eddie99
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 06:08 PM |
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Audi Dealership Rant
Ok, Here goes....
The cars an 1999 audi s3. On my way up to Uni in Coventry from Essex last tuesday night/wednesday. I suddenly got really bad wobbling under highish
speed breaking and the car was really unbalanced. Brakes have been going for a while but i hadn't got round to putting on new discs and pads.
Anyway i had arranged a weekend in Bournemouth with some friends to leave Thursday evening. Took it too a local garage, they said new pads and discs
etc.. but couldn't get them in and done in time. So i rung up Audi, knowing it would be expensive but didn't really have a choice if i
wanted to get down to Bournemouth.
Anyway they do the work, rear calliper had jammed as well. They also then want to charge me £50 just to bleed the brakes and put new brake fluid in
but as i was having a new calliper and discs/pads i didn't think i really had a choice.
So i go on Thursday to pick up the car. Firstly the bill comes out, they try to charge me £250 to much. Card was in the machine when i noticed, they
had fiddled around sneakily with the figures. I said no this is this much etc.. etc...
Anyway he tells me to sit down, comes back 40minutes later with the new bill. So i pay it and go out to get my car.
Drive around the block and immediately notice that the brakes are worst than they were before. They definitely hadn't been bled, 50% of the
pedal did nothing, 20% was a squishy air/fluid bit of braking, then the last bit did a bit. So i go back in complain, they say a mechanic will be out
to speak to you.
So the mechanic takes me out, tells me a lot of bullshitting saying they will be spongey when new and saying that he doesn't remember the old
s3's, but didn't think they were ever any good. I turn round and say well it was better when i came in and they needed bleeding etc... He
then said oh it might be the servo needing adjusting.
As i get out of the car, i say well i've got a motorsport business, i race cars and i know when something isn't right. He says is there
any rush. I said yes i've got a ferry at 6pm to go to Le mans.
Suddenly he runs off, i suddenly see lots of people running around and the keys are returned to me through someone else quickly.
The cars fine, and i wasn't going to le mans but it worked. But this was a main dealer Audi in Coventry. Id expect it from some dodgy little
place but the brakes were blatantly not bled and i definitely wont be using them again.
Anyway Rant over!!!!  Sorry for the essay
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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stevebubs
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 06:16 PM |
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Unfortunately they're all pretty much the same...don't know anyone with a good experience of any VW/Audi dealers....
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Stuart_B
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 06:26 PM |
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edd, you do seem to have great luck with audi garages. 
glad it is all sorted
black mk indy, 1.6pinto on cbr600 bike carb's.
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TheGiantTribble
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 06:28 PM |
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I wonder if they thought you were one of Audi's official drivers at Le Mans...
Two days later in a Audi office in Coventry, a reverse charge call to Germany....
*No mine furher, we were just trying to scam another punter as usual, how were we supposed to know. he would be driving an Audi???*
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BigLee
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 06:36 PM |
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All dealers are the same. Volvo tried to sting me £250 for rear (!) pads after 40k. "They are 80% worn" they said. After a quick look I
pointed out that if they were 80% worn, then they were originally 70mm thick!! I now go to a 'proper' garage that charge me half and do a
proper job! Sod the warranty.
I have heard similar of Audi and VW. More to do with them not selling enough cars and needing to make money somewhere.
Good call on the Le Mans comment
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ashg
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 06:47 PM |
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my mate had a similar problem at Toyota the other day. they said his front pads on his 35k mile corolla verso were 80% worn and needed replacing at
£200.
not wanting to pay £200 for a pair of front pads we went to uni part at lunch time and got new pads for £16!
took a wheel off whipped a pad out only to see that it was about 40% worn!
my signum is going into vauxhall for a recall tomorrow. i plan on asking them for a list of things that need attention. I know the car is neigh on
perfect so im looking forward to seeing the print out
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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AndyW
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:12 PM |
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My local Audi dealer could not do more for me, collect car, do everything they say they will, full valet, return and collect courtesy car. I get phone
calls to update me through out the day. Nothing but a pleasure to deal with. Also the receptionist is well fit..........
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macc man
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:15 PM |
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After all this time I would have thoght dealers would have got the message that in order to retain and bring in new business you have to treat people
honestly and fairly. I have always stuck to this ethic in my business and have a loyal client base.
You only rip somebody off once and the word goes out to avoid your business. When will they learn.
