[Biturbos4] Continental Warranty and worn tie rods.

[Power, Sean Austin (UMKC-Student)]

Yes on the tie rod issue.  I just picked up my 01.5 S4 from the local dealership after a routine oil change and noticed that they had replaced the tie rods.  My car only has 38k miles, so I was a bit surprised to see this type of repair (although not unhappy since it was under warranty).  The tech mentioned that this is a common problem with certain VWs and Audis.  Kudos to the dealership for taking the initiative to make this repair.  
 
Now I am only waiting for a new seat frame to arrive (to ostensibly cure the minor driver side seat rocking that occurs from time to time).

________________________________

From: biturbos4-bounces at www.audifans.com on behalf of Lance Fisher
Sent: Wed 9/1/2004 11:27 AM
To: Biturbos4 at audifans.com
Subject: [Biturbos4] Continental Warranty and worn tie rods.



Well, this spring I got nervous about the potential for big repair bills
on my '01 S4 when the factory warranty was about to expire and after a
little research (too little it seems) purchased an aftermarket warranty
extension from Continental.  It covers the car until 100,000 miles and 6
or 7 years (I forget which) and the cost was around $1800.

So far I'm pretty dissatisfied with the policy after two attempted
claims.  In the fine print it says that they will only reimburse for
labor at a rate that THEY determine which is supposed to be a "national"
average and that rate is almost exactly half of what the Audi shop
charges.  Never mind that there isn't a shop in this state that can work
on Audis that charges the "national" average.  So on my first claim (bad
rear wheel bearing), with the $100 per claim deductible they paid a
little less than half the bill.

Today during a 60,000 mile checkup the technician found a leaking seal
on the rear diff ($210) and worn tie rod ends ($470).  Of course neither
of these items are on the list of covered parts so the warranty won't
even pay half this time.

Now if the turbos blow up or some other major problem occurs and
Continental actually covers the repair I might sing a different tune,
but for now I think I would have been much better off going with the
extended warranty program offered by the dealer.

BTW the shop tells me that worn tie rods are quite common at this
mileage, anyone else have the same problem  with their S4?

-lance
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