Followup on my timing belt failure

[superba]

Hi All,

I can't resist on this one;  Audi's customer service is not, and has not
been, even handed.  My guess is a lack of world wide standards for their
reps and dealers.

HST, if I were on the hook for $1,600 plus not covered by Audi, I would
start a Small Claims action against the dealer and Audi.  In California the
amount covered can go up to $5,000.  Most dealers would settle it right away
for nuisance value.  Nolo Press has good books on Small Claims  if they
apply where you are.

Obviously, I don't know your circumstances and it may not be practical for
you.

BTW, is there one authoritative source on Audi timing belts e.g. when to
change them, etc?

HTH.

Cheers!

Jim Jordan

>  From: quattro-admin at audifans.com [mailto:quattro-admin at audifans.com]On
>  Behalf Of Andrew Duane USG
>  Sent: October 3, 2003 11:28 AM
>  To: Quattro List
>  Subject: Followup on my timing belt failure
>
>  The word from Audi is that they covered 75% of the repair.
>  That left me with about $1600 worth of repairs, plus $500 in
>  towing charges and a cab ride home from where I got stranded.
>
>  I am still awaiting a call from someone at AoA to explain the
>  new policy of only covering 75% of the repair for the poor hapless
>  victims of this failure. It will be an interesting call, as I am
>  livid about their attitude. The attitude from my dealer's service
>  manager was even worse however. He explained *nothing* to me.
>  Just told me I owed $1600 for the repair. Then proceeded to tell
>  me that I was lucky I got anything, since my car was 2000 miles
>  out of warranty (although only 2.5 years old). He wouldn't even
>  discuss a loaner car for a day so I could buy groceries. Nor would
>  he discuss any reimbursement for my towing.
>
>  Given this, I have decided to think long and hard about owning
>  any more Audi products. I have put up with the petty annoyances
>  that we all know about from this list, because at the end of the
>  day, my cars always ran and always got me home. No longer....
>
>  The moral of the story for everyone out there with cars in my
>  age group (2-4 years old, 50K miles) is:
>
>  	CHANGE YOUR TIMING BELT AND WATER PUMP
>  	DO IT NOW.
>  	The mileages in the service book are pure fiction.
>
>  Audis design has exhibited these failures for years. And if Audi
>  doesn't do something about it (other than implementing a new policy
>  to screw their customers who are caught), there will be a class action
>  lawsuit. A suit which I will happily join.
>
>  Andrew L. Duane (JOT-7)			duane at zk3.dec.com
>  HP/Compaq Corporation			Andrew.Duane at compaq.com
>  110 Spit Brook Road			Andrew.Duane at hp.com
>  M/S ZKO3-3/U14
>  Nashua, NH    03062-2698		(603)-884-1294
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