Goodbye S4 and hello dealer cock up !!

[Scotty]

After 5 years ownership I've said goodbye to my B6 S4 AMD stage 3 saloon.

I absolutely loved it to bits but with one 3 year old kid and another on the way, it's time to update the car and go sensible. Additionally I had an issue with the car so don't buy it !! "S4 ETC" (more another time!)

I'd been waiting on delivery of an A4 Avant 2.0T S-line quattro as I was disappointed with what you got on the S4 for the money i.e. engine/brake upgrade (of course) and electic seats but no luxuries....not even a glove box light it seems!!!! To me this made it too expensive to justify. Add in the expected depreciation of S models and it didn't make a lot of sense in my situation.

The track days, the 'ring trips, the "enthusiatic" driving, the European tours and the family mundane stuff have all been handled very well. After all this time I still love the sound of the full Milltek system and if I never own a V8 again then I can always look back at these 5 years with very fond memories.

I'll probably still pop in on here but for now I'm saying goodbye to "S" ownership... even though the new car looks exactly like one!

The good news for your guys is I'll be sticking some mods and stuff in the classifieds section.

I'm getting my kicks from motorbikes and bike trackdays now so I'm buying the car just for road use and not looking for a car to do track/'ring etc. TBH I think I got all the fun I could on track from my S4. I was finding I was looking for more from it than was available i.e. I really need a Caterham!!

Since I don't commute by car I don't rack up many miles on it and when at home I normally have the family in it so I simply don't get the chance to exploit the power of an S or RS so they'd simply be wasted.

It may be me turning 40 or the imminent arrival of kid #2 that's made me go all sensible. Either way I'm happy with the decision. I hope I don't regret in the long run.

Now for the funny/ cock up thing :

I collected the new Avant and due to the sales guy running late and Audi Insurance losing the policy, it was a reasonably quick inspection. The salesman said he'd checked off all the options so I concentrated on the condition of the paint, wheels etc.

On the gentle drive home I knew something was up but it was only when I got home I realised that the badges on the glove box, grill and tail were missing i.e. the ones that should say quattro!!

I looked under the car and the rear wheels had small black plastic blanking plates instead of drive shafts. I quick spin around the block (now less gently than previously) proved that it was a FWD car. I also found that the front and rear parking sensors are missing.

So why's this huge cock up funny??

Well they've just announced the 2010 spec which means the replacement car they order will feature 3G MMI, LED tail lights, new mirrors, start/stop technology on the engine etc etc.

Ultimately they've done me a favour plus I get to drive a brand new car for free for a few months.

I'm missing the sounds of the V8 but not the fuel consumption. I didn't realise cars could go do far between fill up!

[Virdee Autos]

LOL!!!! Funny story or what!

Was yours the B6 with the Porsche Cayenne wheels at one point?

[Scotty]

Nope. Mine had the OEM Avus wheels, then RS6 (5 arm) replicas and finally B7 RS4 replicas. Sold with the RS4 reps so I have the OEMs and the RS6 reps for sale. Plug plug

[Wingnonut]

Scotty,

Saw the OEM Avus wheels posted in ForSale but not the RS6 Reps. Are they still for sale? Would be interested to see some photos.

Cheers.

[Scotty]

I need to give them a wash a take a look at them. I ran out of time this weekend and the diary'svery tight for the next few days or so.

I'll post up once they're ready for sale. I know that the tyres on them are pretty shot.

[no_RS]

How embarrassed was that sales man. I did once hear a similar conversation at a dealer telling a customer that the vehicle had been delivered but didn't have all the paid for options, he also looked very uncomfortable

[HYFR]

audi are such a bunch of muppets eh ! im picking up my S4 cab on Sat, the salesman has sent me an email to confirm the date and in the email he refers to it as an S5 cab ! i'll be very happy if they make that cock up !

[chrissyr32]

Surely someone at the dealership will get the bullet for that one?? Cost the dealer a few quid plus the embarrassment. Clueless you couldnt make it up.. What on earth did they say when you went back?? Loved to be a fly on the wall when the top manager spoke to the salesman... lol

[Scotty]

I've not been back!!!

