called professionals who were eager to charge a huge amount of money to resolve such an apparently common and easy to resolve problem.
I suppose my question is: what action do you think I should take on this? I’m really cross that such an obvious check was missed out, especially since we were dealing with VW directly, and they should be relatively aware of such issues with their cars.
Oh, and does anyone know where I can find the rear sunroof drainage nipples on a mk4 Golf GT-TDI? I’ve had a look as to where they should be (underneath rear bumper), and can’t find anything?
Thanks!
N

[AlBags]

Sunroof drains often come down inside the rear Q panels and into sill cavities. I shouldn't think it's that.
Shut all the windows and doors, etc. Have someone run a hose around everything.
Couple of things first. Check the heater plenum drain. Can block with leaves, etc.
Check the Heater plenum where any pollen filter fits .. and the cavities there. Some models can leak into interior through heater casing.

[Toureman]

Any normal garage would not look at the water but where the water is coming from, appalling service from VW!

Some cars roof drain holes exit inside the inner wheel arches.

Carefully pour some water into the drain well and look around the car to see where it is dripping out, it should pour out.

[Hopkirk]

I'm not surprised you're cross.

What the hell was she doing taking the car to a VW dealer for a wet carpet?

That's what she's got you for.

I suggest you go on strike, and tell her she can damn well put the bins out herself this week.

[Andyvon]

My Mk2 Golf's sunroof drains via two tubes that exit in the front wheel arches. I keep them clear by running an old clutch cable down them every few months and then checking they are clear with a jug of water.

Another reason footwells collect water can be a perished windscreen seal. The seal can be made watertight again with mastic/bathroom sealant, or by fitting a new seal.

I was horrified last year to find that my local VW dealer's labour charges are £85 per hour + VAT and they charge a minimum two hours labour. Presumably they thought I'm one of those people who knows nothing about cars but I do all the work on my car myself. VW quoted me that labour charge to change my distributor last year. It's only two pinch bolts, fitting a new cap and then resetting the timing. It all took me about 25 minutes (including drinking tea), but VW would have taken over £200 off me for that!