Time to break open the piggy bank again...

[Shoppinit]

Mucking Fuppets. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Thanks for testing them for us, at least anyone going down the same road can try to avoid them. Not much consolation for you though

[bam_bam]

I'm going through this with WD at the moment. The main problem is: you're allowed to pick any garage in the country to get work done. They request your garage submit a quote but then WD get their 'partner' garage to quote for the same work. Theirs is always cheaper so WD have the right to refuse if there is financial benefits to using their preferred garage. It just so happens A1 premier is one of these garages, they must be inundated with warranty jobs and they tell me they've done a load of RS6s. They drop the 'box out and leave the engine in situ... It seems they break bits off as they go. That said, it's very hard to beat A1 premier's quote to remove, rebuild and replace an RS6 'box - £2400. However, it could be very easy to question their turn around time and care taken.

[MalcolmSu]

they quoted me "10 working days, possibly sooner", they've now had it 17. I've phoned them dozens of time over that period, there's only ever three people that answer the phone and every time I tell them my name (my surname's Surgenor - not many of those around), they ask which car - I tell them it's the Audi RS6. Always they then ask "and what's the registration"! How many RS6s do they have in just now?! My reg is pretty distinctive also - "nnn SUR" Not easy to forget?

Anyway I'm sure they'll have done a fantastic job and it will come back like new (he added as they still have my car)...

[MalcolmSu]

Latest estimate...... Wednesday (delivered)! Oh, and I phoned them...

[marv8]

Total joke Malcolm, can also feel your pain - as you know mine was in for a long time too but warranty company just paid the garage and let me deal with the follow up when things were not right!
Wonder if WD and A1 know how many rs6 owners are on this site and the message this puts out! Think I may give warrantywise a go but I expect there are the same stories about them!
Fingers crossed the car is back in one piece and delivered to your door soon

Ps did you note the mileage before they picked it up? Would be interested in what sort of "road test" they give it (not trying to make things worse)

[MalcolmSu]

Ps did you note the mileage before they picked it up? Would be interested in what sort of "road test" they give it (not trying to make things worse)

I do have a note, but to be honest this is one occasion when I hope they have taken it out and given it a decent thrash! I don't want it back with a leak or something rattling off. Also the box only failed when it warmed up after 15-20 minutes drive so let's hope they've at least driven it that long!

[calummcculloch]

hi did i see someone telling us that A1 don't take the engine out when they take out the gearbox, ???
if true how???? the turbos are rapped around the gearbox and you can't take the bolts out from the engine!!!! no wonder they break bits off , to me it don't matter how much expertise thay have in transmission if they do not do the extraction and refit properly whats the point. thay also have to set up all the lamba's etc etc etc can they do this ????

sorry Malcolm ( don't want to be profit of dome)

[bam_bam]

Yep. They only remove the 'box. I've called, spoke to the head tech and specifically asked him if after the gearbox was removed, could I have the engine shipped on a pallet to MRC for servicing. The tech said "Oh no, we don't remove the engine, we just drop the 'box out but you're welcome to have the car flat-bedded". I then asked him what the billable hours would be, sucking air through his teeth, he said "It's a pain in the ass, it'll take at least 28hrs". Total cost? "Between £2000 and £2400".
So, at a guess, I'd say removal and re-installation would be 10hrs tops, the rest would be for the actual gearbox rebuild. This means that the most WD are ever willing to pay for an RS6 gearbox repair is £2400, anything more and they invoke their right to refuse on the basis of financial benefits. I don't know about any other gearbox shops but that's pennies and I can't imagine any decent gearbox outfit getting close to £2400 for a trustworthy repair. These guys seem to have a tight relationship with WD. So if you've got an RS6 with a WD policy, you're only real option is A1 Premier or pay for work/product betterment. Bummer.

[HYFR]

Bam ... if the above is the way it lies ... can you not offer to pay the difference to get it done proper ... obv not ideal, but if its the only way?

[bam_bam]

I was waaaay ahead of ya DK and I'd already put that proposal forward to them, it took them 4 days to read my email. The answer is yes but WD waste time and money by now insisting that the 'box be removed, stripped down and then inspected by one of their engineers, instead of just noting that the gearbox is failing due to the typically known symptoms and let you/your garage decide whether to go ahead with a full rebuild or replacement (customer making up the difference if you wouldn't let A1 Premier touch your car). Due to this imposed faffing around, it reduces WD's 'effective' contribution and increases your contribution, whilst obviously wasting shoite-loads of time. However, this situation could be further complicated by WD easily able to perform a back-flip after inspection only to say that the TC is failing, not the gearbox and therefore refuse to authorise a full gearbox rebuild, leaving the customer with just minuscule TC replacement/repair contribution AND a stripped down gearbox to deal with! It's pointless anyways, we all know what's going happen if a new/rebuilt TC is married to an old 'box, the failing/failed TC lockup clutch material would've filled the 'box with crap, meaning, the old 'box is not long for this world, ergo, another claim/rebuild/nose-bleed awaits in 1-2 months time. I just can't see this ending well, and all because I refused to let A1 Premier Transmissions near my car, WD presented me with no other options and I had to fight for the betterment deal AND I was the one to present it to them! If WD somehow pull this out of the fire, then I'll sing their praises, however, currently they've made it impossible do it any way but their inferior A1 way... and that goes completely against their marketing and promise for an uncapped national labour rate and a garage of your choice. Sure you can use an uncapped labour rate, if you want, as long as it's under WD's (unnaturally low) preferred supplier quotation.

Arseclowns. Of. The. Highest. Order.

[HYFR]

have you tried to take it up with someone higher up the chain in WD ?

[bam_bam]

Only one guy deals with me and he seems to think he's a hardarse, If I get time tomorrow, I'll seek clarification on something via his line-manager. I'm writing a letter to the MD of WD but I'm running out of time. I'm just gunna put the car in for inspection on Thursday and deal with it as it happens. I feel bad for Doug and Dave at MRC for having to deal with this crap too.

[HYFR]

i often think when this sort of <beep> happens, someone up the chain doesnt have a clue all this crap is going on ... the hard part is trying to get airtime with them

your experience Bam certainly makes me think twice now about WD

[drybeer]

I feel awful that I said that (in my experience) A1PT were OK...

In truth my customer experience was light years ahead of this.

Sorry Malcolm!

[Shoppinit]

i often think when this sort of <beep> happens, someone up the chain doesnt have a clue all this crap is going on ... the hard part is trying to get airtime with them
Your experience Bam certainly makes me think twice now about WD

I wish that were true. I find that most of the time management employs in its own image and when you manage to get someone further up the food chain, you just get a bigger asshole to deal with.