Worzey
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 09:02 AM |
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Audi Assist - Muppets
RANT START >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Just returned home from an eventful family holiday in Croatia having driven down in the tintop.
In the first week of the holiday the gearbox died on my Audi A3 DSG and we had to have the car recovered by Audi Assist (RAC) from half way up a
mountian in a National park. The car was taken to a local dealer for repair and we where eventually given a replacement hire car to return to our
house in Croatia some 200 miles north of the garage.
So far so good........
Initial reports from the RAC indicated that it needed a new gearbox. Which costs £5,000 in the UK which came as a bit of a shock!!! Despite the
initial excellent service the RAC then managed to perform terribly and seemed to try very hard to screw up the entire holiday.
RAC told us the car would be ready to collect in 3 days. However, we where in constant contact with the garage (my wife speaks Croatian) who told us
a completely different story. As new parts needed to be ordered it would take 6 days at least. We told the RAC their information was incorrect and
urged them to speak with the garage who also needed to speak with them urgently.
The RAC claimed they where in constant contact with the garage and dismissed my concerns and said they didn't need to contact them again as they
just spoke. I asked them to double check and got a very snotty response! When we later called the garage told us they hadn't been in contact
with the RAC all day.
The following day the garage needed to source UK parts and where waiting on the RAC to speak with them. We gave the RAC the direct phone number and
name of the mechanic and asked them to speak to him ASAP. The RAC did nothing again - never spoke to him! We called again and asked them to pull
their finger out but still nothing - they then failed to contact me back as requested.
As a result, the parts order was missed for a 2 days further delaying the repair. During this time, the RAC failed to keep in contact, failed to
return calls and left us to get on with things ourselves. It cost us a small fortune in phone calls. Only after a few days did the RAC call to say
the the car would take longer to repair then expected (we already knew that!) and they would arrange to fly us home. The downside was they would
only fly one person back to collect the car which would have to be driven 1,500 miles solo back to the UK.
We decided to wait in Croatia.
Finally a few days before our scheduled return home the garage called to say the parts arrived much sooner than expected and the repair was complete!
We raced the 200 miles to collect the car before the garage shut! Hooray!!!!!!
While pulling into the garage car park the RAC called to say they had "just spoken to the garage and the bad news was the car wouldn't be
ready for a further 3 days". Muppets!
Don't they know how to communicate? They claimed to have a local office speaking to the garage in Croatian but they obviously did nothing.
Anyway, the car was collected, fixed, washed and ready to go.
The repair only cost £700 as it wasn't the gearbox as the RAC claimed only the linkage. Croatian Audi labour rates are also a 1/3 of the UK
price which helped.
Now back in the UK and preparing a letter to Audi Assist. If we had listened to the RAC we would have got home 3 days late, missed 3 days work
(I'm self employeed) and incurred additional expense as a result.
I'll use the AA next time!
<<<<<<<< RANT OVER
[Edited on 24-8-2009 by Worzey]
Caterham R400
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sickbag
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 09:07 AM |
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I've been a member of the AA since 1994 and never called them out once (I only buy Mazda) so can't comment on whether they'd have
been any better with your circumstances.
Finally back on the job!
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Jasongray5
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 09:13 AM |
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Total lack of comunication. What a shower of muppets!
How hard can it be?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33261515@N03/sets/72157611049241239/
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BenB
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 10:22 AM |
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I think you'll find european assist is pretty bad with quite a few providers. I know my brother had a terrible time with IIRC Green Flag. Story
was very similar, they also tried to suggest that back-to-home european recovery in the tariff didn't mean that recovering the car back to the
uk was included....
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Danozeman
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 10:46 AM |
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The rac are shite.
Thats who our vans get recovered by at work. We had 1 instance there was a van broken down the in town centre 2 miles from the office. It was
reported to me at half past 4, i couldnt go so the rac were called via our breakdown control. The vehicle was recovered into the yard at quarter to
11 that night!! some 2 miles from where it broke down! 7 hours to get recovered 2 miles!!! and thats a job they are contracted to an hour max
service!
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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mcerd1
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 11:26 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BenB
I think you'll find european assist is pretty bad with quite a few providers......
a mate of mine had quite allot of hassle with the AA and a BMW garage in Switzerland a few months back, mostly the same sort comunication problems,
but he didn't have a anyone to translate for him 
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MikeR
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 12:33 PM |
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I'm with the AA, had to use them a few times in the last 12 years. Faultless service in the UK. Also got a mate who works for them down London
way as a patrol man so get the inside story and ..... i'm still with them.
Never tried calling them in europe ...... yet. Would love to see what they'd do if i was in the toy car, especially if the manufacture of the
car insisted that it was recovered to the factory.
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tegwin
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 12:39 PM |
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Im with the RAC...
They are fantastic! (in the uk)
They came out to my TVR on a Sunday, managed to find a shop 15 miles away that was A: Open and B: Had a suitable fuel pump ....
Drove me to the shop and back, and then fitted the pump, so well infact that I didnt see the need to take it back off and "fit it
properly"..
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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Cousin Cleotis
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| posted on 24/8/09 at 01:09 PM |
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I broke down in Germany last year in my Lada when the alternator failed. RAC were great organising recovery and a hotel for the night, they said there
were no Lada garages in the area so would have to go to a Bosch sevice centre £££££, no thanks i will find myself an alternator.
The cover was for either a hotel or hire car not both. So we took the hotel for the night and i told them i wanted a hire car in the morning so i can
sort my car out. There was an internet cafe just down the road from the hotel so in the moring we found a Lada service centre 8 miles away in
Stutgart, first RAC bleep up, then we didnt get the hire car until 3pm which meant we couldnt fit the alternator in time to continue that day.
They wouldnt pay for another night in the hotel even though they fucked up not getting the hire car in time, so im glad i emptied the mini bar in the
2 rooms the 3 of us occupied.
Anyway for £99,recovery, storage,hotel for 3, empty minibar and a hire car for a day i think it was i bit of a bargain, even thought they werent
perfect.
Paul
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