Audi or indie ?

[lengster1]

Im overdue 40k stamp in the book and pondering what to do,the car is out of sequence a little after having everything done by MRC when tuned (plugs all filters etc) it had an inbetween oil service by local indie at 39k and a few months ago new front pads hoses and motul brake fluid,im not sure wether indie stamp will put anyone off or hurt its value but loath the attitude of 180 should cover the labour of changing my oil at audi (suppling castrol edge myself) i could get it done for alot less and by a master tech at my indie,are they old enough to not warrant bum rapping rates of main agent? As a potential buyer would it bother you?

[kidyamlo]

Im overdue 40k stamp in the book and pondering what to do,the car is out of sequence a little after having everything done by MRC when tuned (plugs all filters etc) it had an inbetween oil service by local indie at 39k and a few months ago new front pads hoses and motul brake fluid,im not sure wether indie stamp will put anyone off or hurt its value but loath the attitude of 180 should cover the labour of changing my oil at audi (suppling castrol edge myself) i could get it done for alot less and by a master tech at my indie,are they old enough to not warrant bum rapping rates of main agent? As a potential buyer would it bother you?

If it was a reputable indie, it wouldn’t put me off. Probably the opposite in fact.

[PJC]

Audi for the service, Indie for everything else is what I do.

[lengster1]

Yeh thats what im currently doing but 180 labour to change the oil is a bit err steep! Its booked in but its silly money for what it entails,i could almost get this service and next inbetweenie oil change for that!

[PJC]

For the difference in price its probably worth going to Audi.

Hard to swallow the cost though.

[lengster1]

Thats my gut feeling aswell hence its booked in at York audi, but there comes a time when there rates cant be justified on a car of its age and value.Im thinking its perhaps the last time it will go in unless they offer a scheme or discount etc for cars out of warranty

[PJC]

My S3 was serviced up to 5 years at Audi, then went to QST, as Audi Beckenham were useless and were quoting for work which was unnecessary.

[TimDogg]

I've just done this 40k service issue lengster and I went with Audi but provided my own oil. There wasn't much difference in the oil price actually and they quoted my £400 for the service (using there oil - Castrol Edge). So I went with Audi, provided my own oil and paid £270ish I think. They were cheaper than a local independent by about £40. They were good actually. This thread might help:

http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=97668

[F@tBoyF@t]

Personally, I'd say Audi for servicing - my recent 40k service at Yeovil Audi seemed to be a fairly reasonable £416, plus you've got the stamp in the book?
At the same time, all four DRC shockers were replaced under an Audi goodwill scheme - can't see an indy doing that work for me FOC - can you?

I've been back to Yeovil Audi for the MoT last week - no additional work required, plus today I received a warranty from Audi that if the car failed it's next MoT that I was covered for parts to the value of £750 - I wasn't expecting that.

Try getting out of Kwikfit without them telling you that your exhaust & all four shock absorbers - oh and BTW all four tyres need replacing at £250 per pop plus fitting & balancing
?

Having said that if I wanted a new Milltek exhaust, decoke or re-map it would obviously be the indie route. (Probably do the decoke myself though - just dirty work)

These are fine cars & it behoves us to keep them that way.

They cost upwards of £53k when new & this should be borne in mind. It doesn't pay to skimp on servicing?
You cannot run these cars on a shoestring budget.

Some people on this forum refer to the dealers as "stealers" - I have to question why they bought the RS4 in the first instance?

Yes the hourly rate is steep, but what do you do?
Go to your local garage doing you "a favour" at £30 per hour that takes three or four times as long to achieve the same thing as your dealer on £100 per hour who guarantees their work into the bargain.

If you owned a thoroughbred race horse & it needed attention, would you take it to the vet or the village idiot who'd once slept with the vet's wife - at least in his dreams?

I rest my case m'lud.

