Very Annoyed at Audi .......

[theblacksurge]

I purchased my car ten months ago from an Audi dealer under the approved used scheme (with 38k miles).
At the time Audi said they would fit four new tyres to the car and do a 40k serivce in addition to all the usual approved used items.

Ever since buying the car I've had lots of problems with it, most of which have so far been rectified under warranty.

I had noticed that the dealer had fitted what I thought was new budget tyres rather than good tyres. But the other day I found out that one of them has a puncture repair plug in it, so at least one wasn't even a new budget tyre, which lowered estimation of Audi further.

The car is due for an oil change, Audi quoted £180 so I decided to do the job myself using genuine parts and using correct torque settings etc. After changing the oil the car sounded noticeably quieter, I was very pleased.
Whilst I had the bonnet up and tools out I decided to have a quick look at the condtion of the air filter (which isn't scheduled for a change for another year). I was very suprised to find it was almost completely clogged. Then I noticed on the one end it had the original Audi part number, 'Made in Germany' and the date of manufacture which was "October 2008".
So either the filter has been sitting on a shelf for three years before being fitted and then clogging up in just ten months, or, it is the original filter that was fitted when the car was built.

What bugs me is that the service history is up to date but it doesn't look as though the car has actualy been serviced since new. This would explain why many of the common problem which should have been sorted out haven't and thus I had to get them done under warranty.

Do you think it's worth complaining to Audi so long after buying the car ?

[Issac Hunt]

I doubt you'd get much in the way of a decent response from them to be honest.

I'd put it down to experience. Change the filter and forget about it and just enjoy your car if you're happy with the rest of it.

[Rick 63]

I doubt you'd get much in the way of a decent response from them to be honest.

I'd put it down to experience. Change the filter and forget about it and just enjoy your car if you're happy with the rest of it.

I totally agree with above.

Rick

[John140]

Pretty typical stuff coming from todays ultra cash-strapped dealers.
Second hand tyres are beyond the pail even so...

I'm not surprised the air filter was still in at 40K though as I had this with my old B7 A4. On the third (56k) service, they STILL left the air filter, so I promptly got across to German and Swedish parts and bought one.

The filter should't be too bad at 40K though, usually just black.

The lack of an oil change since new if true is very worrying, you should be able to check this via the dealer network database (unless this is falsified).

I'm just glad people like this dont work on aircraft !!

[jakerade]

they usually "suck" the oil out through the dipstick these days to save time and removing the undertray. So I guess they either forgot or didnt bother to change the filter.

[jakerade]

a good trick is to write the date on the filter in marker pen or ultra violet if you are sneeky

[jakerade]

I'm just glad people like this dont work on aircraft !!

When i was a kid, my neighbours dad got sucked out through the windscreen of an airliner as someone put the wrong screws in the windscreen.... Perhaps the mechanic works at an audi dealership now

[theblacksurge]

Hi guys, thanks for your replies.

Today, I checked the pollen filter and that too hasn't been changed, not really a problem but it should have been done at least once.

Then I did as John140 suggested and rang the dealer that first serviced the car.
Looking in service book the odd thing is that whereas the Audi dealers stamps are normally a geographic location like say "Chester Audi" or Leeds Audi". The first service stamp is something like (not using real names) "Audi Smiths of Durham" with address and phone number.

Anyway I rang them and the guy said they have no records before two years ago when they changed to becoming a Peugeot dealer, he said that prior to this they were a Citroen dealer. I asked if they had ever been an Audi dealer, he said "no, never".

So I begin having a good look at the stamp in the book and the only thing I can come up with is that "Smiths of Durham" (not real name) have stamped the book and at a later stage somedbody has modified or partially covered a proper Audi stamp and stamped above what was already there to make it look like one stamp.
The font is correct and the rings are in red.

Now if this is the case somebody has been very naughty, also Audi should not have been able to sell this car under their approved used scheme as it didn't have a full dealer history. Clearly the dealer who sold the car has made no attempt to properly service the vehicle either.

The reason people spend more on buying approved used is to avoid exactly this kind of problem. It seems to me that Audi are so hell bent on making money that they are willing to cut corners wherever they can.

[Bratty]

Perhaps your confidence in the Attributes of an Aircraft mechanic vs. Audi mechanic are mis-placed!

