RS6 Plus transmission rebuild specialist in Midlands??

[RichB888]

ah, as I say the car is up north now but thanks for the transmission names anyway.

Well, new ecu made no difference either, so box and engine are coming out.

(p.s Im shocked to hear Warranty Direct actually paid out for something??!?! Cobalt, I was considering a policy but I read reviews that they wriggle out of all claims. Unless it COMPLETELY breaks)

[Capt Ric]

Credit where its due, Warranty Direct has paid their share of 4 claims, incl DRC & Brake booster. Claims payouts have paid for premium over first 2 years, but nothing has gone wrong for last 15 months, so now they are ahead, but I've had some peace of mind and still got 10 months left.
No complaints from me.

[RichB888]

glad to hear someone wasn't stiffed by them. I was going to take one out until I read what others said.

Anyway, tx place rang me, theyre rebuilding the box and replacing the torque convertor while theyre at it.

So long as its sorted and doesn't need to come again until next time Im happy with that.. just want my car back now (just get me out of this 1.4 polo loan car!! god its painful and dangerously slow)

[RichB888]

Cars back! (sort of)

Well got the phone call that my R6 was ready so I collected it on the 22nd Dec.
The road tax had run out at the end of November and i was going to leave it SORN until new year, but since i couldn't wait to get the car back, (the 1.4 polo loan car was killing me!) and it would be great to have the RS6 back for xmas i re-taxed it online before setting off to Blackpool.

I paid and collected it from Volkservice (the garage I originally bought the car from), not the transmission place that carried out the work.

Bearing in mind all the work Volkservice has carried out for me BEFORE sending it off to the (so called) transmission "specialists", Volks didn't charge me a penny for almost two weeks work which included swapping the gearbox ecu, flush, drain and replace the gearbox fluid and ATF filter and they lent me a loan car for over a month amongst other things. Volks paid the transmission place and then i paid Volks.
£2700 bill which included a new power steering pump which id asked to be replaced at the same time (it had started to make a noise under load so i asked them to replace it while it was in).

As soon I set off for home it was blatantly NOT ready. Within about 10miles it started misfiring and juddering.
Bearing in mind Id just retaxed the car, taken the day off work, driven 130 odd miles and specified NUMEROUS times to make absolutely sure the car is 100% right and to take their time and do anything the car needs while they have it. This was NOT what I was expecting.

So I rang the transmission place, when I said its misfiring his response was "well is it gearbox ok?", erm yes, but the engine isn't! "we didn't do any work on the engine" he replied!!! Erm no, but you took it out and refitted it and its was fine when it came in! Again he said "but is the gearbox ok?" (basically meaning unless its a problem with the gearbox he doesn't give a ****). It was pretty obvious from this and other comments, their only concern was knocking off for Xmas at the end of today.

So I turned the car round and headed back to Volks, who had two coilpacks on on-route just in case ready for when I arrived. Quick diag of ecu confirmed it was indeed coilpacks, so they replaced them, again not charging me anything for it.
On returning to Volks I also noticed my driver side electric seat adjustment switch had vanished? When Volks questioned the transmission place about it they said "it was already missing when the car arrived"?? Volks again, said they would sort it for me, (even though it was the tranmissions places fault!).
As it later transpired, the switch was in the box of bits the transmission place had put in the passenger footwell, which included various oily bits, the old power steering pump and an O2 sensor, AND my seat switch, which they earlier claimed was missing when my car arrived??
The switch couldn't easily be refitted, a new one was over £120. So they tried plastic welding the switch back in place, which also meant removing the seat and taking it apart first. It sort of works but its notchy and also loose, feels like its about to fall off.

Volks and i took it for a quick test drive to make sure it was ok before i set off home (id mentioned i wasn't convinced the gearbox was right either and that it seemed to almost be slipping still?)
Test drive immediately confirmed the misfire was gone, but it was slipping big time as soon as you put the box under decent load.

So having paid £2700, NOT had my gearbox fixed, broken my seat switch, wasted my time taking the day off work, retaxing the car, driving all the way to Blackpool, had my coilpacks damaged, we couldn't see much point in returning it to the transmission place, especially as they clearly didn't give a stuff and were not only incompetent but proven liars too. The car would only sit outside somewhere in their yard until new year anyway (they were closing on the 23rd until 2nd Jan) it was probably best to take the car home and return it in the new year.
At least the engine misfire was sorted now, and gearbox was ok driven gently.