Ian

"57" AVUS AVANT

[TimDogg]

I believe that the dealers are getting better, their reputation had been quite poor (excluding Camberley) so maybe they are trying to win us back? It's important then that we write about the GOOD service they do as well as the poor so that we all know which ones to use and which to avoid.

[Graeme4130]

Make sure they don't undo any of your mods by maybe resetting the ECU or something
I know it sounds bizarre, but I wouldn't put it past them to do it thinking they're helping

[PetrolDave]

Some people on this forum refer to the dealers as "stealers" - I have to question why they bought the RS4 in the first instance?

It's nothing to do with the car, it's to do with the individual dealer.

You've been lucky with your choice of dealer at Yeovil Audi but not all Audi dealers are that good.

I bought my RS4 new from Camberley Audi and if I still lived near them they would be doing all my servicing and repairs without question. But, since moving down to the Southampton are I have found that not all Audi dealers come even close to the standards of the good ones, such as Camberley Audi, and even dealers within the same group can be good or bad.

The bad ones, and I have personal experience of this, will tell you that your car needs work doing that it blatantly does not (as confirmed by visits to other - trusted - dealers). Saying that, often expensive, work needs doing when it doesn't is just plain dishonest - which is why the term "stealer" is used. It's a term you will see on plenty of other Audi forums, it's not restricted to RS4 owners.

You've been lucky, but some dealers genuinely DO deserve to be called "stealers".

[F@tBoyF@t]

Some people on this forum refer to the dealers as "stealers" - I have to question why they bought the RS4 in the first instance?

It's nothing to do with the car, it's to do with the individual dealer.

You've been lucky with your choice of dealer at Yeovil Audi but not all Audi dealers are that good.

I bought my RS4 new from Camberley Audi and if I still lived near them they would be doing all my servicing and repairs without question. But, since moving down to the Southampton are I have found that not all Audi dealers come even close to the standards of the good ones, such as Camberley Audi, and even dealers within the same group can be good or bad.

The bad ones, and I have personal experience of this, will tell you that your car needs work doing that it blatantly does not (as confirmed by visits to other - trusted - dealers). Saying that, often expensive, work needs doing when it doesn't is just plain dishonest - which is why the term "stealer" is used. It's a term you will see on plenty of other Audi forums, it's not restricted to RS4 owners.

You've been lucky, but some dealers genuinely DO deserve to be called "stealers".

I can only speak as I find, & who am I to question someone with as many posts as PetrolDave, but isn't that what the forum is about - a place to express one's opinion?
BTW, I'm not some apologist for Yeovil Audi, but read the post again - they replaced the DRC system FOC, & BTW - I didn't by that particular car from them in the first instance.
Personally, I think that it's all about the way one approaches these problems?

Now - let's see Southampton to Camberley - less than 50 miles say an hour at most.
I know where I'd be going....?

Ian

"57"AVUS AVANT

[sonny]

Service at Audi.(esp on these cars).

All other work Indie

[PetrolDave]

BTW, I'm not some apologist for Yeovil Audi, but read the post again - they replaced the DRC system FOC, & BTW - I didn't by that particular car from them in the first instance.
Personally, I think that it's all about the way one approaches these problems?

Read my post again, I wasn't in any way implying that you need to apologise for Yeovil Audi and I was commenting positively on the way they treated you.

Do you think I approached Southampton Audi differently from how I approached Camberley Audi? - that's what your reply implies...
And I have only praise for Portsmouth Audi (who replaced my DRC system under the goodwill scheme even though it was the first time I had taken my car to them), but Portsmouth Audi and Southampton Audi are both part of the Harwoods group - hence my comment about group being no guide to quality.

Now - let's see Southampton to Camberley - less than 50 miles say an hour at most.
I know where I'd be going....?

An hour? - in the rush hour, you obviously don't know the M3? Unfortunately some of us have work commitments which mean the "luxury" of a 2 1/2 hour rush hour return trip (twice - once to deliver the car and once to collect it) isn't achievable. If that's a "luxury" you can accept, then good luck to you.