[s-cars] Re: Screwed by Dealer & AOA

[Fred Munro]

Hi Rich;

Sorry to see you are having trouble with your dealer and AOA, but
unfortunately this seems to be a common occurrence when off-warranty Audi
owners run into problems. Many list members went through this a couple years
ago with the UrS fuel line failures. Even though AOA had a recall policy,
they were inconsistent in it's application and many owners had to fight them
to get the lines repaired while others had no problems at all. I'm in Canada
and AOA refused outright to repair my fuel line even though they we
replacing them free in the U.S. I had to go to Transport Canada with a
complaint and documentation (only available because of this list) and get a
recall issued in Canada before I could get the line replaced by Audi. The
upside is that all Canadian UrS owners benefit but AoA's attitude sure
pissed me off.

Audi's marketing strategy appears to be to sell to people who are flush with
cash and will trade the car before the warranty expires. They don't appear
to care too much about the people who keep the car past the warranty or buy
second hand. I suspect this is one reason the cars depreciate so rapidly,
but that's good for us cheapos that only buy second hand and do our own
repairs. It will ultimately kill Audis sales, though, because who wants to
take those kind of losses on a trade-in?

I'm fortunate in that my local dealer has very competent technicians, but
that seems to be a rarity. Audi's are technically complex cars which require
specific training and much more than a basic automotive education to repair.
You'll note that a lot of people on this list do their own repairs and
upgrades. Audi's are a great car if you can do this and don't have to rely
on the dealer network. There is a reason this list has a higher signal to
noise ratio that most others - it's the only way we can keep our cars in
good operating condition at a reasonable cost. As you unfortunately found
out, going to the dealer can damage your car at an unreasonable cost.

I hope things work out for you, Rich. Don't give up - keep hammering away at
AoA and the dealer.

That's my rant for the month.

Fred Munro
'94 S4


-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of David Molk
Sent: December 14, 2002 7:29 PM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] (no subject)


In the continuing saga of my wife's S6 with the dealer destroyed timing
belt, head, etc., I have had a couple of illuminating conversations
with Alicia Chambers of Audi of America. She was quite helpful the
first time around, seeming flabbergasted that the dealer would not work
with us to fix the car in a manner satisfactory to us. Despite AoA's
desire not to get involved in a non warrantee fix, she offered to call
the dealer to have the owner contact me. After about a week, I called
AoA again and was surprised when Alicia Chambers answered again. There
must be some guidance system on the phones, or maybe she is the only
one in customer service! She again offered to call the dealer, and
again expressed surprise.

The third call was most interesting. Again, I got Alicia Chambers just
by dialing in on the 800 number. I was attempting to have AoA send me
the factory "line" on what they recommend as service for a car brought
in after running with a broken timing belt. First she told me they had
no technicians, so I asked how they built the cars. I was then informed
that Audi would not help me, and that I should contact the local
dealer, as this was whom Audi trained and whom they stand behind. I
explained that they are the one who destroyed the motor by using
unauthorized repair methods. Alicia Chambers said Audi would not send
me information, but that my LAWYER should know how to get it. A nice
change from formerly sympathetic Audi Customer service. I asked about
the Dealer's response to AoA and she said the dealer never returned her
calls. My chagrin was showing as I pointed out this is the dealer AoA
wants me to contact for information!
Anyway, DMV and the lawyers all want the repair plan from the Dealer in
writing, which I have thus far been asking for (Certified mail, RRR)
but have not received. I am sure the dealer figures I will eventually
wear down and just have him fix it, to get this behind me. Meanwhile,
with this rather unhelpful AoA factory position, I will be very hard
pressed to purchase another Audi, despite owning two right now. The
cars seem so much better than the producer or the supporter.

Happily cruising the snowy northeast in my diesel Ford f250 with plow
and sander,

Rich Molk

(PS the wife seems to be adjusting to the Volvo V70R AWD wagon (260HP)
with the automatic which she previously spurned--she is wondering if
her left foot will remember its purpose)

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