It seemed ok on the trip home sat at 70mph, driven steady, no slippage, but i had a niggling feeling something still wasn't quite right with the engine, as I pulled off the motorway back in Birmingham it began to splutter badly again, this time worse than before. The check engine light came on, it felt like as least another 2 coilpacks had failed. Luckily I only had a few more miles to go so got home ok. It was clear from the 8 MPG the car had done on that trip the ignition circuit was not right at all.

As soon as i got home I rang the transmission "experts" to tell them it was undrveable and also slipping. "That's impossible" they claimed! He also said not to drive the car as it would destroy the clutchpacks. This was about 2:30pm. Apparently the 'boss' was out but would ring me immediately when he returns.
4:30pm arrived, what a surprise, still NO CALL FROM THE BOSS. (not give a **** much?).
So I rang them, and it was the boss who answered!

Exactly the same couldn't give a stuff attitude from the start, not even the slightest hint of an apology or even recognition of their failure to fix it or the additional things they broke or the expense they had caused me.
I said i want the car collecting and a hire car provided. He said I was not the customer and its not their problem or responsibility to collect the car, their contract was with Volks who brought the car in to them. When I mentioned his guy had said earlier not to drive the car the "boss" just said it 'should' be fine to drive it back to them because I had said the car seemed ok on the motorway at a steady speed and that it wasn't until closer to home the problems go worse. When I asked him to specifically say he will take responsibility for any damage caused by driving it all the way back to Blackpool he just kept saying that I had said it seemed ok on the motorway. When I stated I worked in I.T and that HE was the supposed transmission specialist and that it was for HIM to tell me whether it was ok to drive he wouldn't. Nor would he agree to recover the car even though they said it was fixed.
He kept going on about how my car had been fine on a 20 mile road test, when i asked whether they actually put the car under load during the test he spouted nonsense about not wanting his workers to lose their license??! You cant rebuild a box for a 480bhp RS6 that came in with slipping issues and not put it under load before charging £2700 and claiming its now fixed!!
Another choice saying he kept using when i complained about the lack of care and competence shown to my car was, he didn't care if the car was a prestige one costing thouasands or just an ordinary one costing £50. I think the truth is THEY JUST DONT CARE period.

This is the transmission place that had worked on this car TWICE in it service history, including a new torque convertor less than 2 years ago. On my invoice it shows another new torque convertor has been fitted this time, When I asked him why that was given they replaced it quite recently he said, the ATF filter had split contaminating the torque convertor.
How could the ATF filter have split?? Volks replaced it already BEFORE it was even sent to these guys, it was BRAND NEW!! at MOST that ATF had done 20 miles!

On the subject of the switch they snapped off and just chucked back in the box of parts and lied about, he just kept saying he couldn't comment and would have to speak to the lads when they come back in the new year. Again no apology or recognition of responsibility for trashing my car and wasting my time or leaving me without a usable car over the xma period.

After this, i rang Volks and arranged to return the car on the 2nd Jan (and borrow yet another loan car from them).

In addition, Ive since managed to get a full diagnostics done and the car had another engine NINE error codes (o2 sensors, coilpacks, fuel trim). I took photos of the errors and then had the errors cleared. After which the engine drives much better, no warning light on, although i can clearly feel a slight misfire but its not triggering the engine check light.
The exhaust is also blowing now (hasn't been fitted back on correctly)
All four wheels have been damaged (not in the usual place around the rim but the paint chipped off where you put a wheel gun in and also scratches and chips on the spokes where it looks like the were placed face DOWN on a floor maybe and something clearly dropped on one of them??!).
The front bumper also hadn't been refitted quite correctly, which Volks noticed and rectified for me before i left.
The steering also feels odd, really vague and wrongly weighted, its heavy at slow speed and light and high speed?!

So in summary;
My car went in with a slipping gearbox. I paid £2700 in repairs and it came out with...

A slipping gearbox .
Knackered engine (that could now potentially damage the cat, foul the plugs and cause bore wash until fixed properly).
Broken drivers seat switch.
4 damaged alloys.
Gash steering.
Wasted TWO days off work as I will now have to return the car and re-collect it again.
Wasted £150 in fuel.
Wasted at least a months road tax because they claimed it was ready when any idiot could tell it wasn't.
Left without a car over the 2 week Xmas period, unable to go anywhere including to visit family. If they hadn't said it was ready i would have stayed in the polo.
and god knows what else that i just haven't discovered yet.

