(Long) My experience with the Service Department of Charles Maund Imports in Austin Texas.
03-31-2000, 06:41 PM
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(Long) My experience with the Service Department of Charles Maund Imports in Austin Texas.
Well, so far my AUDI EXPERIENCE has been less that satisfying. My beautiful and perfect Brilliant Black/Ecru Leather, 99 ½ A4 Quattro 2.8 5-speed, with Sports and All Weather packages was taken to my dealer for it's first service on March 1st. The only problem noted was with AM Radio portion of the BOSE unit. The following is a summary of events to date. I just received the car back from the dealer today on March 31st.
The issue here, pure and simple, is a poorly run service department at Charles Maund Imports, in Austin Texas. Unfortunately, they are the only dealer in the area. My tale adds to a list of other friends who have had similar tales with their Jag's and Audi's at Charles Maund's service department. I even was the brunt of a good ribbing from my girlfriend before I took my car in for service. "Good luck if you ever expect to see your car again", she told me. They previously had returned her Jag to her with the engine mounts unbolted, after a service to her air conditioner. I, of course, told her what did she expect if she was going to own a JAG, anyway. Little did I know!
The AUDI client folks and the area representative have been reasonable in working this issue with me. Although my initial position was that I wanted the car replaced, checking inventory at several dealers indicated that I would have to do another factory order to get the same equipment I now have. Having to wait 3 to 4 months for another custom order was more pain than I was willing to bear.
AUDI has offered to extend my factory warranty an additional year/12,000 mile for a total of 4/64000. They have also indicated that if any further trouble develops because of this problem that they will work with me on a company assisted (at factory, not dealer cost) trade-out on a new AUDI. Given the fact that this is a dealer workmanship issue and not a design or a lemon issue I am OK but not overjoyed with AUDI's response.
It is going to be a real pain to have to drive to San Antonio for service but I will tow the car there if I have to before I ever set foot in that service department again.
DEALER
Charles Maund Imports
8400 Research Blvd
Post Office Box 1608
Austin, Texas 78767
512 458-1111
1: March 1st After a 3 week wait for a service appointment the automobile was delivered to Charles Maund Imports for it's first oil change and service at approx. 6800 miles. Dealer provides me with a free rental beater.
2: March 3rd Dealer notifies me that the car will not be ready as promised because they have detected a "minor oil leak".
3: March 6th Dealer notifies me that the "Rear Main Oil Seal" is defective and will have to be replaced, that this requires a major tear-down of the automobile, and that the part will have to be ordered.
3: March 9th-15th Various contacts with Dealer to ascertain status and progress.
4: March 17th Dealer notifies me that I can pick the car up on Saturday, March 18th.
5: March 18th Dealer delivers the automobile to me. Upon inspection I notice that the radiator tank is empty and ask for it to be filled with coolant. At the same time I check the oil "dipstick" to insure that the dealer had installed the synthetic oil (AMSOIL) I had provided, only to discover that the crankcase was overflowing with oil and water. I also removed the engine's oil fill cap and discovered the engine's interior is thickly coated with dreaded white sludge.
The dealer's service advisor assures me that this is just a "small residual problem" from the work that was performed. The car is pushed back into the service area and the mechanic changes the oil and filter 3 times before conceding that "…perhaps this might be a bit more serious of a problem that they first thought". I am advised to call in on Monday when an AUDI Specialist is available. Dealer provides another rental beater.
6: March 20th Dealer advises that the new oil seal that was installed was faulty and that another major tear down of the vehicle will be required to replace it. The service manger indicates that he will order the part. I call AUDI customer service and open a case file.
7: March 22rd AUDI advises that their field rep has inspected the vehicle and that the new rear main seal was installed correctly. After pressure testing the coolant system, he discovered that a water tube that runs from the water pump, under the intake manifold, has probably been used as a brace or a lever during the engine work. It has been pulled out of its O-Ring seal and may be cracked. He directed the dealer to replace it. No explanation is offered by the service department on how this coincidentally occurred as a result of the car being in the dealers facility. The service manager advises that they will also elect to install the new rear main oil seal anyway since it might have been disturbed during the second tear down operation. Also, an O2 sensor was damaged and replaced.
8: March 27th Estimate given for possible completion of work by March 31st.
9: March 31st The car is delivered to me. Upon checking the dipstick I find the oil level is just shy of being a quart low. The dealer tops it off with a quart of Mobil 1 (which they substituted since they had long ago exhausted my case of AMSOIL in the trunk). I also discover my first ding; A chip in the truck lid that extends through the clear coat and paint to the primer. The BOSE unit is working great, however. I guess I should be thankful. The car appears to be running well but only time will tell.
My position:
Here is my position with AUDI:
The vehicle has now had the oil pan, oil seal, gaskets, and drive-train (Transmission and Quattro Unit) removed and reinstalled twice. The fuel injection system, intake manifold, and associated hardware have now also now been removed and reinstalled.
The vehicle has been driven, in my presence, and was delivered to me idling, with a lot of water in the crankcase. The water/oil level was at the top of the dipstick tube when the vehicle was delivered to me. The vehicle was also probably test driven this way after the initial work was performed on the automobile. This can lead to premature engine bearing pitting, corrosion, and failure.
