[200q20v] 1st trip to dealer(looooooooong)

[Tomsaudi200 at aol.com]

Brett, and all-

Thanks for your response, as incoherent as you said it was, I think you got 
your point across very well. And you are absolutely right, I should ask the 
dealer why the PC Board problem could be related to the stalling. For $600, I 
am owed at least that. All I got on the phone was that the PC board was the 
cause of the bouncing speedo, and the stalling "was likely' related to it. 
Like you said, how it was related was not pursued.

I took my car to the Audi dealer because there was an outstanding factory 
recall that needed to be performed. Although it is on my way to work, and 
they have after hours drop-off, it is a little inconvenient as they do not 
offer any loaner's (yet my boss gets a loaner when he brings his '91 Civic in 
for service), so I need to use my wife's Audi, and she works different hours 
than me, etc etc.

To further compound the problem, the dealer also services VW's as well as 
Audi's, which means more than double the workload of just a stand alone Audi 
dealership. Brett also makes a good point in that I am not driving a new S4, 
TT, A6, etc. I know there is a pecking order, and as awesome a car as the 20v 
200 Quattro may be, it's a 10 year old car.

I have a guy in my hometown who I trust my other Audi, and my MG, but the 
rarity of this  car had me running scared to the dealer. One good thing is 
that any employee, who is on the list, and came forward, works at the dealer 
in question. However, he did not diagnose the problem, but offered to do so. 
When the car comes back in, I am going to insist that he look at the car 
himself. I know I can trust him. 

Unlike most of you guys, I do not work on my own car; instead, I rely on your 
insight to make me a better educated consumer. The suggestions of the list 
more or less fell on deaf ears at the dealer.

I keep my opinion of the dealer at "neutral" right now. I'll see what happens 
when I probe them about how the PC Board is related to the stalling.

But while we're venting, I may as well get this off my chest, as this has 
bothered me to no end. My wife, God bless her, knows how I love my Audi's, 
and for a Valentine's Day gift, wanted to get me a new set of floor mats for 
my car. She went to the dealer herself to order a set. Well, the parts guy 
informed her they were discontinued, and offered her a set of butt-ugly 
rubber mats. Insisting she wanted only Audi mats, he barked back to find 
something aftermarket.

I get the call at work telling me how rude this guy was, and, naturally, she 
being my wife, I am a little upset at being treated so poorly. So, just out 
of curiousity, I call another Audi dealer 10 miles down the road from where I 
work, and they tell me they would be happy to order the mats for me. I call 
the other dealer back, get the guy on the phone who mistreated my wife, and 
all I get was "I am sorry, they must know something I don't".

It scares the crap out of me that two Audi dealers, 20 miles apart, have 
different info. Needless to say, I have a set of brand spanking new floor 
mats that were "apparently" discontinued. At the same time, I am staring at a 
$700 repair bill for what appears to be trivial problems. 

The dealer insists these lists are a bunch of bull, but the bottom line is, 
this is my money we're talking about. That said, I am making the call, I'll 
let you know what comes of it. 

Tom