Bad day

[chunky79]

Popped back today. They have done 40miles since the new engine. As for the steering they suggested wait a few hundred miles until everything has settled back down then come back and have it re done.

Wait a few hundred miles for everything to settle? Ha, ha, ha. How the hell did you not tear them a new arse exit? Sorry, but that is unacceptable imo. I'd be straight to a reputable alignment garage and send the bill into Audi. There's no way i'd be driving the car like that, my OCD wouldn't handle it, and also the car has been returned to you not fully repaired.
If you're happy with it, fair enough.

[pule333]

As above!! Happy it fixed mate.! But if it's not 100% after all you been through, they be getting an earful. Besides! How the hell osbit going to settle in a few hundred miles? What wheel will magically get straight again??? Don't make sense what they want settling imho.. sounds like another excuse...

[DragonRR]

Popped back today. They have done 40miles since the new engine. As for the steering they suggested wait a few hundred miles until everything has settled back down then come back and have it re done.

If it's more than a few degrees out I would insist they have a go now and then do it again, if needed, a few hundred miles later. However I can't remember the last time I bought a new car and had to have the steering wheel adjusted for centre after it bedded in, I realise that it is slighly different in this case but it still seems a "tad" ridiculous. Why they didn't just say - "very sorry, we'll deal with that immediately" is beyond me, just basic customer service given your recent experience.

[Foxy]

Popped back today. They have done 40miles since the new engine. As for the steering they suggested wait a few hundred miles until everything has settled back down then come back and have it re done.

If it's more than a few degrees out I would insist they have a go now and then do it again, if needed, a few hundred miles later. However I can't remember the last time I bought a new car and had to have the steering wheel adjusted for centre after it bedded in, I realise that it is slighly different in this case but it still seems a "tad" ridiculous. Why they didn't just say - "very sorry, we'll deal with that immediately" is beyond me, just basic customer service given your recent experience.

I don't think setting the wheel straight is a simple job, which may explain their reluctance to do it immediately, seem to remember someone having a nightmare with an RS4 a couple of years ago and I think it was all to do with alignment. I had an engine out job because of a manifold problem with a B5 S4 many years ago, the car never ran properly afterwards and I had lots of issues and after a few months traded it in, I hope the OP has better luck.

[Tadass910]

Do uk Audi technicians sucks? Seems they do...

[Bladerider]

In fairnes to main dealers,

They will never get a rebuild more than a handful of times per year as they're clientele are predominantly <4year old vehicles.

I reckon we see an average of one rebuild a week purely because once the cars get a bit older and have had servicing scrimped on, or are higher price metal depreciated into toe rags budget then theyre much more likely to go pop. Two weeks ago we had an L200 that the owner lent to a co-worker who hadnt driven 4wd before and he accidently put it in low ratio and then drove down the motorway, trying to keep up with traffic and cooked it, this week guy serviced his own VW and the sump plug fell out two days later !!

Main dealers will never see these things, its a shame as they could do with the practice of actually building engines and gearboxes, they are basically just fitters of newly supplied bits.

J.

[skirs6]

Bladerider. You are correct the master tech had never fitted a C 7 engine before. The main issue for me was the time it took. Nearly 3months is beyond a joke. The dealership just kept working on other customers cars rather than just cracking on and finishing mine. Back order parts I was quoted several times.

[Bladerider]

Yep,

Same with my mates RS5, never fitted a new engine before.

They are clueless, and I think the dealerships in general are full of s**t and are used to customers who only know about finance rates and options lists rather than how cars actually work. Case in point - they had the RS5 in and said they couldn't determine why one cylinder was showing low compression - which immediately makes you wonder why they didnt do a leak down test, but hey ho...then they said they suspected a broken valve spring but still wanted £4500 to be signed off to take the lump out and inspect, which despite every argument they were adamant about but also said that Audi UK would cover if there was nothing customer related (which turned out to be true, but is unsettling at the time).

Now thats a rediculous amount to just drop an engine, even the stupidly packaged ballache that Audi call and engine bay. But even ignoring this they dropped the lump, said that it had done a cylinder and suspected an injector tip was at fault.