Having the crankcase overfilled this severely can also lead to having (in this case) oil and water expelled through the catalytic converter, which can lead to premature emission system failure.
In short, this is no longer a "New Vehicle" but a potential ongoing maintenance problem because of either unprofessional workmanship performed by Maund Imports or by a series of coincidences while the vehicle was under the control of Maund Imports.
I would be curious if anyone else who reads this forum has had a similar experience with this dealer's service department. I wonder if there is enough documented experiences out there with Maund's service department that would warrant a letter to AUDI asking just what does it take to maintain an authorized service franchise. There are few enough good AUDI services channels available as it is.
The issue here, pure and simple, is a poorly run service department at Charles Maund Imports, in Austin Texas. Unfortunately, they are the only dealer in the area. My tale adds to a list of other friends who have had similar tales with their Jag's and Audi's at Charles Maund's service department. I even was the brunt of a good ribbing from my girlfriend before I took my car in for service. "Good luck if you ever expect to see your car again", she told me. They previously had returned her Jag to her with the engine mounts unbolted, after a service to her air conditioner. I, of course, told her what did she expect if she was going to own a JAG, anyway. Little did I know!
The AUDI client folks and the area representative have been reasonable in working this issue with me. Although my initial position was that I wanted the car replaced, checking inventory at several dealers indicated that I would have to do another factory order to get the same equipment I now have. Having to wait 3 to 4 months for another custom order was more pain than I was willing to bear.
AUDI has offered to extend my factory warranty an additional year/12,000 mile for a total of 4/64000. They have also indicated that if any further trouble develops because of this problem that they will work with me on a company assisted (at factory, not dealer cost) trade-out on a new AUDI. Given the fact that this is a dealer workmanship issue and not a design or a lemon issue I am OK but not overjoyed with AUDI's response.
It is going to be a real pain to have to drive to San Antonio for service but I will tow the car there if I have to before I ever set foot in that service department again.
DEALER
Charles Maund Imports
8400 Research Blvd
Post Office Box 1608
Austin, Texas 78767
512 458-1111
1: March 1st After a 3 week wait for a service appointment the automobile was delivered to Charles Maund Imports for it's first oil change and service at approx. 6800 miles. Dealer provides me with a free rental beater.
2: March 3rd Dealer notifies me that the car will not be ready as promised because they have detected a "minor oil leak".
3: March 6th Dealer notifies me that the "Rear Main Oil Seal" is defective and will have to be replaced, that this requires a major tear-down of the automobile, and that the part will have to be ordered.
3: March 9th-15th Various contacts with Dealer to ascertain status and progress.
4: March 17th Dealer notifies me that I can pick the car up on Saturday, March 18th.
5: March 18th Dealer delivers the automobile to me. Upon inspection I notice that the radiator tank is empty and ask for it to be filled with coolant. At the same time I check the oil "dipstick" to insure that the dealer had installed the synthetic oil (AMSOIL) I had provided, only to discover that the crankcase was overflowing with oil and water. I also removed the engine's oil fill cap and discovered the engine's interior is thickly coated with dreaded white sludge.
The dealer's service advisor assures me that this is just a "small residual problem" from the work that was performed. The car is pushed back into the service area and the mechanic changes the oil and filter 3 times before conceding that "…perhaps this might be a bit more serious of a problem that they first thought". I am advised to call in on Monday when an AUDI Specialist is available. Dealer provides another rental beater.
6: March 20th Dealer advises that the new oil seal that was installed was faulty and that another major tear down of the vehicle will be required to replace it. The service manger indicates that he will order the part. I call AUDI customer service and open a case file.
7: March 22rd AUDI advises that their field rep has inspected the vehicle and that the new rear main seal was installed correctly. After pressure testing the coolant system, he discovered that a water tube that runs from the water pump, under the intake manifold, has probably been used as a brace or a lever during the engine work. It has been pulled out of its O-Ring seal and may be cracked. He directed the dealer to replace it. No explanation is offered by the service department on how this coincidentally occurred as a result of the car being in the dealers facility. The service manager advises that they will also elect to install the new rear main oil seal anyway since it might have been disturbed during the second tear down operation. Also, an O2 sensor was damaged and replaced.
8: March 27th Estimate given for possible completion of work by March 31st.
9: March 31st The car is delivered to me. Upon checking the dipstick I find the oil level is just shy of being a quart low. The dealer tops it off with a quart of Mobil 1 (which they substituted since they had long ago exhausted my case of AMSOIL in the trunk). I also discover my first ding; A chip in the truck lid that extends through the clear coat and paint to the primer. The BOSE unit is working great, however. I guess I should be thankful. The car appears to be running well but only time will tell.
My position:
Here is my position with AUDI:
The vehicle has now had the oil pan, oil seal, gaskets, and drive-train (Transmission and Quattro Unit) removed and reinstalled twice. The fuel injection system, intake manifold, and associated hardware have now also now been removed and reinstalled.
