Pete_In_NH

So, dropped the '07 4.2 off today to get it's 45K service.

I purchased the car CPO in April at 37K and have added 6K of mostly highway miles since then.

Audi of Nashua, NH was highly convenient for me as I drive past it every day on my commute.

Surprise #1 of the day.... the car has the maintenance agreement still attached to it's record. When the service advisor asked me about changing the brake fluid in addition to the 45K service I was about to ask the price when he said "and that's covered under your maintenance agreement as is the 45K service"... I didn't object.

So.... is that the last one covered under the plan? (Audi Care I think?) I didn't want to ask too many questions.

Surprise #2 of the day... in addition to the 45K service, I asked them to look at and fix two things:

> The driver side sun visor clip snapped in my hands about 3 weeks after owning the car. No biggie... it doesn't rattle around... but I figured I would have it taken care of while still in factory "bumper to bumper" warranty

> An exterior trim piece below the front passenger looked slightly out of shape/loose... could they tighten that back up?

Well - Audi guy calls me at work about 1 hour after taking the car in. He informs me that NEITHER of these would be covered repairs as any interior or exterior trim parts are only warrantied for the first 12 months.

Really? That's kinda bogus if you ask me. Especially on a $60K car.

Was he blowing sunshine or ? I mean... shouldn't he have known that right off the bat?

$50 to fix the clip... pass. $500! to totally replace the trim piece... it can't be repaired. Really? It just needs to be tightened up a bit... you just can't do that?

Surprise #3...

My brakes were "extremely worn" and he recommended replacing both front and back rotors and pads... at least the front. Cost? $1,500 total ($750 each).

Much like another posters experience... when I told him I would pass for now and I would shop around for pricing... he told me that only Audi dealers can change the rear brakes because of the electronic parking brake... that ONLY they had the "special computer that can unlock it". I told him that I had a friend with the same model who had his brakes done elsewhere... he tried to dodge it a little with "well maybe it wasn't the same model"... I replied "yes, exact" and he dropped the subject.

I called another dealer... $550 back, $650 front.

Yeah, I think I will shop around.

QUESTION #1 - How did this car pass Audi CPO inspection and then need new brakes only 2 months later and that they were "extremely worn"??? WTF? I guess a call to my selling dealer is in order.

QUESTION #2 - I can see new pads... but new rotors too?

QUESTION #3 - Why now does my brake pedal fell mushy all of a sudden? Am I now noticing a difference after driving the loaner? (07 A6 3.2 S line) Or did their "service" somehow result in that feel? I didn't notice any large pedal travel or worn feel before the visit... but ??


Lastly, I was given a 3.2 S-Line for the loaner. Some thoughts

> the 3.2 engine is.... adequate. It has to practically hyperventilate to pass above 60 MPH... it was always shifting down to 4th. In fact, any slight acceleration above 60 (like to keep pace in tighter traffic) seemed to result in a downshift.

My 4.2 hardly ever downshifts when accelerating at that speed... until punched. Then it rockets forward.

Nice little mid-range punch though for the 3.2 in the 30-50 MPH range.

I definitely am glad I got the V8. Especially after.....


> I refilled the tank to check MPG. 178 miles... 7 GALLONS? WTF? This was mostly (90%) 55 MPH+ highway/freeway driving.

Where is that vaunted V6 gas mileage? It was raining out so I wasn't flogging the engine hardly at all. Just a few passing blasts and 1 or 2 on ramp starts. I typically flog the crap out of my 4.2 and drive at 80 MPH for hours... +15 mph from what I average today... and the 4.2 gets BETTER mileage?

Yes, the car was full when I got it. The needle was pegged. Even if someone drove a little of the top... say 10-15 miles... still.. I was expecting something in the 27-29 MPG range.

Now I'm REALLY glad I got a V8!!!!!!!

> The S-line package was more liveable than I expected... only one rough rumble around on a bridge that sorely needs repaving... in fact, I didn't realize that I had an sline until I parked it after my commute. It was a bit harsher than base.. but not bad.

the turn-in and grip is a little nicer... not sure of ultimate "tossability" and performance as it wasn't the day for testing it and also I was in commute mode... I'm happy with the handling of my non s-line though... I don't drive that many twisties (and the ones I do... seem to have too much traffic to have any fun).


Thoughts?

am_ver

From what I have been told:

1. Brakes are not covered for 2006 and + i.e until MY05.
2. Rattles are not covered after 1st year - I was so shocked that I even asked the SA to show it to me in writing.
3. Maybe you really didn't get a full tank. I can drive about 70 miles before my needle dips even a little bit from 'F'.
4. Be glad you got an A6 loaner. I have been hitch-hiking after dropping my car off (they do drop me at my office - but since my office is 2 miles outside their dropoff radius, i.e about 10 miles, they are doing a huge favor to give me a ride) at the previous dealership - and since I changed dealership, I do get a loaner - the last time was the hugely luxurious Kia Mongo or something Minivan crossover. It drove like Cr@p!!

The G Man

Sounds like Audi of Nashua is some piece of work, I am from MA. I am glad I dont have to deal with them.
Sounds like they mess up your brakes when they change the fluid, the brakes feel soft because they didnt properly bleed the brake lines, you have air pockets in there. Bring the car back and ask them to bleed it properly.
The exterior trim piece is a tough one, it might have came loose after something hit it on the road or something. The cheapest thing to do is try to fix it yourself or go to a gas station repair shop or something.
I would call up your selling dealer and Audi USA to complain about your CPO with bad brakes.
I test drove both the 4.2 and the 3.2 A6 a few months ago, although I thought there was a difference, but the 3.2 is hardly hyperventilate to pass above 60 MPH. In fact I thought the accelartion from 60 to 80 mph was very good for a car with a small engine. Down shifting is normal when a V6 accelarate at high speed, most stick shift drivers do the same thing, its not a bad thing.
Your A6 3.2 may have been abuse once too often, I usually get about 28 mpg doing 80 mph on the highway.
It sounds like you put horsepower on top of your priority when buying a car, in that case, I am glad you got the V8 too

seckler17

I would look for another dealership if possible. Luckily the dealship I go to in IL near Chicago gives me a loaner usually A4. I have an 05 3.2 A6 with 41K. I get 27-30 mpg highway at 75 mph. I bought mine CPO with 25K on it a little over a year ago. No problems with acceleration from 60-80 in Chicago traffic! The first service I had to pay for was the 45K last week. I need to look into that but it may be because the car is now under the CPO warranty. I am suprised at the differences in dealership service and the way they treat the customers.

AV8TORSADF

Don't be, I've found dealer to dealer can be night I had a new Audi A6 with a few thousand miles on it go in for a "post break in" oil change only to come out with a scratched bumper. They claimed it was scratched when they took it in which was total BS.

When I lived in Cincinnati OH I bought a new Passat V6 from Loveland VW and they were the best dealership I've ever dealt with in my life. As long as you were a regular service customer they did little things for you here and there without charging.

I once had an issue where it felt like the engine was holding back. I took it to this dealer and they ran a computer check on it and it turned out certain cylinders were not firing due to water in the gas. I'd just filled it up so that gas station either had a leak or were watering down their gas. The dealer did all this diagnostic work, drained my gas tank and put a few gallons in for me to get to another gas station and charges me on 30 minutes of work. That was customer service.