hesitation

Post by **s4woody** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 4:37 pm

just a small point worth making..before i was a cabbie i worked for vw/audi in sw london as a quality tester..in other words the last person to touch the car before the customer was me..when i was happy that all the work,repairs and paper work was ok then i would sign it off so the customer could have there car..firstly andy check that they have testers..if they do get his/her name and request them there at any meetings u have..secondly if no testers are involved then find out why the tech gave the ok for the car to be released back to u..i,ve been there and i no the trix stealers try un pull..there not all bad but it only takes 1 bad apple..good luck..

Post by **andy123** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:19 pm

right, just got off the phone to the audi garage service manager. Hes basically saying that ill have to pay for the turbos and he will do the labour for £20 an hour. Im still lokking at a grand and even then ive got a feeling that the original fault wont be sorted. I dont know what to do now! hes saying as they only drove the car a couple of hundred yards down the road before the turbo failed that it isnt his problem. My point of view is that the car has been into Audi 3 times and each time has been released back to me (one time with me being told the problem had been fixed) and that if they had diagnosed and sorted the fault then the turbo wouldnt have failed. He even said that i should just come and pick the car up?! and was basically washing his hands of it. Im so annoyed. I really feel like dragging these lot to court and knocking the back out of them.. What should i do? I wouldnt normally be that bothered about something like this happening but seeing as i just found out im buying a house in a couple of months i cant afford to waste money on someone elses error. He even said "with all due respect if you cant afford this type of car why did you by it in the first place". that last comment really boiled my p*ss. Can someone please help me in some way shape or form!As this has just been a headache from begining to end. Where would i stand in court with something like this? Helllp!!!! (and thanks in advance)

Post by **andy123** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:22 pm

and wheres the cheapes place to get a pair of K04/K03 hybrids?

Post by **CliveH** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:34 pm

Andy,

I can understand you're really pi**ed off with this, but before you start looking for new turbos, you should consider how you deal with the dealer. Have you followed the advice given by others (above)?

It looks to me as if you're going no where with the dealer by talking to them reasonably, then you will have to resort to writing. I hope you have all the relevant evidence. Make notes of all the telephone calls and meetings you've had, while they're fresh in your mind, if you havent already done so. Make sure you include who you spoke, time (approx), date.

The starting point is to summarise the facts in a draft letter, making it clear why the dealer is responsible. I'm running out of time, so PM me if you need any help.

Cheers,

Post by **tartan_rob** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:41 pm

Not sure about turbo's hybrids. Obvious place for std turbo's is VAGParts, for hybrids, I'd start with MRC or Dialynx.

I haven't read the start of the post but surely you drive into Audi with a problem, either you pay them to fix it (if appropriate) or you drive the car out without a fix, but they surely cannot give you back the car and have you drive it with a problem that was not there in the first place......

Why not throw it back at them. Tell them you are not touching the car until they have fixed it. And their offer does not come close. You are engaging Trading Std's and taking legal advice. It will bother them more that you are unwilling to touch the car and if your dealer is anything like mine, they will not want a car lying around as space is at a premium.

Post by **DavidT** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:53 pm

Like Clive says, the advice in earlier posts is still relevant.

Keeping the status of your issue off the web will help your cause too I suspect.

Post by **andy123** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:29 am

I have never made any specific references to which audi garage i am having difficulty with, and I am hoping that common sense will prevail at some point in this case. Thanks again for your rational comments guys.

Post by **tartan_rob** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:40 am

Just as a matter of interest Andy - what car are you thinking of reverting too?

Post by **mikeyquattro** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:37 am

Andy,
Whats the latest?
Did you get my pm?
Mike

Post by **andy123** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:33 pm

The latest is that ive got to go to the audi garage on thursday to drop off the loan car they gave me whilst the car was meant to be being fixed. Ive then got to arrange a recovery truck (that i will have to pay for) to get the S4 from the audi garage to back home as i dont want to drive it as it may compound the damage thats already been caused. The car was driveable when it went in and i think its a bit insulting that im having to arrange to have it removed after they broke it. They havent offered use of the transporter they have. I spoke to the service manager repeatedly over the course of the past couple of days. He has said initially that he wanted to swap just one of the turbos, and he would charge me £20 an hour for labour (ive recorded the phone calls ive had with him with his knowledge). I said i felt this was bad engineering practice (which he disagreed with saying that audis stance is that if you got the engine out you might as well do both, but it isnt necessary) and said i wanted both turbos to be done at the same time. He never mentioned anything about changing the oil feeds. He said he would do this for £1400 (if the turbos were sourced from a third party, not audi) but even after that he wouldnt gurantee the work done OR gurantee that the original problem with the car was fixed. He also said that he could say £3500 take it or leave it to replace the turbos and that i should be grateful for this offer.

