Well after a few more days of waiting than I'd hoped, I finally picked up the RS6 today. I drove it back home during rush-hour around the M25 so was taking it steady. Just opened it up once for a few seconds when I was nearly home and the road was clear - feels nice
To be honest, I was beginning to think I was jinxed and would never see the car. First of all there were problems with my building society cheque clearing so I could pay the balance on the car. Smile said they'd never received it, and to give it one more day before reporting it lost/stolen...then it suddenly appears as cleared funds in my account 24 hours later!
Then I went to pick up the car last Saturday. We completed the paperwork, transfered all our luggage and child seat over, then the sales lady started it and noticed a brake fluid level warning light on, so they wanted to get it checked out and wouldn't let me take the car...but being Saturday they didn't have any technicians in. They were very apologetic and lent me their fully loaded S4 avant demonstrator as a courtesy car (which was actually bloody good, and had me questioning whether I really needed the extra space and pace of the RS6).
Anyway, the RS6 was sorted and I took this afternoon off work to go and collect it. I was driving down the A1(M) wondering what else might go wrong to thwart my plans, perhaps a puncture or a breakdown? After about 10 miles along the M25 in fairly heavy traffic, suddenly ahead of me in the overtaking lane is what looks like a piece of metal box section about 2 inches square and 2 feet long, handily positioned width-ways in the lane, just where the left wheels are going to go. There's not much I can do to avoid it - neither the armco, nor the traffic in the middle lane is appealing, and standing on the anchors is probably recipe for a multiple pile-up. So bang-bang, both left tyres get blown out, and a few minutes later I'm on the hard-shoulder waiting for audi road-side assistance before I've even taken ownership of my audi. To the S4's credit it hardly flinched at all when it lost both left tyres, and although I was pissed off that people can be so careless with the condition of their cars/lorries or payloads that such things can drop off onto the motorway, I was at least glad I wasn't sitting in a wrecked S4 waiting for an ambulance.
The recovery truck arrived after about 50 minutes and loaded the S4 onto the back, and I finally made it to Tonbridge Audi about an hour late where my RS6 was waiting freshly cleaned and gleaming. Although I wasn't happy about not being able to pick up the car on Saturday, I have to say that if you judge a dealership by the efforts they make to resolve a problem, I've only got praise for Tonbridge Audi. The S4 avant they lent me was the best and most suitable car they had in stock, and they waived the £250 excess on the insurance after my accident with their car and simply said they hoped they'd get my business again.
I just hope now that my period of owning the car is somewhat less eventful
Gary.
PS: Alan, yes I am Hitchin based, mini meet should definitely be a possibility (at least when we get the next baby out of the way!)