[Shoppinit]

Jaysus. My p1ss is boiling just reading that. Your wife must have taken a beating that night.

Name and shame, dude. Protect us from these cnuty cowboys.

Makes that place in Brum look positively attractive!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, for me the only thing to do when the gearbox goes south is to get a refurb box direct from ZF and get it fitted, preferably by Unit20 or MRC.

Anyway, I feel your pain. Try to put it behind you for a couple of days. Relax and build up your strength for the imminent battle.

[mikep99]

I feel your pain Rich! Had a few issues with repairs to my car over the last few weeks as well but nothing compared to yourself...
Hope it all gets sorted in the new year pal!
Mike

[RichB888]

Ive been so wound up over xmas, unable to sleep getting angrier and angrier as i keep going over it in my head, unable to speak to these muppets or do anything about it until new year.

I'll not name them while "negotiations" are on going as it will not help matters.

I do have to say a massive thank you to VolksService though, above and beyond with their help, the only reason they got involved was to help me out because id bought it from them originally. and now they've been left out of pocket over it too.

[swannny]

Bloody hell!

Wouldn't it be great if somehow the tables were turned and he got a bit of his own treatment!
I hate knobs like that, these cars are expensive to keep in tip top condition anyway, without idiots like this making things worse.
The volks people sound really good though,

Really hope you get things sorted promptly in the new year, they need to do a lot to make things right.

[RichB888]

To be honest Im not happy about giving them the chance to put it right.
To get so much so wrong, its not a mistake, its incompetence and lack of respect.

I would have simply cancelled the credit card payment and taken it to the place in Brum but I cant because Volks paid the bill and I paid them. I guess I have no choice but to give them ONE chance to put it right.

but it had better come back BETTER than perfect with all the problems compensated for too. Otherwise I will get my refund via trading standards.

[Carlson]

Mate I am sorry to say this but everyone on here said the same thing-
Unit 20 or MRC.

Unit 20 will send a low loader to pick up a car from anywhere at very reasonable rates.

[RichB888]

its all rather academic now, but do either of those places actually do their own transmission work, they would only send it away somewhere surely?
I seem to recall someone (on here I think?) that had recently taken theirs to one of these for a gearbox and was not at all pleased either?
Having never used Unit20 and MRC I wasn't willing to risk 'giving it a try' on something as important as a rebuild right off the bat, so went with Volks who I totally trust and the company theyd used previously for transmission work.

Despite the likely additional hassle and expense I (RIGHTLY) trusted Volkservice who owned the car and rebuilt the engine previously, and (WRONGLY) also trusted the transmission place nearby that had worked on this car twice previously in its past.

Perhaps they will rectify it who knows, even if they do, to be honest they've taken the shine off my car now and ruined the enjoyment of owning it for me. Anytime anything happens now ill be thinking 'was that their fault', something else they cocked up?
Once its fixed, probably time to sell up thanks to these t****

[chunky79]

Having never used Unit20 and MRC I wasn't willing to risk 'giving it a try' on something as important as a rebuild

Sorry but this is what forums are for. Other people have used and praised both of these for a reason Why come on here and ask for advise but not use it.
Real <beep> that you've been messed about, BUT you had been told to use either Unit20 or MRC for a reason.
Lesson learned??? Hope so for your sake.
Hope it gets sorted so you can enjoy the car at some point.

[IanH755]

It's a bit late now but for anyone else here's a bit of info -

MRC only fit brand new "direct from Audi" Gearboxes (no rebuilds done or refurbed boxes fitted).

Unit 20 uses Chester Automatics who rebuild all sorts of ZF gearboxes in their workshop. I went with Unit 20 for mine, they drop the engine and box and do a 1 for 1 swap with a ready built RS6 gearbox which Chester Autos keep spare, just for Unit 20. That way an RS expert takes everything apart and refits everything plus you'll get a refurbed box refitted within a week at most (usually 3 days) unless they get uber busy (Unit 20 are only a small business).

AMD have a similar setup to Unit20 but use a different gearbox workshop (don't know which one).

[Carlson]

Hope you get it sorted.

[Shoppinit]

I think Rich has been flamed enough. His reasons for using who he used are valid. It's always easy in retrospect.

I just hope that you can get this sorted with a minimum of fuss and that the bitter taste doesn't linger too long.