I have also got the number of times the car has been in wrong. Its actually been in a total of 4 TIMES. I said that I would be willing to pay towards the damage if he would gurantee me that the car would be returned to me in working order, and he wouldnt offer any gurantees on that.
Ive been in touch with trading standards in the meantime and have had a letter prepared that I will be delivering on thursday to the MD of the audi centre basically asking for one final time that they put right the damage they have caused whilst "test driving" the car. The people at trading standards feel that i have a strong case, especially seeing as the car has been in 4 times with no resolution, and that such an obvious thing as a split in the TBB has been overlooked. Also, the fact that on my second visit they said the car had been fixed and was signed off as being fixed when the same problem was still there suggested incompetence and negligence. The fact that i was told by the audi garage that it was still fine to drive the car is point that has been noted.
All in all, its a very dissapointing state of affairs. Audi Uk are thoroughly disinterested and have said that any problems have to be taken up with the dealership in question, and they are powerless to help or do anything.

Its annoying because i dont cut corners with cars and I thought my car would be in the best possible hands taking it to a proper audi garage.

My next course of action if they choose not to put the car right or respond to the letter im giving them on thursday is to have the car taken to an independent mechanic, and get him to write a report on why the turbos failed and what has been overlooked. I will also get back in touch with trading standards who will progress my case further. In the meantime Ive been in touch with one of my friends that works in advertising (looking at ways of dragging them through the mud in local paper and internet if they dont start playing fair), my solicitor and a couple of other people that may be able to help.

to sum up, when i asked the service manager what he would do in my position ( you take your car to a garage with a slight hesitation, and they return it undriveable) he made his excuses and hung up on me.

Thanks for your concern guys, i just hope no one else gets put in this position.

@ Mikey. Which PM?

@ tartanrob. Dunno yet, ive just fallen out with this car a bit since all this bother with audi started. Ill probably keep it tho once its sorted cause its easily the best all round car ive owned

Post by **Dippy** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:06 pm

Andy, it's sad to hear this. Clearly you can go no further with this dealer. In fact if legal action is on the cards it is best not to.

Your plan to get an independent report (from an Audi specialist) is the right one. Make sure that he/she is prepared to testify if necessary. There was a similar case a while ago with one of the Audisport.net/RS246.com regulars (if I mention gearbox then some of you may remember), and he ended up in the small claims court. An independent report and the events (4 times into the dealer) should give you a very favourable case.

By the way, if the dealer ever stated that they would replace only 1 turbo then it is more evidence of incompetence, as any independent specialist would tell you.

Post by **Nige_RS4** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:31 pm

Andy, I don't envy your position - I had a similar problem a few years ago, but not in the same league as yours and in the end, I got what I wanted. The trouble is, in order to carry out a full diagnosis on the turbos, the engine will have to come out - I would expect you will have to pay for this and try and recover your costs from Audi.

This is further compounded by the fact that it is usual in the industry for the original garage to be allowed the opportunity to fix the problem (based on the independant report) - which means your engine and car will have to be shipped back to the Audi dealer in several bits. You will probably be aware that this claim may take Months to reach a satisfactory conclusion, and I guarantee that the dealer is relying on you wanting to get your car back on the road ASAP and taking the decision to pay for the repairs yourself and then try to claim an amount back from Audi.

I hope you get this resolved amicably. I personally would bite the bullet and take this opportunity to upgrade to K04's and get the car back on the road ASAP.

HTH.

Post by **andy123** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:52 pm

This is further compounded by the fact that it is usual in the industry for the original garage to be allowed the opportunity to fix the problem (based on the independant report) - which means your engine and car will have to be shipped back to the Audi dealer in several bits.

I have recorded the service manager saying he will not do anymore work on the car at all so this may well not apply I think. Either way its going to be a drama. I may put the recordings of the phone calls ive had on the net at somepoint for your amusment

Post by **andy123** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:54 am

The upside of the turbos having to be pulled is that I can start looking at new improved technology that wasnt available when my car was first made. Has anyone tried supercharging yet?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SuperCharger-saxo ... dZViewItem

Vent axias finest!!!

Post by **mikeyquattro** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:01 pm

It might make a bit of a difference on my 1973 VW camper.

I could do with something to help the mildy warm air from the heat exchangers to the dash!!

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