I have been "hands-on!" in the aircraft mechanic field since 1981, and have moved to the "Civilian Aircraft" environment for the last five years, and to say I was/am shocked at the levels of incompetence and "lack of integrity" that I am presented with on a day to day basis is mind blowing!! Companies trying to save money sending planes to "CHEAP" authorised (by their countries corrupt Aircraft Authority) employing shizer minimum-trained east european tractor mechanics that are stamped by the (Qualified!) supervisors is possible! Budget Airline= Budget!!!

If you have a genuine concern that your car is not being serviced in accordance with the "AUDI?" servicing plan then "Question It!"

Dunk

[Bratty]

Hi guys, thanks for your replies.

Today, I checked the pollen filter and that too hasn't been changed, not really a problem but it should have been done at least once.

Then I did as John140 suggested and rang the dealer that first serviced the car.
Looking in service book the odd thing is that whereas the Audi dealers stamps are normally a geographic location like say "Chester Audi" or Leeds Audi". The first service stamp is something like (not using real names) "Audi Smiths of Durham" with address and phone number.

Anyway I rang them and the guy said they have no records before two years ago when they changed to becoming a Peugeot dealer, he said that prior to this they were a Citroen dealer. I asked if they had ever been an Audi dealer, he said "no, never".

So I begin having a good look at the stamp in the book and the only thing I can come up with is that "Smiths of Durham" (not real name) have stamped the book and at a later stage somedbody has modified or partially covered a proper Audi stamp and stamped above what was already there to make it look like one stamp.
The font is correct and the rings are in red.

Now if this is the case somebody has been very naughty, also Audi should not have been able to sell this car under their approved used scheme as it didn't have a full dealer history. Clearly the dealer who sold the car has made no attempt to properly service the vehicle either.

The reason people spend more on buying approved used is to avoid exactly this kind of problem. It seems to me that Audi are so hell bent on making money that they are willing to cut corners wherever they can.

Get a lawyer!

Dunk

[jakerade]

slightly worrying....

Anyway, i would send a joint email Audi uk and your dealers principle and complain as thats pretty crap. If you dont get anywhere with Audi UK, PM me and i will send you the top mans email address.

[Pauls898]

I had exactely the same problem with my local Audi Main dealer :-( I took my car in for its second 20,000 mile service, this was free as it was part of the deal I had for buying the car from them. Having got it back I checked the service booklet to find they hadn't ticked the "Change Pollen Filter" box, I rang them for them to say, "Its alright sir we just forgot to tick the box?" Later I thought I wonder? Not knowning where this was I googled for it's location? up behind the passenger air bag, so I took it out and out fell loads of dead flys and black dirt :zx11: as you can imaging I was mad, so called them again, they still insisted everything was fine :zx11: so when I explained I had actually taken it out, then they said that you better bring the car back lol I was livid but they applogised and gave me a free 1L of oil for my trouble! Still not impressed for a high end Audi Main Dealer who are pollite and offer free coffee and TV but there serviceing leaves something to be concerned about??

[jakerade]

well when you think they are buying oil for around £2.50/litre, sucking it out, chucking a £4 oil filter on, ticking a few boxes and giving it a £5 Lithuanian valet I cant quite see where the £300 they quote goes other than leather chairs and coffee....

And then to add insult to injury, you see a nice big poster quoting £100 less if you bring your car in a few months later when its reached 3 yrs old.

[Gee_Hee]

Last service I had at Audi they changed the air filter and charged me a nice big price for a major service... a few weeks later I opened up the air box to find that they had changed the filter, well done Audi, but couldnt ***** to remove the leaves and general **** that was gathered at the bottom of the air box. So I'm sure my brand new air filter would have been 'not so brand new' a few months down the line with all that crap being sucked back up. Took 20 second to vacuum and wipe down the air box... 20 seconds... and they couldnt be ***** to do that, p*** takers!

Isnt it about £80 at Audi to take it in for diagnostics - another p*** take. Ended up taking my Audi down to a VAG specialist (guy used to work at Audi, left and setup his own back road garage), he linked it up to VAGCOM, confirmed there were no errors, no charge. Ended up letting they guy do my MOT instead of Audi as I just lost faith in their 'after' service and pricing

I'm sure a lot more people would go elsewhere if their warranties weren't tied up with Audi's services.

