Thanks Audi. . . .for nothing.

Grimspoon

Grimspoon

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Ok, so I have sung the praises of Audi since I bought my A4, I would like to take that back and chew on my words.

so this my story:

Audi offered that free holiday check back in December last year, I opted into it, except they could not accommodate me as they were full. Instead they offered an appointment in the new year which I was fine with. After all my car seemed fine.

Took my car to them in Jan, got the car back, absolutely nothing wrong. . . They checked everything and all is A OK! GREAT!! right. . . .

Anyway, about 3 weeks later I hear this faint grinding sound, not sure from where but sounds like the back wheels. Take it in the very next day and now this is where it gets interesting. . . . I am about 7 days out of my motor plan so I am thinking I wonder if they will cover the issue blah blah. . Ask them to thoroughly check the car, the brakes the works. . . They tell me 'No problem. Brakes are fine. It must have been something caught in the brake pad'.

I accept their answer. . . . a few weeks later it happens again. And then again, and again so I decide to take it to my family mech because I am seriously suspect of Audis BS fob off. Anyway turns out that the brakes all round are worn so bad that it has gone down to the rivets.

My mechanic was pretty amazed how bad the condition of the brakes where. He also said the wire that is connected to set off the worn brake light was not even connected!!

I am amazed how Audi Northcliff managed to conveniently miss the fact that my brakes were so badly worn that I was almost forced to pull a Fred Flinstone on the high way.

They have to have known from my first visit in Jan that the brakes were horribly worn. That's assuming they actually checked. I don't drive excessively so the chances of my brakes wearing down to bare metal in little over a month in mind is highly highly unlikely.

Am I pissed off? Yes. Can I do anything about. Probably not. But **** it, I am not one to keep quiet about **** like this. Audi Northcliff - last time you will see me.
 
Imho VW are pretty useless so I'd imagine Audi is similar. They couldn't even diagnose a flat battery.
 
Dude, if I were you I'd go to the DP of Audi Northcliff and explain your situation. Take time/dates with you and say that if they don't fix it for free (since it's an issue they should have picked up while you were still under your motorplan AND the warning lights for the breaks weren't even connected) you will go to head-office with the issue.

If he asks you where you found out that the breaks were worn/light wasn't connected, tell him you took it to another Audi dealership (decline to say who and act all defensive if he demands more information saying things like "The issue isn't with them, it's with you, this happened under your watch and I'm not leaving here an unsatisfied customer since I've always had good service and can't fathom to think why the hell this changes now" etc)

Don't just passively take it up the ass. That's probably the WORST thing you can do, because if they get away with this, they get away with a lot more and someone (usually the supervisor who's job it is to check the mechanic's work) should have to answer for this as it's you and your family's safety at risk here.
 
I was very keen on getting an A4 but I am always hearing something about Audis that puts me off. Either bad service or workmanship. More so than the competing Merc, BMW and Lexus brands.
 
AcidRaZor said:
Dude, if I were you I'd go to the DP of Audi Northcliff and explain your situation. Take time/dates with you and say that if they don't fix it for free (since it's an issue they should have picked up while you were still under your motorplan AND the warning lights for the breaks weren't even connected) you will go to head-office with the issue.

If he asks you where you found out that the breaks were worn/light wasn't connected, tell him you took it to another Audi dealership (decline to say who and act all defensive if he demands more information saying things like "The issue isn't with them, it's with you, this happened under your watch and I'm not leaving here an unsatisfied customer since I've always had good service and can't fathom to think why the hell this changes now" etc)

Don't just passively take it up the ass. That's probably the WORST thing you can do, because if they get away with this, they get away with a lot more and someone (usually the supervisor who's job it is to check the mechanic's work) should have to answer for this as it's you and your family's safety at risk here.
Click to expand...

Hey Acid, shot for the response and I agree with you on absolutely everything you have said. . . I have had the brakes replaced already, so there is F all I need Audi Northclif to do for me. I honestly didn't have the time nor patience to go back to them with the car and argue over this, I needed the car fixed and I paid for it out of my pocket which I am fine with as I know it was done properly. The money actually is not a issue. Its the principal.

I just want people to know that like me, I was under the impression that Audi was amazing when it came to customer service etc. Clearly they didn't give a fook about me or my car and for this I want to let everyone know.

If you want to cut corners then there are consequences and repercussions.

I will be speaking to the DP tomorrow and I will let him know exactly how I feel.


And you know what pisses me off the most. . . . I have 2 small kids, what if Audi's poor service was the result of me having an accident and god forbid something happening to one of them.
 
The sad thing is that Audi dealers in general have no clue about what constitutes good service...
Their dealers let down what is otherwise a superb brand (my online name should be a dead give away to my preference :) ). They don't hold a candle to BMW dealers in terms of customer service - and I've never owned a BMW!
As for bad Audi dealers, none comes close to Westrand Audi...
Serviced my petrol 1.8 turbo using a diesel checklist, charged me for a car wash even though they returned it with a layer of brown dust/sand, etc. Will never go to them again, even if they offer a free service!!
 
Grimspoon said:
Took my car to them in Jan, got the car back, absolutely nothing wrong. . .

'No problem. Brakes are fine.'.

He also said the wire that is connected to set off the worn brake light was not even connected!!

They have to have known from my first visit in Jan that the brakes were horribly worn.
Click to expand...


Here's what I think happened. They knew your motorplan was ending soon so they disconnected the wires to the pads, told you it's fine and saved some money which they knew would be for your expense in a few days.

