peng

I've been reading this board for about a year (even though I don't post very often) and have noticed that several people are having continuing problems with Audi. Periodically, there will be a thread where everyone basically agrees that while they love their cars, Audi can make the ownership experience less than satisfactory. Comparisons are often made between our experiences and friends who have cars in the same market segment (BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc.) with Audi being the usual loser. Now, I realize that by the nature of boards such as these and personal story comparisons there must be some "filtering" due to skewed results, but I think that Audi has a problem with their ownership experience.

The most telling fact is that there are several people who have been or were planning on being repeat customers that are rethinking their loyalty. This is an important characteristic about groups such as AW. While you can expect to here more problems here, this is also where you should find your most loyal customers. If your loyal customers are questioning the decision to continue purchasing your brand, then you have an issue that needs to be addressed.

What I would like to do is gather a "packet" of letters voicing concerns about the quality of the Audi ownership experience. While a single letter may help to vent steam for a single user, it does not affect how a corporation responds. My hope is that if a packet of 100 letters arrives together, then maybe it will at least be noticed. Also, by arriving together we emphasize that while our individual problems may be different they are representative of a bigger issue.

So, what I would like is for those of you that are having/ or have had issues to email me a letter describing your situation. I will print off each of the letters and mail them as a packet to Audi. Please write the letters in a professional and courteous manner. Cursing, ranting, etc. is not a persuasive means of communication. I am hoping to emphasize that the problems are costing repeat customers.

My most recent gripe has to do with the Audi warranty. Audi markets their warrant fairly aggressively and I think the claim to "cover everything except for gas and tires" is an excellent idea. Audi, however, does not truly stand behind their warranty and product. The expectation behind their warranty is that if you have a problem or maintenance, then you should bring your car in and have it fixed to original standards with a minimum of effort. The warranty does not actually support this expectation. For example, tire rotations will only be done once. While standard practice is to rotate tire periodically (usually about every oil change) Audi says they won't provide this service because it is associated with the tires. While I don't dispute that Audi is legally justified in their stance, I think that they have been misleading. I understand not covering tire wear (which was the explanation for the tire exclusion that was given to me), but I thought that the original tires would be covered for their regular maintenance. Another example is that under the warranty, Audi will provide remanufactured parts. Therefore, it is likely that if something is wrong with your car, then the replacement part will NOT be new. I think this is wrong at every level. A reasonable expectation for the replacement of a faulty part on a new car is to expect a new part, not a part that was originally bad, but has been "fixed." To emphasize the remanufacture parts point, let me point out that for all of us that have the typical Symphony radio gremlins, the standard fix is to replace the radio. Therefore, the faulty radio is being replaced with a remanufactured radio (i.e. possibly a radio that has previously displayed the same problem). I could go on, but I think you see my point. I have been fortunate not to have any serious problems, but I fear the day that I do. Especially after hearing some of others problems. (Was it Larry that has had continual problems with his 2001 including breaking down several times, having the bumper ripped off by the towing service provided under Audi "Advantage", etc?)

Ed at Work

That is not directly AoA problem in my opinion.

You wrote an interesting post. I'm not sure where I stand in responding though. I believe the fundemental "problem" is not the warranty per se, but the individual dealers' approach to providing the warranty service and their interpetation of it's contents. That's why there is an AoA arbitrator. While there are gripes here as you point out, I would suspect that 80% of the folks here are loyal and would STILL buy another, so I'm not in agreement with your position that there is an undercurrent of discontent.

One MAJOR problem we are having in general these days is the expectations of perfection in everything we buy or contract service with. It's impractical to expect a perfect car that will run 100k and not loosen up, have reactions to unforseen stress or hazards, blah blah. The cars are then serviced in an uncontrolled environment like a service bay, and depending on the mechanic, not one that can always do what they did in Germany. This is not to say that we can't expect quality work, but the tolerances out of the factory are different that IN the factory. Cars wear, and car depreciate. While I would LIKE a new radio, I would think that they clause is a protective statement, rather than the actual practice. Things like electronics take more to refurbish than to simply make new.

I agree that Audi may be hitting a point of having growing pains. The A4 was a low volume car, and with it's stratospheric sucess, the company has had to find ways to be more efficient and faster. that of course means cost cutting, and streamlining, which is not always for the better.

But all in all, my A4 is worlds better than any other car I've sat in or owned. Short of a Porsche, there is not another manufacturer that I would buy from unless Audi didn't make the vehicle type, like a minivan.

WJM

I am sure as a corporation, and dealers being your interface with people that they should have some concern for what quality experience a customer has with a specific dealer.

Ed at Work

I don't have any experience with any other dealers, so I couldn't do that.

But the point is a good one. A letter to AoA about a delaer is not a bad idea.

Phillip G

I'm getting either a used 84-87 GN...or used trans-am/formula...to work on and play with...of course I'm keeping the audi.

Oh....as usual....dealer couldn't find the noise, but, the car is still there...waiting for ANOTHER part they forgot to order!!!!!!!!!!!

Ed at Work

For fun, I was thinking of getting a beater, and making a rally car. I too am keeping the A4.

Does your's have the head restraint airbags? I am thinking more and more that the noises I am hearing is due to the new airbags - I did not have it with the 99 2.8, and think the fact the pillar covers have to come off (or be loose), that its the source of the noise.

eMKay (BFLO)

exploding gas tanks...or roll over problems. Look at the stats, Audi A4's have a better than average reliability rating.

Reggie3

I was a BMW owner for a long time. Long before there was an internet forum. There were many stories in the Rondel magazine (NABMW club) about horror stories of BMW not doing warranty work on cars - including M series vehicles. I have seen tire issues with BMW too with Michelin tire that was not handled well by either company. There was a time when BMW threaten to pull it's support for the BMW club because there were so many negative stories published about the factory and dealer problems. So your premise that Audi is worse than the other companies is not valid.

Tire issues are always with the tire manufacturer - and this has been true of all companies. For a car manufacturer/dealer to deal with tire issue is the exception not the rule. BTW Audi has agreed to replace the tires on the S4s that were bad.

This is not to say there are not issue with dealers or Audi - only that they are not unique.

Reggie

98.5 2.8QMS

Phillip G

Nope...it's a 97....only front passenger airbags

peng

I was not making a point on reliability. I obviously believe that my Audi will be reliable otherwise I would not have purchased one. My point is that when you are the person that gets stuck with the car that the transmission goes out after 10000 miles, you want the work car to be taken care of with a minimum of difficulties.

Take a different example suppose the alternator goes out. If under Audi warranty, it is my understanding that it will/could be replaced with a remanufactored alternator. If it went out at 60000 miles, then it is likely that you would replace it (not under warranty) with a new part. This is what I don't think is right.

Your point is valid, but was not part of my original arguement