[John140]

When i was a kid, my neighbours dad got sucked out through the windscreen of an airliner as someone put the wrong screws in the windscreen.... Perhaps the mechanic works at an audi dealership now

That would be Captain Tim Lancater of British Airways, sucked out of a BAC 111 cockpit window, and then co-pilot made a successful forced landing at Southampton airport.

Accident due to engineer matching windscreen bolts by eye instead of by part number !!!

Oh and before anyone panics, almost all if not all 'modern' airliners have internally fitted windows which cannot blow out in this way !

[theblacksurge]

I think Audi are relying on the fact that people who take their cars in for service wont be checking to see if the work has been done and to what standard, so if Audi can get away with not fitting a filter it's a few more quid saved. I don't suppose other dealers are much different but I had higher hopes for Audi.

Recently a different dealer offered to replace a blown halogen headlamp (h7) bulb for me, at a cost of £5 for the bulb and £50 fitting :biglaugh: Needless to say I fitted one myself.

Anyway I've contacted Audi and detailed in writing the problems, I'll let you know what they say in return.

[jakerade]

unfortunately the usual response is that they are very sorry, will ring your dealer and then not much more after that. However let them prove us wrong.

[John140]

a good trick is to write the date on the filter in marker pen or ultra violet if you are sneeky
How would you do this, the oil filter is an internal cartridge and not a canister like other cars ? My suggestion would be a blob of paint between the filter housing and the plastic screw on cap...

[jakerade]

good point - i have never looked as I have a service contract still but was thinking from previous cars

[theblacksurge]

Quick update,
It turns out the car has also been involved in some sort of accident, the matter is now being handled by Solicitors.

[jakerade]

that is pretty crap for an "approved car"

[Gee_Hee]

I've been looking around for a 'new' Used Audi, and I've been shocked at the number of cars the dealer are selling which have been resprayed or put on the forecourt with issues that are not easily spotted.

Now Audi may find it more cost effective to respray a panel if there are deep scratches or the panel is a bit tatty, its probably quicker to do that than getting someone to carefully touch it up or pull a dent out.
However I think most of them have been in a light accident, patched back up and then sold to the general public with Audi's 'Approved Used' label all over them, which gives off a false sense that they are faultless, clean models. I've seen an A4 with half a panel resprayed, was difficult to see from most angles but a paint reading confirmed it. I've also seen a A5 10 plate with a complete respray of the rear quarter. I'd say, 1 in 8 of the cars I've seen at Audi have had some 'work' done on them.

I've even seen some being sold with cracks in the bumpers and dodgy refurb jobs on alloys..... all of these being on 2010 or newer plate models. What worries me is that all of this is cosmetic, its anyone's guess what they do with the mechanics of the car :(

I'm glad I know what to look out for because if I didn't then I fear I would pick up a bad example for the same price of a good example.

[jakerade]

I think this is the chipsaway effect. Usually its better if they leave the scratch on the car

[a8 tech]

Ok lets give a little sense to this

Multi point checks are carried out and the technicians report is then left with the sales department to decide which concerns require attention

If the repair's are to much then the car is blocked, so say b7 a4 4 tyres pads and discs all round 3rd or 4th avs.This will be blocked so in general its 2009 as the oldest models with less than 20k on the pitch

With B7 being such dogs then there rarely looked for when the buyer is seeking stock

Older audi models need to much work for used car prep and only older models like Rs4 and older R8 etc will be sort

If the repairs are within the budget then they are carried out and presented on the pitch as no vehicle is allowed on the pitch without the used car check

Paint repairs are often under taken by smart repair and they are used by all manufacturers

Most dealer cars are well within normal manufacturers warranty so any repairs prior to sale or after are undertaken

As with all used cars they are used and your paying the premium for the after sales service and consumer protection

As for filter changes then you need to understand the manufacturers long life service regime for time or distance and additional items

For my own dealer then the wheel refurbs are undertaken by http://www.prestigewheels.co.uk/mobile.html and there spot on

Paint work by http://www.carcosmeticsuk.co.uk/

smart repairs by http://www.chipsaway.co.uk/

also leather retro fits and many other retro fits inhouse

we don't sell ***** and take exception to to anti dealer comments when in most cases its simply not true as audi uk would be all over the dealer for poor service