I chased the dealer for weeks but he was never there or when he was he wouldn't return my emails or calls. It was discuss on Tyresmoke.net and it was pointed out that I shouldn't rush as currently I have a nice new car and it's not costing me anything in depreciation.

I'm therefore setting myself the challenge of holding out and ending up with a 59 reg. Whether I pull it off or not we'll have to see but I've nothing to lose

[chrissyr32]

Wow!! I,d be their like a shot..you will lose all credability in your claim the longer you leave it surely?? Audi will try anything to worm out.. surely they will ask why you havent been back yet??

Brave man IMO.

[Scotty]

There's no claim. The car is rejected.

[Scotty]

I'm therefore setting myself the challenge of holding out and ending up with a 59 reg. Whether I pull it off or not we'll have to see but I've nothing to lose

It took a while but it's now agreed.

It was a simple case of mistyping the order during transfer into the order system. It seems due to the old DOS based system and the long model name, only the q of quattro would show and this was missed during checking. Mistakes happen I guess and I prefer to judge companies on how they resolve these issues.

It'a taken a while since there's been some confusion and some delays (some of the delay was caused by me saying I'd like to get 3G MMI on the replacement car) but I'm glad to report that things are now all underway.

The plan is that I'll keep this current FWD car until September and then collect the new quattro car on a 59 plate.

I'm happy with this at it means I get all the MY2010 benefits including 3G MMI. They keep me mobile and cover the price increase that happened after I placed my order in January and I'll cover the £470 (minus my discount of course ) for the MY2010 spec changes. All seems reasonable and fair to me.

Good on Stansted Audi for getting this resolved in a satisfactory way

Here's my full spec :

Audi 2.0T quattro Executive S-line Avant (211ps)
Aruba Blue Pearl
19" 7-arm double spoke wheels
Dynamic Damper control
Tech Pack (with 3G MMI)
Bang & Olufsen sound system
Full Leather (black)
Adaptive lights
Power tail gate
Folding/dimming Mirrors
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
Parking plus (F & R)
Heated front seats
Storage Pack
Lighting pack
Privacy glass
Rear side blinds
Load area rails
Rear Side Airbags
Reversable load liner and bumper protector

p.s. "Dialogue" - the crappy VW ordering system is being replaced this year. It will mean two weeks of no system at all ! SEAT will be the first to get it. Let's hope it makes ordering easier!

[June2009]

I saw this post so thought I'd punch in my details to post something up. I worked in Audi sales and the Dialog system is indeed DOS based and very slow. A couple of years ago I heard about some dealers getting upgraded to the new Windows based system. The Dialog system was not too easy to use at first and model/variant/engine/trim & options were all selected using the "/" key. I imagine the Windows based system will make things easier as the mouse will be used to point and click boxes instead of scrolling through pages and pages to select your options etc.

S-line cars and basic spec A3s were usually the easiest to order as options purchased were few (A3) and S-line cars meant the trim colour could not be changed from black.

The lack of quattro is one I've heard of before, but not where I was working. I used to double check my orders before handing over to the manager. This would often take time though as going back through your selection would be tedious (in addition to old computers being used!). At least in the above case, the dealer will have a new shape A4 Avant on the forecourt (that hasn't been a demonstrator) that will probably sell easily.

[Scotty]

It'll probably sell easly .... unless my 3 day old baby decides to treat it to partially digested milk!!

p.s. Prior to baby being born the bump in the wife's tummy was apparently to blame for her kerbing a wheel

Any idea how this will work when the car's returned?

[Scotty]

Just to wrap this thread up :

the FWD car I had delivered in March and drove until Sept 1st has gone back to the dealers .... with just 2150 miles on it !!! The wife having a baby meant she couldn't drive for a month before birth and the C-section meant she couldn't drive for 6 weeks after. I commute on my motorbike and hence it was not used a lot....but at least we were kept mobile when we needed it.

I've now collected the replacement car which is perfect apart from it's missing one babdge off the wing.

I told the dealer not to prep it so I only managed to get to detailed the other day. So this is the new car for the next while.

It handles better than my B6 S4 (engine further back, not a V8 lump etc) plus I can now sap between suspension modes which is great. It's strange that I very rarely miss the power but I do miss the noise.


I'm very happy with the end result and glad the dealer cocked up in the first place