[200q20v] Re: Toms' 200

[Tomsaudi200 at aol.com]

Neil-

I'm glad you stepped in here, to talk to me, and to the list about this. 
Also, I want to take this opportunity to explain what went on today in 
regards to the problem. Most of the people responded to me privately, but 
their advice and concern is duly appreciated, and the if anything, it shows 
that we look out for each other. 

What I regret is that this has turned into a he said/she said affair. I take 
my advice from the list to make myself a better consumer when I have to make 
a trip to the dealer. This is not an inexpensive car to keep up, so the more 
I know from talking with all of you, the better prepared I am to talk to the 
dealer. Where it gets complicated is when the dealer's service consultant 
takes this as an insult, and dismisses any information provided here as 
hogwash, and I end up getting a lecture. On the other hand, the sentiment 
from the majority of the people who talk to me say not to trust the dealer, 
to raise holy hell with them, and so forth. What I am looking for is some 
kind of middle ground.

I know you did offer to see me personally on your day off, and for that I was 
grateful, and I know you didn't need to do that, and the last place you 
wanted to be was back at the dealer. Unfortunately, I had a conflict of 
schedule that day, and my car was due in that week, so I thought I would let 
the service guy test the system, and trust his results. 

To answer one of your questions, yes, the speedo no longer bounces, but as I 
indicated to the service dept, I was willing to live with that, I just wanted 
the stalling to stop. I know about the TSB you are referring to. I saw it 
posted here, and was reminded on the phone about it. I am fully aware of it, 
and given that, I know that is why they replaced the circuit board, and it is 
why I agreed to have the work done. BUT, on my way home, with another $700 on 
my Mastercard, to have it stall out on the highway really burned me up. I 
think I have a right to feel that way.

My phone call to the service manager left me even more frustrated than ever, 
and I think that was reflected in my e-mail. Today, I decided to give the 
dealer one more chance, but to go over head and talk to the big cheese. I 
ended up with the Audi service general manager. I was told he was the "new 
sheriff in town" and that he knew there was room for improvement, and that he 
wanted this sorted out as badly as I did, and that he would do anything he 
could to make this right by me. When I show up, I am to ask for him, and he 
promised that he is going to make this better.

Bottom line, that's all I wanted to  hear. That they gave a damn they did not 
fix my car, that they were sorry, and that could understand my frustration 
after spending all that money, and that they would do right by me. What needs 
to be understood here is that anyone I've dealt with at the dealer, that this 
is not personal. It's about my car, that I love to the point of distraction, 
and it's about my money, which I work hard for. I simply can't afford to 
throw away few hundred dollars like that. If I was only told yesterday what I 
was told today, I think I would have felt a lot differently. 

On that note, I am going to go to the dealer as planned, deal with the 
general manager, and with any luck, we can solve this problem amicably. He 
seems like a genuinely nice fellow, and it looks like he wants this taken 
care of as quickly and easily as possible.

I thank Neil, and all of you for your advice, but at this point, all I can do 
now is wait and see what happens when I make a return trip. Although I still 
cannot comprehend why they can't give me a %$^%$ loaner car.

Cheers,
Tom