Re: Diagnosis needed...

[healey@chester.lerc.nasa.gov (jim healey)]

>
>> From quattro-owner@swiss.ans.net Thu Sep 15 15:03:48 1994
>> From: cmice@mke.ab.com (Christopher Ice x2136)
>
>
snip
>> If anyone has insight into the problem, please let me know.  If I can't solve
>> it, I will take it to someone *other than the dealer*!  ;-)
>> 
>
>What's wrong with taking a car with a problem like this to the dealer?
>A friend of mine had a very strange problem with her 100S that occurred
>only once.  The dealer looked it up in a database Audi has and fixed
>the problem on the first try.  Free-lance mechanics are notorious for
>not knowing what to do with sophisticated systems and they will rarely,
>if ever, admit they don't know anything about them.  
snip snip>
>

I agree that the dealer has the tools for a tricky diagnosis, but I'll bet
half of a dealers mechanics don't even know what a pin out box looks like
let alone how to use it.  Diagnosis is usually time consuming and a dealer
mechanic would rather do a brake job, since he can bill two hours for a 
job that took him one.  Each dealer usually has one mechanic who deals
with the really ornery problems, and you may not get this guy the first two 
times to the dealer.  Still if you can intelligently state your problem on paper
(ie you dumped the fault codes and followed the suggested bentley fix)
the service rep knows you mean business and your car will get assigned to the
right mechanic.

>--------------------------------------------------------------------
>John Greenstreet, Senior Engineer           (jgreenst@motown.ge.com)
>Martin Marietta Government Electronic Systems    Moorestown NJ 08057
>WPI Class of '75, Temple Class of '94
>

good luck

jim h