ADVICE PLEASE, AND WHAT A SHOCKER AT MRC

[WRS4]

Ok im after some advice please regarding my heating in the car, before xmas my car had a full inspection at MRC, when i arrived my heating worked perfectly, when i left only the drivers side was blowing hot air? Not blaming anyone but very strange, then when i booked my car in and dropped it off for works after the new year, i did ask that they look into it but they didnt sadly.

So after what i ended up paying at MRC which i will go into in a minute, you will understand why i need to try and fix this issue on a budget because i am now skint, so where would i start first to illiminate this situation and get the passenger side heater blowing hot again???

As for MRC well what can i say? i am not knocking them don't get me wrong, obviously they know there stuff thats why most of us take our cars there but a quoted price can soon get out of control if your not careful.

Originally i took my car in to have a road test and general tune ect as i felt she was running a bit rough, there was a few other little jobs i wanted undertaken too, for this reason i was advised to have a full inspection which i found strange but agreed with, after them finding a number of issues i was quoted £10k i had a look through the quote and knocked off what i thought was works not really required but still ended up with a £7k quote but what could i do? if the works were needed then so be it but remembering this is an old car and im unsure what these cars are worth these days although I'm told they are going up in value????

Anyway once the car was dropped off a week ago, ive just got it back but with a bill of over £10k, don't get me wrong customer service was great and they did keep me informed but obviously not happy with the bill, apparently each job they undertook they found either another issue or something snapped or seized, all in all i ended up with a £10k bill and its hit mr for six in fairness but i guess i have a very good solid car under me now.

Going to need time to get over the shock to my bank account.....

[Adymars]

outrageous. Was it that bad to start with ? MRC are obviously taking advantage of there reputation with our cars but is your car worth £10k more now than it was before you took it to them ??? I doubt it.

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[WRS4]

i will be totally honest, and i dont want to be rude to MRC but i do feel taken for granted yes, and is my car worth an extra 10K? no, but i was in a situation that they had my car in the garage, had already started the works and i just didnt know what to do, but i am seriously gutted, for the works that was actually carried out im shocked at the cost

[Oliver89]

Sorry to hear you’ve had a biggie bill. Surely they must of called you to approve the work before continuing with anything? I have refused to pay in situations like that before. They can’t just assume you will agree to continue or that you can afford it. If they did ask you for approval then I guess it was up to you to make a call. I mean we are talking huge sums of money here.
I just bought my B7 today and have been investigating all specialists within reasonable distance. MRC really have great reputation as the experts but the prices I’ve been quoted from them vs other local specialists is quite substantial. From what I can tell they’re not far off Audi territory. I suppose that’s the idea. They are arguably better experienced with these cars and can cash in on their popularity. As an example Audi want £770 for spark plugs n service, MRC quoted £660, local ex Audi master tech wants £350. I suppose if you can afford the best then that’s what they are there for. Considering the age of the cars there are going to be some seized bolts but would definitely expect a heads up before carrying on. Would be great to know what work they did. Maybe even a breakdown of costs. Just being nosy!

[12th]

It's not reasonable to expect a car's value to increase in line with what you spend on it, really. What needed doing? They are quite complex cars for their age, and there are a few big bills in the pipeline for owners - you may just have been unlucky and that they have all fallen to you in one go. And at least if MRC have done them (and not done them cheaply), they'll have been done as well as possible.

[WRS4]

yes they did call, but i was sort of in a postiion that as the car had been stripped or some works had already began, that i was basically stuck in a corner so to speak,

dont get me wrong they are good at what they do, just that any quotes your given i would take with a pinch of salt. as for works well i didnt even get a list of all the works undertaken in the end? i have since asked for it so we will see, there was so many changes and extras and some things i had to not do to stay around 10k even i have no idea of what exactly was done as it was there 10days.

and yes as 12th said maybe its just bad luck and alot of jobs were required in one go, still a shock to the system lol

Anyway any advice on my heater situation please anyone????

[nw66]

mines going in next month for KW V3 coil overs and anti roll bars now you've got me worried!! but to be fair i had a fair bit of work done on mine a couple of months ago and came to what was quoted! 10k is a kick in the nuts though! off topic how'd you manage 480bhp with said work?

[WRS4]

well funny you say that, the lastest dyno run doesnt show it as 480 anymore? im pretty sure after the stage 2 and other works that the dyno 3 years ago showed 480, i have no clue where that power has gone, now im not sure what benefit the stage 2 actually did a few years on since having it done.

Well fingers crossed your quote stays the same, i guess it also depends on what the type of work or i was bloody unlucky LOL

[nw66]

i got 448bhp stage 2 inlet de flapped catless down pipes without the miltek non res on big improvement was 390bhp when they first put on the dyno, i think everyone knows they aren't anywhere near 420bhp from the factory so when it goes in next month ill get it put on the dyno again! will update when done!

[12th]

I suspect they are the full 420PS at factory gates, but no car stays at 'new' condition forever as a result of wear and tear and in the case of some (such as the B7) carbon deposits.

[nw66]

Na they wasn't the yanks tried to sue Audi for it typical Americans but the fact was they wasn't 420 from factory

[12th]

Surely they would have succeeded if that were the case? Mine was at 406 pre remap and whilst needing de-coking.

[m5killer]

This ain't going to help you but MRC are overrated and way too expensive there's better specialists out there than MRC, they used to be good made their name and now rip people off, you ain't the first and won't be the last I know of many people taking cars there and then coming out with new faults

[Daytona]

Totally agree with the above, used them twice, both times my car left with less clips etc than what it arrived with, oil drain plug barely even hand right, charged me for a part they’d not changed, ignored faults during the ‘health check’ before a remap and made me wait from 8 till 3 whilst carrying out a basic service without one offer of a drink.

[Covkiller]

I always had great service at MRC but they are not cheap, Audi are even more expensive. I found owning a B7 RS4 very costly and spent over £27k whilst I had it.