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AndyW
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:16 PM |
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Can I just make a little comment here, If you have a bad experience at a main dealer why rant on here about it and then do nothing else. If you dont
make an official complaint to the manufacturer what will ever change. Will the alleged rip off's ever stop? At least if you make an official
complaint something may eventially happen and could stop some one else being ripped off. Or is it a case of Im all right........
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owelly
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:17 PM |
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I don't think it's just Audi dealers! Every garage has to earn a crust but far too many want the rest of the pie and the dish to go with
it.
I started my working life as an apprentice at a Rover dealer. The problem there was the pillocks in the workshops. Lazy blokes who would book out a
service kit but just wipe the oil filter to make it look new. Have a quick look to see if there was any meat left on the pads rather than take off the
wheel, remove the pads, clean, inspect etc.. If challenged, the gaffers would stand by the mechanics but give them a good rollocking behind closed
doors!!
Recently I used a garage recommended to me to service my Rangey. They ripped me off good and proper so I told my recommendee and he said,
"that's odd. They've just overcharged me for work I've had done....!" I'm back to trusting myself to do the
work.....
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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morcus
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:25 PM |
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A guy I work with had simillar promlems with his 98 a3.
Alot of garages are like that, they either assume you know nothing or they know nothing, and often both. As soon as they realise your not buying there
BS they usually lay of but not always. My dad has had all kinds of dealer nonsense including one main dealer that said he needed a new clutch, in an
automatic. He also once failed an MOT on something the garage would fix for £50, said he'd go some where else, check it and it was fine, went
back having done nothing and they passed the car.
In my experience brands with less badge appeal seem to do this less. I get on very well with my Fiat dealer, though my cousin did work there, had the
car service last week and they couldn't have been nicer. And my parents always say they got better service from Kia than any other company, and
are always going on about how inadequate Mercedes are (Who parked there car in a stupid place on there own lot when it was in for repairs and crashed
into it themselves).
My boss got an Audi mostly because of his dealer experience, he had a short list and the other two dealers BMW and MB just weren't intrested, as
soon as they found out it was a company car they couldn't be bothered.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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BigLee
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:29 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by AndyW
Can I just make a little comment here, If you have a bad experience at a main dealer why rant on here about it and then do nothing else. If you dont
make an official complaint to the manufacturer what will ever change. Will the alleged rip off's ever stop? At least if you make an official
complaint something may eventially happen and could stop some one else being ripped off. Or is it a case of Im all right........
Not at all Andy. I raised my complaint with Volvo UK and after severall emails and them promising to look into, it was simply referred back to the
service manager at the dealership I had the complaint about. They took the car in, stripped the back end, measured the pads with vernier calipers, and
apologied for there mistake as they were only 40% worn. "We'll knock a bit off your next service." They only 'look through the
wheel as recommended by Volvo...' Same story I had with Renault when they tried it to me twice in a row. Once bitten....
In an ideal world they would listen to people like us, but in reality there is a queue of others waiting to trust them with there pride and joy. If my
wife was told they were 80% worn, she would ask them to change the pads without hesitation.
I would rather take my money elsewhere. When the figures start to drop, only then do they look at why.
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Guinness
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:29 PM |
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VW main dealer managed to fail to replace a brake light bulb on a (company) Passat once.
They are dual filament stop / tail lights. They managed to force it in the wrong way so one of the four lights at the back looked like you were
braking all the time?
I didn't realise and I admit I didn't check their work when I picked it up (the bulb failure warning light was out).
Mrs Guiness got stopped by the plod one night "ello, ello, ello, why are you proceeding with the fog lights on?" When shown the fog light
switch was off, and that more lights lit up when it was switched on, she got let off the ticket.
That was the end of using main dealers for me.
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DRC INDY 7
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:32 PM |
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most manufactures have a customer service bonus scheme running
if you have a complaint then you should put it too head office of the audi dealers or direct to audi themselfs who i turn will put a call into the
dealer in question
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eddie99
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:44 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by AndyW
Can I just make a little comment here, If you have a bad experience at a main dealer why rant on here about it and then do nothing else. If you dont
make an official complaint to the manufacturer what will ever change. Will the alleged rip off's ever stop? At least if you make an official
complaint something may eventially happen and could stop some one else being ripped off. Or is it a case of Im all right........
Sorry i didn't mention, i do plan on making an official complaint.
