RE: Parts fraud.

["James A. Desveaux" <desveaux@ucla.edu>]

Ditto to what other listers have added regarding the fraudulent practice of
a dealer supplying non-Audi and substandard parts to customers and charging
Audi prices.

The general area in which I live has numbeous Audi dealers, and I've
discovered that parts and service varies greatly.  One of the parts managers
at Beverly Hills Porsche Audi explained the problem to me this way: After
the 60 minutes fiasco, Audi was desperate to retain dealers.  A lot of
dealers went under or changed to other marques.  Other dealers came into
play during this period, and a lot of them were iffy at best.  Given the
popularity of the newer Audi models, and their sales figures, now is the
time for those of us with bad experiences at Audi dealers, to press the case
to AoA.  Clearly, the weakest part of Audi/VW's system is its dealer and
distribution organization.  That can and should change.  On the other hand,
not every problem with these cars is the fault of a dealer.  But the
experience Bob relates suggests that this dealership is one to avoid at at
costs.  B-H Porsche Audi sells a few things that aren't officially Audi as
well, such as Pentosin 11S in the green cans with red caps.  But they charge
the retail customer $12.20 per qt, as opposed to $21.50 for the Audi stuff
in the white plastic bottle.  They sell aluminum washers for the drain plugs
because aluminum seals as well as copper at much lower torques, and you
don't subsequently need Jesse (the body, or mind) Ventura to remove the
drain plug.

So, Bob, what's the name of this dealership so we can all send flowers?

- Jim