The vehicle has been driven, in my presence, and was delivered to me idling, with a lot of water in the crankcase. The water/oil level was at the top of the dipstick tube when the vehicle was delivered to me. The vehicle was also probably test driven this way after the initial work was performed on the automobile. This can lead to premature engine bearing pitting, corrosion, and failure.
Having the crankcase overfilled this severely can also lead to having (in this case) oil and water expelled through the catalytic converter, which can lead to premature emission system failure.
In short, this is no longer a "New Vehicle" but a potential ongoing maintenance problem because of either unprofessional workmanship performed by Maund Imports or by a series of coincidences while the vehicle was under the control of Maund Imports.
I would be curious if anyone else who reads this forum has had a similar experience with this dealer's service department. I wonder if there is enough documented experiences out there with Maund's service department that would warrant a letter to AUDI asking just what does it take to maintain an authorized service franchise. There are few enough good AUDI services channels available as it is.
03-31-2000, 08:13 PM
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Not Audi, but also at Maund...
i had my Camry XLE v6 scheduled for an oil change over at Charles Maund's Toyota division. it took them over 40 minutes to do the job. buncha choads.
Gordon Spencer over at the Audi sales dept. is a fairly knowledgable fellow, however.
Gordon Spencer over at the Audi sales dept. is a fairly knowledgable fellow, however.
03-31-2000, 08:21 PM
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On the same note, any reputable Audi dealers in Texas?
Maund's inventory of A4's and S4's are fairly slim (more like non-existent), but they do have tons of A6's. Anyone in Texas know of a dealer with a few A4/S4's on the lot?
03-31-2000, 11:17 PM
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That's horrible! It's hard to believe that you could take your...
...car in for a simple routine service and end up with all this! Make sure you document everything in regards to how the car performs and it's ongoing maintenence. In the meantime, you may want to look into legal action against this dealership; in the event that you should have any problems. Whatever you do, don't ever take your car there again! That is completely unnaceptible. Infact, that's even worse than the horrible experiences I have had at University Audi in Seattle (I've heard they've gotten a lot better since then).
04-01-2000, 06:21 AM
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Yikes! My A4 is in Maund's body shop right now
My month old A4 was rear-ended and I took it to Maund to fix it. I was initially surprised since they gave an estimate of mid-April to get the parts back and accept the car and got a call last week to bring it in.
I hope the body shop is better than the service. The service department was terribly slow and would miss it commitments (sorry we're going have to keep it for another day when they're just changing the oil).
If anyone has has Maund bodywork horror stories, let me know what to look for.
I hope the body shop is better than the service. The service department was terribly slow and would miss it commitments (sorry we're going have to keep it for another day when they're just changing the oil).
If anyone has has Maund bodywork horror stories, let me know what to look for.
04-01-2000, 06:22 AM
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Yikes.
I've heard horror stories about Maund's service department before, but that one takes the cake. My heart goes out to you.
I've currently got an S4 on order at Maund. I'm starting to get the feeling that I won't be taking it there for service. Though I am loathe to drive all the way down to San Antonio for service, Rod East does seem to have a much better reputation.
--
Hugh
'00 S4 (April build)
I've currently got an S4 on order at Maund. I'm starting to get the feeling that I won't be taking it there for service. Though I am loathe to drive all the way down to San Antonio for service, Rod East does seem to have a much better reputation.
--
Hugh
'00 S4 (April build)
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04-01-2000, 06:29 AM
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Haven't used them, but co-worker really happy w/Rod East
There are more A4s in my parking lot at work than at Charles Maund.
A coworker with a nearly identical A4 to mine said she was totally satisfied with her experience at Rod East in San Antonio. They didn't have all the options she was looking for(like cold weather package...not really needed in tx) but quickly tracked one down for her.
A coworker with a nearly identical A4 to mine said she was totally satisfied with her experience at Rod East in San Antonio. They didn't have all the options she was looking for(like cold weather package...not really needed in tx) but quickly tracked one down for her.
04-01-2000, 01:03 PM
#10
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Obviously water was pumped through the lubrication system...dump the car!
I can't believe that Audi let you have that car after water was pumped though the lubrication sytem!! Your main bearings are damaged plus the the cam shaft bearings, the connecting rod bearings, the piston wrist pins, the cyclinder walls are probably also scored...all I can say is OUCH! OUCH! I would get a letter of to Audi pronto after talking to an expert local mechanic on what you decribed here. You need a good witness. Send/email a letter to European Car, Car & Driver, Road & Track, Motor mag, etc. for their opinions on the water flowing through the engine....I would like to see their responses!
In the letter to Audi describe why you believe that the water damaged the engine. Make sure you send a copy of the letter to you States Better Business Bureau, and your state's Attorney General. Make sure Audi sees who you have copied in the CC section of the lettern sent them...clout has power!
This is really outrageous that Audi didn't at least give you a "complete" new engine!
In the letter to Audi describe why you believe that the water damaged the engine. Make sure you send a copy of the letter to you States Better Business Bureau, and your state's Attorney General. Make sure Audi sees who you have copied in the CC section of the lettern sent them...clout has power!
This is really outrageous that Audi didn't at least give you a "complete" new engine!