Thats what boils my pi** - firstly they should have bored scoped the cylinders, which should have revealed all they needed to know if that last statement was true. Secondly I doubt that statement because they had already assured us that they had tested all the injectors which were fine which is why they needed to take the lump out in the first place. Their either incompetent, liars, incompetent liars, or just lazy twats who havent done a thing but just let the car rot in the corner of the yard while they waited for Audi Germany to decide what to do.

Even when they did get the lump - just like your car - they took 7 weeks to fit it, which for a main dealer with the tooling and facilities at their disposal is a complete embarrassment and frankly I'd be ashamed to run their workshops and have to lie to customers like they do continuously.

For it to instantly fail again within 5 miles also shows how poorly they even know how to test their handiwork, or more likely they knew and let it out anyway on the assumption that the customer would fall for the next pack of lies !!

I wouldnt get ANY main dealer look after anything more complex than a lawn mower - and in all honesty the guys who just did our Husqvarna ride on didnt do that spectacular a job of that either - the world is just full of wasters that dont know how to do anything other than sit around with their hand out (when its not on a smartphone playing Gems or on Facebok) !!!

Yes, it hits a nerve lol



J.

[skirs6]

Bladerider
I totally agree It gets better. After 3 months, then being told they have double if not triple checked everything before returning the car .
Steering wheel not straight.
Then on `Friday bit of rain I use screen wash, warning light comes up very little left, I get home lift the bonnet to refill, engine dirty and dusty after being told it's had a full valet?? Then I notice the plastic engine cover doesn't look right? I go to move it and it's just sat loose, not pushed into the clamps. You can't make this <beep> up.
They also had the nerve to send out their standard feedback survey " Hoe did we do ?"

[Bladerider]

LOL

Yep, its unfathomable how the world has become in this age of "feedback" and supposed transparency of information and choice.
Even worse when its meant to be a premium product - it wasn't like this at Range Rover 30years ago, or Mercedes or any of the cars my Dad had, but the last 20 years has been a steep and fast slide to the bottom.

J.

[skirs6]

LOL

Yep, its unfathomable how the world has become in this age of "feedback" and supposed transparency of information and choice.
Even worse when its meant to be a premium product - it wasn't like this at Range Rover 30years ago, or Mercedes or any of the cars my Dad had, but the last 20 years has been a steep and fast slide to the bottom.

J.

It's a numbers game now. They don't give a flying F about customer service

[W8PMC]

Correct, i'm sure car dealers/mfctrs now consider the odd duff &/or rejected car the lesser of 2 evils, as even those that are of poor quality, 95% of customers will just accept it & do nothing.

The only excellent customer service i've witnessed over the last few years is Porsche. BMW & Range Rover have all under delivered & the only reason i feel i have a very good relationship with Audi is i've dealt with my local dealer for years, spent a decent wedge with them & they know i'm not someone who can be fobbed off so they do go the extra mile.

[RS6chris!]

I bet the likes of unit 20 (just and example) could do this sort of work in days

As said Audi will be busy <beep> about servicing 1.9 TDI A3,S while "dropping" back on to your RS when they fell like it!!

Piss take.

[Bit_evl]

I agree that the dealers have become much more accustomed to fit and forget replacement spare parts, I made the comment about asking the dealer to get Audi to send a key tech along to help them for that very reason. They don't do it daily and so will be nervous. Thats a bix box of complex they are playing with, chances of it going back together perfect first time? Many of them are also full of <beep> when it comes to really caring. But lets not kill them all with the same stone. Lets not forget that we are talking about "dealers" in a generic manner here. They are all chains with franchise status and feedback routines. Audi are accountable for the car and the dealer is a third party in this situation. Make certain you hold AUDI on the hook as well as the dealer. After all the dealer did not build the car. On the other hand make CERTAIN you hold the dealer accountable for hand-back and testing and having it made fit for purpose when it comes back. If it starts to error and they have made it worse then see a solicitor and hold both parties accountable.

They get an allotment of hours to fix stuff. Big ones like this may be more open to discussion but they are still comp'd by Audi for fixing it. They should be keen to do the job and earn the cash really. Document the nads off it. Use a solicitor early to highlight how serious you are. Audi have deeper pockets and own the issue.

[doodlebug]

To be clear, Audi UK didn't build the car either. They are equally impotent in these situations. Audi AG are required and that's a whole different ball game.