April

it can sound trivial enough to not warranty replacing the car.

You have to find an angle that throws it in the worst possible light, and be persistant. A consultation with a lemon law attorney to see if you have solid grounds for action, might be in order.

Costasz

On my Benz I can see the 2 drains when I open the hood. And, there were little branches and other cr@p in there.


CZ

ACSGP

from all the press, he seems to be a quality focused guy.

Audi S5 TC

Forget Mercedes as they are substantially worse than Audi according to Consumer Reports/Consumers Digest/Consumers Union (who rates Audi's quality and reliability pretty lowly overall but substantially higher than Mercedes Benz).

Of course, schnellmb's and S. Tominoviches experiences with both brands are the exact opposite. Unfortunately, schnellmb and S. Tominovich are in the very, very vast minority.

CR/CD/CU aggresively advertise that they survey 800,000+ vehicle owners a year, compared with half that or much less from JD Power and Associates and Strategic Vision combined (I don't know the exact numbers here).

Yes, Lexus is souless, but the Infiniti M Series has lots of soul. And, both brands are equally reliable and high quality (which is to say, extrordinarily reliable and extrordinarily high quality) if you overlook the QX 56 (which is worse or much worse than Audi according to CR/CD/CU).

All Lexuses are recommended by CR/CD/CU due to excellent reliability and quality. With the exception of the awful QX56, all Infinitis are recommended by CR/CD/CU due to average, better than average or excellent quality and reliability.

Generally, BMW is now just as bad, worse or much worse than Audi according to CR/CD/CU. But they do have a few recommended models due to average or better than average reliability and quality. The A4 is the only Audi that CR/CD/CU recommends due to average or better than average quality and reliability.

April

Yeah, but I'm not sure he has time to read it.

wilfred2k5

My car is ready, sans moonroof fix. I'm concerned that they weren't able to find what sounded like a drivetrain rattle or loose belt squeak coming from the engine compartment, weren't able to duplicate whatever happened with the brake light flashing and the obnoxiously loud beeps, the transmission's abrupt occasional stop when slowing/stopping for a light, etc.

However, the door is supposedly fixed, the rear seat rattle is fixed, glove door has been replaced. They're claiming the MMI button sticking is somehow my fault...not likely, but it's the least of my concerns. I don't feel too good about losing the car for another three day period to have the defective moonroof replaced.

I'm seriously hoping my car's back to feeling like an Audi, rather than just wearing the badge. I do hope they know that if I have another multi-day problem, I'm going to scream bloody murder to anyone who will listen.

Any opinions from you guys? Should I accept things if the car seems okay, or should I insist on having the car replaced? It's 18 months old now. I'm sure they won't listen as much if it spends another 30 days in the shop a year from now.

Thanks to everyone, especially April, for your help, support and opinions so far.

ACSGP

A friend of mine bought a 4 year old B6. After about 3 months, he was caught in a downpour, and the engine stopped running.

When they brought the car into the dealer, they took the engine apart, and found everything bent because water got in. Apparent the B6's brake servo uses the engine to create the vacuum, but water from the plugged drain pipes got into the servo and was sucked into the engine. New engine required, and I helped negotiate a price on it. No warranty claim allowed though.

I can, to a certain extent, understand Audi's position as they don't want to create a precedent for claims, especially for someone who really leaves his car out 24/7 and doesn't take care of it. However, there is clearly a case about designing a drainage system that could, and should be flushed out by the dealer at every service.

April

problems continue, don't scream bloody murder, but just line your ducks up, send your letter to AoA, and make an appointment with the service manager. Tell them exactly what you want (within the boundries of lemon law if the car qualifies).

wilfred2k5

They fixed the glove compartment and whatever was going on with the door locks, but 30 minutes after leaving the transmission had already done its brick wall downshift, Alvin the chipmunk was sounding off from the engine compartment, the "BRAKE" light had done its flashing with the three warning beeps and there were more rattles than I had ever heard before. I called the dealership back and asked them to just have someone do a test drive with me so I can show them what's going on. They say they can't do that until the moonroof parts come back in a few weeks.

I was so upset I almost cried. I was so much hoping to get the car back and have it feel like it used to before they tore it down. If I have to go through 2 1/2 more years with the car like this, I'd rather sell it, but it's inethical to sell something with so many issues.

The Audi advocate's supposed to call me back on Tuesday and tell me what the deal is. If they tell me they'll do what it takes to put the car back into reasonable condition, I'm actually quite happy with that. I have everything I want in this car...a perfect feature set and it's a beautiful sight. But having Audi strand me making $1000+/month payments on a car that squeaks, rattles and misbehaves worse than an old pickup truck.

I'm not upset anymore. I feel betrayed and beyond hope. My prize possession is now an annoyance and an embarrassment. I'm afraid to take anyone for a ride with me, and even with the radio turned up, the many noises and shudders come through crystal clear. I actually miss my Mazda right now, and that's saying an awful lot.

The lemon law won't save me since the car broke down after 18,000 miles. Until that 30 day out-of-service spell, it was near perfect.

I'm still hoping for a miracle, but it sounds like the best I can do is take a bath finding someone who'll buy it from me.