Re: 5000 Q alignment experience

[quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk (Phil Payne)]

In message <36583999.3AE6C955@vertexmicro.com> Saulius Mykolas writes:

> I went to the dealership because i wanted the aligment
> done correctly and felt that i would receive better service.

Probably your first mistake.  I think the situation across the USA is
much the same as it is here - there are _VERY_ few Audi dealerships
that can do a competent alignment.

Audi's specifications allow a wide tolerance around a quite specific
setup.  The instructions also state, unequivocally, that all possible
efforts should be made to achieve the nominal values.  I forget the
precise German phrase, but it's something like "so genau wie moeglich
anzustreben".

IME _ALL_ the Audi dealerships I have ever used have checked the setup
against the specifications and have declared it "within tolerance".

This is NOT enough.  A poorly set up quattro has only 10% of the
handling that it should have.  If you sit in a quattro, after driving
something else, and don't think "WOW!" within the first hundred yards -
find another alignment shop.

> So here is my question to my fellow Audi devotees. 1. Do you think this
> treatment was fair and should I file a complaint with Audi regarding
> this incident?

Yeah, you should.  It will do little good, and it will do even less good
after January 1 when Len Hunt is in charge - he cares _NOTHING_ for cars
more than 5 years old.

> 2. Can my cars tendency to pull to once be a result of an poor or
> improper wheel alignment?

Only if it's so bad that it's dangerous.

Someone who's never sat in a properly aligned quattro will be completely
ignorant of what the feeling should be like.  I suspect that 90+% of the
quattros on the planet are not aligned to specification.  Certainly I've
had twenty or so here over the last year, and only three were properly
set up - two by Martin Parker and one by Paul Beaurain.

--
 Phil Payne
 Phone: 0385 302803   Fax: 01536 723021
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