Audi approved - accident damaged

[jdrs1978]

This has to be the worst post ever.

This is the most embarrassing, upsetting, difficult and soul destroying thing I have ever had to write in my life.

After 30+ years of being a VAG fan and running several other models I took the plunge and purchased in my opinion the ultimate marque….an RS4.

After seeing so many sad cars I opted to purchase an Audi approved used car from an Audi main dealer. I admittedly and unashamedly did pay a premium (at the time one of the most expensive RS4s in the country). I was assured from day 1, how genuine the car was, how clean it was, how it was the best RS4 the dealership had ever had and why it was worth every single penny. I was reassured it had been meticulously checked and never been in an accident or damaged and was a straight and honest car. With the only work being done by the dealer being a humble wheel refurbishment.

Sadly everything I was told was a lie.

The car has turned out to be accident damaged and badly repaired, most surprisingly the work was done by the dealership after they took the car in, but farmed out the work to a third party body Shop. Most annoying from day one I was told the car was straight, no paint etc., its only until last week the dealership have admitted ‘work was done’. All this has only come out with the involvement (pressure) from Audi UK.

Where does this leave me now? Basically I have been given a few options unfortunately each will leave me heavily out of pocket. Worst of all I feel Audi are now closing ranks and expecting me to be happy with this. The worst feeling of all is being let down and betrayed by a brand I loved.

Sorry to bore you with such a depressing thread….just needed to do something.

[Timster]

Which Dealer ?
Name and Shame !

Also... how long have you had the car..... you may have the law on your side ?

[P_G]

I would report it to trading standards, tell the dealer you have done so and then reject the car and demand all of your money back at an absolute minimum. To say the car was OEM and perfect when actually damaged is fraudulent and it certainly shouldn't mean you are out of pocket.

[weenie]

Sorry to hear such bad news. Doesnt suprise me with the service I received from my local dealer. They did nothing but lie to me when they damaged my car while it was in for work. Get in contact with consumer rights. Its free advice and they helped me get my problem sorted. Definatley dont settle for anything leaveing you out of pocket.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentc ... /index.htm

[EvilDerboy]

According to trading standards as soon as you realise that the car is not fit for purpose or as described you should return it and demand a refund. In this case the supplying dealer told you at the time that the car had never been involved in an accident and had never had remedial work carried out. You should return it. Not only on the basis that it's not as described but also that the aforementioned remedial work isn't to standard. You can strengthen your case by having another qualified party examine it and give their verdict.

You need to talk to trading standards to find out exactly what your rights are in this case before taking action and also to decide what you want out of the situation. For example if Audi are prepared to put right the poorly done job on the repairs, are you happy to keep the car? Also a lot of this depends on how long you've had the car. The sooner you reject it the stronger your case is.

[adsgreen]

Worth stressing that pretty much every single franchised dealer will use a third party body Shop irrespective of marque.

What is the extent of the work?

Rejecting a car is a long painful business - I've been there and it can drag on for months. My case involved a car that wouldn't physically work and that was bad enough.

[jdrs1978]

Sorry for being deliberately vague, just being cautious as this will probably end up going down the legal route. I am currently talking to trading standards and sending docs as i type. I have had the car since late Feb, to be honest the car has been parked up most of the time. I had my first problems after a few weeks of owning the car, it’s only now the penny has fully dropped.

FYI: The third party repair company is not Audi approved. Worst of all the dealer reassured me by saying the car had gone straight through the MPC (multi point check), now I find out this was not done until the car was repaired and also nearly a week after I had put down a deposit on the car. Surely this is fraud?? As the car was advertised and sold before the MPC, contradictory to the Audi literature regarding used approved cars.

The car has been RAC checked…the report is not very flattering at all, most of the car has been re-sprayed some parts body filled. Quite a few broken parts have been refitted too.

The dealer had offered to buy the car back at just over two thirds of what I paid or repair the car. Where does that leave me though as I will be left with an accident damaged car that I paid top whack for and will no doubt suffer as a consequence when I come to sell the car.

As for Audi UK……they seem to be powerless to do anything. The dealership seem to be pulling the wool over their eyes, telling me one thing and them another. It has got to the point now where Audi UK are advising me to use trading standards and any other legal means. Needless to say I will be getting in touch with Audi Germany tomorrow.

[EvilDerboy]

What is the book price coming in at versus the price the dealer is offering? If there's a gap push for it to be closed. I can also see Audi UK's point of view as this is a used car that has been misrepresented by the dealer. Not really anything to do with the manufacturer. They might slap the dealer on the wrist as it doesn't look great for their "Approved Used" scheme but that's about it.

