[s-cars] S-CAR-List Digest, Vol 34, Issue 20

[Eric Phillips]

Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2006 15:46:55 -0400
> From: "dave flagg" <dfautohaus at adelphia.net>
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] RS6 going to auction
>
> The only ax I have to grind is the all too often used reference to the
> local
> '"stealer". That is a term term that obviously is used by someone whose
> boss
> charges his customers no more than the employees salary for the employee's
> work; NOT likely.



Dave,

Do you really think that the dealer gets called "stealer" by accident?  Or
that it's an isolated thing with Audi dealers?  Do you think people
pervasively use this term for no reason?

There is a very good reason I will NEVER go to a dealer to buy a car or get
service.  My experiences have been uniformly bad, with only a couple of
bright spots - like parts department managers willing to go the extra mile
for me.  But the shit I've had to endure from dealerships has guaranteed
that I won't go there unless there is no other avenue.  And mainly, that's
for dealer-only parts.

I'm sorry if this reality is hurtful.  It's not meant to be.  But I tell you
this - the shittiest treatment I've ever endured, without a doubt, was when
we were looking to replace my wife's A2 GLI with an Audi sedan of some
stripe.  I had to threaten the sales manager with a call to the police to
get the keys back to that thing.  And here's the strange thing - I was so
pissed off, that I went to Usenet to tell my tale, and found out that this
is a normal tactic!  The "lost key ruse" is what it got called.

For every one story of decent dealer relations, you've got 50 bad ones.  Or
more.

You can complain all you like, but dealers have *earned* their reputation.
The customer may not always be right, but they sure as hell aren't always
wrong.

Eric