originaljohn

If I purchase a 3rd-party warranty and get my repair work done at an Audi dealership, what would stop them from doing unnecessary work or causing problems for me?

I recently service my car (still under original warranty). My service rep told me he noticed something peeling on the radio head unit (I myself didnt notice it). He said he'd fix it for me. I agreed, thinking that it would involve just replacing one switch on the radio. When I got the car back, the entire radio head unit had been replaced, apprently because it cannot be replaced in parts.

I think this was pretty flagrant abuse of the manufacturer warranty. Why would they not do this if i bought an extended warrant? I do not want my car touched by a service technician more times than is absolutely necessary.

Thanks!

Joey T

Lemme get this straight: Your advisor found a problem with your car and fixed it. this, of course, upsets you because...


Because.....

Why?

mattb2003

There are lots of people who've had peeling parts on their radio, and they have to replace the entire unit. I don't know why that's the case, but that's how it works. I'm pretty sure it's not just every Audi dealer trying to rip off AoA, but I guess I could be wrong. As far as an extended warranty is concerned, what would be the difference between an Audi dealership service center or any other service center? They could all potentially do the same thing, but I'm not sure why it would be worth potentially getting caught in insurance fraud. I would just find a dealer you trust, make sure you get to know the people there, and they'll take care of you, and do things the right way. I would be wary about taking my car anywhere I didn't know the people there anyway...

Turbosport

you're complaining because you're worried about a dealer replacing more parts w/ new parts at no extra cost to you (due to the warrenty)?

mattb2003

that the dealer will cause additional problems with the car so that they will have to be fixed then, or in the future. Maybe I read the original post wrong, but this is what I'm getting from it...

Turbosport

I think that's a bit of a stretch

Bronze

This is why warranty parts are sent back to the manufacturer, where they can decide if warranty claims are being inflated or not. OEMs can track claims by dealership, and watch for those that have excessive claims. Of course, this is if they have the headcount to manage all this.

Also, the radio will probably go thru a remanufacturing process where they repair and sell it as a warranty or repair part after a recertification process. YOur original radio may not be at the end of its life just yet. Audi has to make the call when they release service parts whether to sell a radio as a whole unit, or offer serviceable parts for it (like a piston seal kit for a brake caliper). In this case, they may have felt swapping the radio is easier, and then they can repair them for resale later.

mattb2003

I think he is using this as an example of what he calls abuse. I've pulled out the radio before (to install my blitzsafe adapter), and I think it would probably take less time to pull out the radio than to replace the button - it's so simple. I think originaljohn's concern is that they are replacing things that aren't really necessary, or basically sabotaging good components so they have to eventually be replaced. Again, maybe I'm reading him wrong, but that's what I get his concern is...

originaljohn

I did not complain about the problem with a "peeling" switch, nor did I notice it even after he showed it to me. But he said he'd replace the switch, so i said sure. No biggie right?

He did not tell me that he would be replacing the *entire* head unit. Any time you go in and do something, there is the risk for causing new problems, even if it is as minor as insufficient tightening of a screw that leads to a rattle. Granted, the radio is a minor part, but thats not the issue. The issue is doing unnecessary work. You wouldnt want your surgeon to undertake a major operation to fix a minor problem, would you? The fewer times a tech opens up a car unncessarily, the better. Furthermore, I am nearly out of warranty, and any problems resulting from this service will not be covered unless i get an extended warranty.

Personally, I really like my service writer. He's cool, and I dont have a real issue with this head unit replacement. It's not a big deal. When I asked him after the fact why he replace the head unit, he said it was a win-win situation: i get a new radio, and the dealership gets to pocket some money for the repair...

This led me to question how much work like this gets done. Since I am now in the market for an extended warranty, it then led me to question what disincentive there is for shops to do unncessary work, hence the post.

As a background note:

I used to own a Nissan Maxima when i was in my teens and far more naive. I took it to a Nissan dealership because it had a leaking water pump. They quoted me about 2.5k worth of repairs of all sorts of things, including a "diagnostic fee" for telling me that I had a leaking water pump that i pointed out to them. There was also a problem with one of the electrical components (i forget which now) for which they quoted me an exorbitant amount to fix. I took it to an independent shop, got the water pump replaced for $50. As for the electrical problem, it was caused by some wiring that got disconnected. The independent shop just plugged it in.

I do not generalize this experience to all dealership shops from this experience. However, I have learned since then to be wary. Dealerships make money thru the sale of cars and thru repairs. Margins are often thin on sales. I feel that there are some unscrupulous dealerships that will do far more repair than necessary.

Is that an unreasonable viewpoint?

originaljohn

Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that the dealership would sabotage a good product, The replacement of the head unit isnt even that big of a deal. What I question is the incentives that lead shops to repair things that dont need repairing, esp. something that I didnt complain about. Any repair can lead to untoward effects, so it stands to good reason that you should not do a repair that isnt needed. Honestly, if I knew that the fixing this "peeling" switch would involve replacement of my headunits, I would have said no. I didnt even see a peeling switch. LOL