If I were in your shoes I would look for repairs to be properly done and for them to pay for another RAC (i.e. independent) inspection. You don't mention the extent of the damage but if the car has just been pranged and its only body damage it's not that big a deal. Many brand new cars are even damaged on the way to the dealer. Also when you come to get rid of the car, it's not as if it's a CAT D or anything so sale and part ex value will be unaffected.

The big question is what do you actually want to happen?

[Macdaddy]

I had a simular experience from an Alfa Dealer a few years ago,

I bought the car prior to viewing it from a stock list being assured it would be up to standard or they wouldnt be able to sell it.

Day of collection i was rushing to get to work afterwards so on very limited time, Only the following day did i notice sanding marks along the passenger door which rang alarm bells. On closer inspection i found miss aligned headlight, bumper wrongly aligned, lacquer runs on the rear bumper and rear wing, lots of overspray amongst other things. It appeared the car had had paint across the full front end and along the passenger side and full rear!

I took the car back after a phone call and they agree'd to have their approved bodyshop manager and dealer manager to come along to view my findings.

Needless to say he also agreed the repairs were of a poor standard and concluded the car actually needed the front end removing to re-align the bumper/headlights and that the whole car needed a full window out re-spray.

Alfa's dealer manager said they'd pay for that however i refused as it wasnt upto what i'd expect from an approved car and i'd lost any confidence on the car being safe. I wasnt offered a refund as tbh i didnt go along that route but did get a offered a replacement car which by the time it got sorted was 6 months newer. I'd initially try get them to replace the car.

What has the dealer manager said? Have you had it inspected with him present?

[adsgreen]

Honestly, imthink you are in shaky ground.
You've had the car an awful long time - 6 months is a general rule of thumb. Before this point the dealer has to prove the defects were not there at time of sale whilst after this point it is down to you to prove otherwise,
Now I rejected a car within three weeks and it could hardly work.
Bodywork repair (no mater how bad) doesnt make a car unfit for purpose so rejecting ithis way will be tricky.

How many miles have you put on the car?
How much documentation do you have to support your case?
Did you view the car when making the deposit?

I don't think deposit counts as a sale. I've bought many cars before where I've put a deposit down and had some additional work carried out. The car isn't sold until you pay the outstanding amount - deposit is just an intention to buy and the dealer won't offer it for sale to anybody else.

Sorry to be so negative but as a battle weary journeyman of car rejecting I've seen on face value stronger cases not get such an offer.

Audi DE is a good place to go - I advise making sure the letter/communications are worded very carefully and not emotional.

[victor2vt]

I've seen disgruntled owners do this before

Get a very large plackard made with the wording THIS DEALER SOLD ME THIS "APPROVED" ACCIDENT DAMAGED AUDI"

on Saturday morning go and park your car outside the dealership with your plackard, even if it's their land it will give you long enough to make your point before you are moved on, hopefully even the press will turn up, give them the nod.

ALL BUSINESSES HATE BAD PUBLICITY, so this will grab their attention and get them talking to you.

I wouldn't go back to them for ANY work ever again after they have re imbursed you

NO WAY should they not tell you from the beginning of negotiating on the car you are looking to buy, that it HAS had some accident damage, that is what you expect from the dodgy back street dealers, NOT an Audi official franchised dealer !!

You've tried the gentle approach and you're getting the runaround, over to you

[jdrs1978]

Its starting to dawn on me that I have been stiched up and I can do very little about it. They sold me the car on what I told them I wanted 'pristine car, no accident damage or paint repairs' they knew full well this was not true. Also as far as I was aware you are legally obliged to provide information of any repair when asked, they chose not to and lied when asked.

I fell for the Audi used approved banter....which as it turns outs is worthless....even Audi UK cannot tell me what this standard is..apart from that it is perfectly ok for dealers to sell accident damage cars under this banner also that the car is sold as seen.

What I don’t understand is that Audi UK are well aware that that dealer have lied regarding the repair before and after taking over £30k from me. They are well aware that the dealer carried out the MPC (multi point check) after the car was sold and repaired, in order to make the car appear legit. Audi UK also seem to be getting a poor response from the dealer. Yet Audi UK seem to be quite happy with this and the practice of dealers selling accident damaged cars. Furthermore Audi UK appear to be reluctant to do anything to help me or just plain helpless in this matter.