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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omega0684
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 07:45 PM |
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mate, just ring audi customer service, complain through your ar$e and get your money back, say that they threatened your life by not bleeding the
breaks properly and that you are going to sue them or some B0ll0cks! just try it on!
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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Stott
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 08:02 PM |
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Don't bother ringing audi/seat/skoda/vw customer service, unless you want to get a stomach ulcer through the stress of it all. If you have to
complain try to keep it in writing thus distancing you from the ineptitude of the telephone operator.
There's only 1 person that cares less than the Audi dealer who tried to rip you off and that's the Audi customer service dept,
you've bought the car, it's old as fork (to them) who cares eh!
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mcerd1
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 08:27 PM |
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my dad had similar issues with landrover when the warrnty was in its last couple of months
in the end he called landrover care (landrovers own customer service, not the dealers) and they very quickly pulled the dealer into line
[Edited on 13/6/2011 by mcerd1]
-
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ReMan
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 08:55 PM |
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" But this was a main dealer Audi in Coventry. Id expect it from some dodgy little place but the brakes were blatantly not bled and i definitely
wont be using them again"
I'd expect this much more from a main dealer or other well advertised tyre type places than most small back st outfits that actually know
anything about cars and dont bite the hand that feeds them
www.plusnine.co.uk
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matt_gsxr
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 09:04 PM |
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Audi in Camberley tried to charge me for 8 litres of oil when they did an oil change on my old A4 (when it was newish), many years ago.
They even had the cheek to dispute it when I questioned it.
Honest mistake or fraud?
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morcus
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| posted on 13/6/11 at 10:06 PM |
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you'd be wasting your time complaining in that situation, if the car was under warranty it might be of use but on a car that old they're
not going to care. As you said to begin with, you wouldn't normally go there anyway so what do they care that your never coming back, I've
had people tell me at work that they're never coming back and thats fine by me because I don't want them back if they feel that way. From
Audi HQ's perspective, imagine how many complaints they get and how many of them are or seem to be Bogus? There is nothing worse than having to
put up with people who are only complaining to try and con you and after a while it hardens you against people complaining to the point that you just
don't care, factor in that very few people will write in and say they had a good experience.
If you do complain officially, do it in writing, it will help you to vent and you can at least imagine something is being done. Send out copies to
every adress Audi have, send it directly to Wolfsburg to Ferdinand Pierch himself, it might make you feel better.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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thefreak
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| posted on 14/6/11 at 10:31 AM |
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My experience has been exactly the opposite when using Audi main dealers.
Derby Audi, needed a couple of parts, I broke one of the front wiper clips changing them over, ordered a replacement and asked if the parts guy could
fit it as I was in my suit and it was snowing, he was happy to FOC.
Free MOT... used it 3 times now and they've not tried to charge me for anything, car has passed all 3 times. The last one (Saturday morning at
Cheltenham Audi) someone reversed into my car Friday evening and cracked the number plate - instant failure. I called them, they said they'd get
one ordered for the morning. Got there, the car failed on 2 things, the plate and a rear brake light. They put the new plate on and replaced the bulb,
again all FOC.
I'm happy with their service and honesty... maybe I've just been lucky with the 2 I've used.
Yes their parts are a little more expensive, but just get the part numbers for service items and order them from VW, same parts, lower prices
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vinny1275
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| posted on 14/6/11 at 10:37 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BigLee
All dealers are the same. Volvo tried to sting me £250 for rear (!) pads after 40k. "They are 80% worn" they said. After a quick look I
pointed out that if they were 80% worn, then they were originally 70mm thick!!
Same thing happened to me at a VW stealers - I figured out the pads would have been about 4 inches thick when they were new.... needless to say I only
go there for parts now......
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ashg
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| posted on 14/6/11 at 11:22 AM |
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just got the car back from vauxhall Crawley the handbrake mechanism has been replaced foc and feels a lot better now, they put the new software on the
ecu foc and gave me a report saying the car is all fine other than it will need new front tyres soon and a pair of rear pads that i knew about
already. pretty good service and they done all of that in 2 hours.
edit.
glad i didn't sell it and buy an audi or bmw now
[Edited on 14/6/2011 by ashg]
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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thefreak
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| posted on 14/6/11 at 11:48 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ashg
glad i didn't sell it and buy an audi or bmw now
[Edited on 14/6/2011 by ashg]
got one for sale if you wanted 02 A4 Avant TDI. 12 months MOT, 6 months Tax etc etc etc
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