The models I recall we bought back after selling from the pitch are B7 170 pd for all the various engine issues occurring within a short period of time although the cars were prepared correctly the injector failure could not be foreseen with a 2 hour check of the vehicle and the oil pump failure is a manufacturers defect and can not be checked by a 110 point check

I deal with lots of happy customers and any unhappy customers (that's my job to fix complaints) we always sort there issue and if it is a bag of poo we buy it back or source another as do most audi dealers because audi uk will fry them for poor service

Cars we don't buy back

and examples of complaints I deal with for customer rejection

operator errors like not understanding or researching the vehicle prior to purchase

bluetooth doesn't pair to my xyc phone so you have to buy the car back, honestly this happens

dsg rolls back at junctions (its a manual box) well the salesman said it was auto arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

after realising I cant afford the finance I have lots of different noises

people are people and mistakes happen but as long as there resolved everybody is happy



my sline suspension is to hard

[Ardy]

All interesting stuff. Thanks for the info A8

[a8 tech]

No problem, as most on here know I do not like poor service and work with lots of really good people within Audi dealers
Audi are pushing harder and harder to deliver the best service possible and we are assessed on so many areas and rewarded when it good but also heavily penalised when its not.
People first profit second for me, understanding the complaint from the customer is the biggest problem dealers have.
Always try to speak to the master technician as well as the manger and 99% of the time your issues will be resolved efficiently and professionally

[phatAvant]

my sline suspension is to hard

Really? I think mine is a little floaty and soft like and was expecting it to be better (harder) ;)

[Hippogriff]

People first profit second for me

I like to hear this. I subscribe to this. Of course no company can focus on this solely, unless it can be proven to drive profits (which we all believe it would)... but there are a breed of people in all organisations (call them bean counters, managers with a "cut-first" approach, or what you like) and they simply do not have the insight to understand that happy, satisified, delighted, cared-for customers bring profit. Instead, they prefer to focus on replacing useful widget X with non-useful widget Y (which is 10p lower cost) or cutting lunch breaks from 1 hour to 45 minutes (because who needs more than 45 minutes, and can't you work through lunch anyway?) and introducing targets (of any kind) whereby a job that should take 2 hours to be done properly now has to be done in 1 hour and no-one can do it to the level required. These people, present in all organisations, do not understand things like customer loyalty, initiative, personal responsibility and pride in doing a good job and - worst of all - quality.

There. That is my rant for the day. Not sure who it's really aimed at, but I do feel a lot better.

[theblacksurge]

I like to hear this. I subscribe to this. Of course no company can focus on this solely, unless it can be proven to drive profits (which we all believe it would)... but there are a breed of people in all organisations (call them bean counters, managers with a "cut-first" approach, or what you like) and they simply do not have the insight to understand that happy, satisified, delighted, cared-for customers bring profit. Instead, they prefer to focus on replacing useful widget X with non-useful widget Y (which is 10p lower cost) or cutting lunch breaks from 1 hour to 45 minutes (because who needs more than 45 minutes, and can't you work through lunch anyway?) and introducing targets (of any kind) whereby a job that should take 2 hours to be done properly now has to be done in 1 hour and no-one can do it to the level required. These people, present in all organisations, do not understand things like customer loyalty, initiative, personal responsibility and pride in doing a good job and - worst of all - quality.

There. That is my rant for the day. Not sure who it's really aimed at, but I do feel a lot better.

Spot On ! I have worked with many such people.

[jakerade]

Credit to A8 Tech as its obvious he goes beyond the call of duty to make things right or he wouldnt be circulating here helping us out at night! :)

[ScottyUK]

I don't expect Audi employees to go the extra mile (forum help etc) like A8 Tech does but it's really appreciated when they do.

However I would like some more of his attitude within the dealer network and at Audi.

I've got currently got the situation where I've patiently waited (now 2 years) for software updates and investigations by Audi on my 3G nav only to be told that Germany say it's working as expected.

So Audi are telling me that incorrect instructions from Satnav is how it should be working. It doesn't really back up the notion that good service is a prime target for them.

[jakerade]

I had the same with that stupid rSAP adapter. Still on v1 and completely useless!

[simfin]

All a bit worrying really :(