C'mon, you must be fscking blind to miss worn pads with a simple visual inspection (twice!) and don't tell me all 4 wires came lose by themselves...

Wonder what else they ignored on that 'check'.
 
Grimspoon said:
My mechanic was pretty amazed how bad the condition of the brakes where. He also said the wire that is connected to set off the worn brake light was not even connected!! .
Click to expand...

Wow... I'd send this to Carte Blanche, they would have a field day with a story like this.

Also, was there no deterioration in your braking before discovering this?
 
I have driven Audi for about 12 years now and eventually convinced my wife to get one.
About 2 years back she eventually got an A4 1.8T. She had issues with the car and Audi Airport gave her such terrible service she eventually got put right off the brand. They never managed to fix the faults either. They would just take guesses and replace parts (thankfully under MP) and the fault would persist requiring the car to go in again. She had a fault where coolant would suddenly drain. It went in THREE times for this fault and never fixed. Virtually the whole cooling system ended up getting replaced. When her car was out of MP I took it to my mechanic down the road. R750 and 6 hours later and her car was perfectly fixed. Audi service is shocking.
Needless to say, the brand damage is done. She cannot stand Audi and eventually got rid if her car about 2 months back.

I am on my fourth Audi and thankfully never really needed more than a service so I still dig Audi.

They are awesome cars. You just don't want something to go wrong cause the backup blows.
 
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Mike Smit said:
I have driven Audi for abiutv12 years now and eventually convinced my wife to get one.
About 2 years back she eventually got an A4 1.8T. She had issues with the car and Audi Airport gave her such terrible service she eventually got put right off the brand. They never managed to fix the faults either. They would just take guesses and replace parts (thankfully under MP) and the fault would persist requiring the car to go in again. She had a fault where coolant would suddenly drain. It went in THREE times for this fault and never fixes. Virtually the whole cooling system ended up getting replaced. When her car was out of MP I took it to my mechanic down the road. R750 and 6 hours later and her car was perfectly fixed. Audi service is shocking.
Needless to say, the brand damage is done. She cannot stand Audi and eventually got rid if her car about 2 months back.

I am on my fourth Audi and thankfully never really needed more than a service so I still dig Audi.

They are awesome cars. You just don't want something to go wrong cause the backup blows.
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Will your next car be an Audi?
 
My advice would be to contact Audi South Africa and let them know about this problem. By disconnecting your break sensors, they put your life and the life of your family in danger and this is unacceptable.

My experience with Peugeot *spit* taught me that sometimes phoning the actual parent company leads to nothing but stress and a hatred for the brand, but it might be worth your while to take it up with them or you could understand that the parent company does not care and therefore you can safely boycott the brand for this.

I have some harrowing Peugeot stories, some much so that my wife's 207 was never properly fixed by them, one service cost us R17 000 to try and resolve a stupid fault on the car. At the end they told us that there was no problem on the car, although just starting the car displayed the symptoms. The funny bit was that the car was serviced by Nissan, mind just a normal service and the problem was fixed, it was only the timing that was out on the car. >.<
 
Fudzy said:
Will your next car be an Audi?
Click to expand...

As things stand now, yes.
My current one went out of MP in Dec 2011 so I am back to my trusty mechanic. If he had to close shop I would probably move to another brand with decent backup service.
Love the car. Hate the dealers.
 
Grim dude...

Straight to head office with this one... that is seriously uncalled for. They purposefully didn't inform you about your brakes if they were as bad as you say they were. A simple visual inspection THROUGH the rims could have told them the brakes were stuffed. and if the brake sensor wires were disconnected that means someone did that manually while the car was at their shop so you didn't get the "brake wear" light coming on....

What the dealership did was underhanded and dangerous. Don't even talk to the DP, go straight to Audi SA.
 
Just something to remember, and this applies to any dealership, these guys are all technicians and not mechanics. If the computer can't give them an answer, they can't give you a solution.

I had an issue where despite various wheel alignments and new tyres I was told the noise I heard at high speed was a "flat spot" on the tyre. Since it was out of motor plan anyway, I relented and took it to a mechanic who pointed out the CV boots on the one side of the car were torn and the joints were now making a noise.

The mechanic said he would never expect a technician to pick up such an issue.
 
phaktza said:
Just something to remember, and this applies to any dealership, these guys are all technicians and not mechanics. If the computer can't give them an answer, they can't give you a solution.

I had an issue where despite various wheel alignments and new tyres I was told the noise I heard at high speed was a "flat spot" on the tyre. Since it was out of motor plan anyway, I relented and took it to a mechanic who pointed out the CV boots on the one side of the car were torn and the joints were now making a noise.

The mechanic said he would never expect a technician to pick up such an issue.
Click to expand...

Then the stealerships need to employ mechanics again.... they are putting peoples lives at risk by having idiots working on their floor.
 
Wow! I would NOT let this lie.

They put you and your family at risk. I would be shouting in the DP's office so fast..

Tho my personal experience with DP's in the past has never been good. IMO they're a bunch of spin doctors. You struggle to get a word of truth out of them.
 
I suspect they used a VAG com cable for diagnostics. If the brake pads were not connected it wouldn't show up. It might not be original brake pads, why won't they connect it?
Also does the motorplan cover brake pads?

I thought all guys check their tyres and brake pads regularly, maybe its just me.

Not defending the stealerships.
 
Yeah I'd take a bet that all they did was connect up VAG-COM or their equivalent of it and scanned for any faults from the ECU. When there were none they went "A OK!" or they might have even cleared some then driven round the block and checked again if they were feeling energetic.
 
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