[MB2]

I am sorry you are in this postion & agree we tend to "buy the seller" in which case we can drop our guard a bit, probably the reason Audi have these lovely premises to reassure everything is above board & legit. When I part-exd one car (VW dealer not an Audi dealer) I had to sign a document car hadn't been in an accident. When I told them it had been in a minor & repaired by VW was told that was OK as could see had been repaired professionally (it had) so I don't think they will let this stand in the way of a sale & then of course the part-ex gets retailed, mine certainly became an "approved used" car although there really was nothing wrong with it.

In your case I think the timing of the MPC is irrelevant unless it specifically states no accident repairs or similar on it, I would focus instead on a) the damage was there prior to your purchase (which they seem to accept), b) the repair is not to a sufficient standard, c) the extent of the damage & d) you have incurred a loss from this.

Assuming this isn't 2 cars welded together etc. & the car was assesed as being suitable to go back onto the road post repair, then like an insurance claim, you should really be put into the position you were in before the loss was incurred - in this case I think rejecting a car 6 months later is pushing it a bit, especially given the depreciation these cars have suffered in the last 6 months.

I think if it were me I would be pushing to have the car repaired by an Audi Approved body Shop, to the standard it would have been before its accident with some sort of goodwill gesture such as a free service or extra warranty from the dealer. I know you feel ripped off, but you need to focus on the best & most realistic settlement for you in the circumstances.

Best of luck !

[adsgreen]

+1 to the above - unfortunately being "right" doesn't mean you get what you should be owed.

What I think you should concentrate now on is getting the best deal you can. You are not going to get 30k back and in my view you'd be very unlikely to win any legal challenge and even if you did it would be long and costly (and you'd be without your car as you'd have to leave it at the dealers).

The key to this matter is the type and extent of the damage. The issue you have is that if the damage was reasonable to check before purchase (irrespective of taking their word on it) then you're not in a position to argue. For example, the classic one is the gap on the front bumper - many rs4's have the bumper removed during their lifespan and generally it's put back badly. However this is obvious from a simple check so you can't do anything about this. Similary this goes for other panel gaps, dents, scuffs, paint work etc.

However if there is internal damage say a bent/damaged suspension arm or chassis deforment then yes, you have a much stronger position as it's not reasonable to inspect this when purchasing.

As far as I am aware there is no legal requirement to disclose any accident damage unless you're talking about an insurance write off (cat c/cat d etc).

The issue I think you have is that the paint repair was done badly and I'm guessing has failed in some way after your purchase. Ths is tricky as it may have looked pristine when bought in feb but starting failing now. The one piece of ammo you have here is that the dealer have confirmed they undertook the work and as such I would expect some guarantee on the quality of work. For example, the dealer have deliberately operated on the car in a manner to void the manufacturers bodywork and paintwork warranty which would still be very much in term. This is not the kind of behaviour you expect from a franchised dealer and as such should be resolved at their cost.

Go to another non-affiliated audi approved dealer and get a quotation for the work. I would then take this back to the dealer as a starting point and then offer to pay a small amount towards the repair. I know it will grate a little but then you have an excellent legal backing should things kick off and also gives you a good negotiating position as you'd be seem to be accommodating. Going in guns blazing won't get you anywhere and this is definately a case of bite your tougne to get the best outcome you can.

I do think a letter to Audi DE and Audi UK is called for pointing out the actions of the dealer being in contary to acceptable francised dealer conduct. Worth pointing out that like it or not, the dealer is the percived face of Audi and how they operate reflects directly on their brand. But only do this after you've got what you can.

[mac4RS]

This sort of thing really annoys me...you buy in good faith from an Audi dealer and this happens.

JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH AUDI!! This is meant to be a premium brand - you might just as well have bought a car from 'any old dodgy dealer down the road'.

I've said this before when I had trouble with my motor - AUDI = a glossy badge run by Fred Carno & Co with some of the dealerships (I say this because some of the sad people that work @ Audi read these posts).

Audi should not be selling any stolen recovered/crashed motors period. I'm sure German dealerships wouldn't.

I would definately be writing to the Audi Board in Germany. From what I know, these matters are brought up @ the board meetings every month. Maybe also try the recently appointed VW UK Group Managing Director Simon Thomas based @ Milton Keynes.

Alternatively...I will give you my support by driving my car to the dealership (how about a 246 meet) in question with some suitable advertisement on it...maybe tie some balloons to my motor (this trade luvs em) with plenty of 'THIS DEALERSHIP SELLS DODGY MOTORS'