Audi is trying to locate an A8L for me...don't konw how
07-10-2003, 08:01 PM
#12
Here's a shocker for you. It takes 4 months from allocation. 2 months from the time it's built.
I suspect Merc has a little more volume going on with the S class - which makes it more of a production priority ;-)
With 40 posts under your belt and a high user account number, it seems you haven't been here very long. From everything I've seen with over 10 years of experience in a variety of automtive feilds as well as being a consumer, whining, sniping, and making impossible demands isn't going to make Dinan's situation any better. I am making what are hopefully constructive and informative posts. Ask yourself if you are doing the same, and not just trying to escalate the issue at someone else's expense.
Either there is a car on hand, or they will have to make a car for him. At that point, the ball is in his court. The goal is to make Dinan happy and for him not to have a nervous break-down or pop a gasket ;-) So why not sit back and wait to see what unfolds ?
With 40 posts under your belt and a high user account number, it seems you haven't been here very long. From everything I've seen with over 10 years of experience in a variety of automtive feilds as well as being a consumer, whining, sniping, and making impossible demands isn't going to make Dinan's situation any better. I am making what are hopefully constructive and informative posts. Ask yourself if you are doing the same, and not just trying to escalate the issue at someone else's expense.
Either there is a car on hand, or they will have to make a car for him. At that point, the ball is in his court. The goal is to make Dinan happy and for him not to have a nervous break-down or pop a gasket ;-) So why not sit back and wait to see what unfolds ?
07-11-2003, 04:57 AM
#14
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it's all about the customer.
whether i have 40 posts or 40,000 posts is not relevant. yes, i happen to be new on this particular board. if you want to see post counts, look for user Doody on the M5, 996, and Ferrari boards.
i buy a new car every 6-8 months, some of them costing multiples of an A8. i certainly know how customers should be treated when stuff isn't right.
i'm part of the demographic that audi needs to convert into A8 buyers if it wants to really play in this market. i can afford to buy any sedan i want. i heppen to own an A4 and live in snow country. they should be closing me like there's no tomorrow.
they're not convincing me yet. stuff like pushing a car to market before it's ready and not having production ramped and not having both ports of entry ready and not pulling out all stops for people whose cars are screwed up, doesn't sit well with me, and it shouldn't sit well with audi, and it shouldn't sit well with you or anyone else here.
yes, we all need to wait and see what happens, but dinan5 certainly doesn't have to passively sit back and wait. he needs to decide what HE wants, map out a plan, and be difficult about it if that's what it comes to. audi has not thus far impressed me with their handling of this. this is supposed to be their "flagship" product.
he has a right to be pissed off and a right to be difficult. these guys have $80K of his hard-earned money. they've sold him the most expensive car they make (well, at the time). if that doesn't warrant some serious bend-over-backwards treatment from audi then they should get out of the high-end sedan market.
it's relatively easy to sell down (eg: boxster, c class, etc.). car companies have a sub-optimal history of learning how to sell up - the customer has a different set of expectations that are harder to meet and they have more at stake. clearly dinan5's expectations are not being handled optimally. audi appears to be giving him a "well, give us some time - let's see what we can figure out" answer instead of a "this stinks - what can we do to make you happy" answer.
and if folks have a soft spot for dealers, note that i think this is not his dealership's fault - this is AoA's error.
the previous A8 was not a smashing success by any stretch of the imagination. they lost huge amounts of money on the car for years - every car built was thousands of dollars in loss. they stuck it out until they sussed it, which is great and admirable. but they were selling A8s to audi people who wanted a bigger car. if they want to compete big-time, and get production up, and get stability up, they need to move more units and to do that they're going to have to be as good as or better than the competition.
we can have endless debates on whether an A8 is better than an S class or a 7 series or whatever. but we here in this forum, regardless of our post counts, represent an ultra-tiny segment of the lux sedan buyers. wildly tiny. the vast majority of the buyers in this segment buy bmw and mercedes, not audi, and it's audi's problem, and audi's problem alone, to convert those customers to the audi brand.
i think audi is a great company. they build great cars. their cars are exceptionally well-suited to the northeast where i live. i want to see the A8 survive and thrive. they need to (and they know they need to) bust it out of its current niche to start eating bmw and benz's market share.
doody.
i buy a new car every 6-8 months, some of them costing multiples of an A8. i certainly know how customers should be treated when stuff isn't right.
i'm part of the demographic that audi needs to convert into A8 buyers if it wants to really play in this market. i can afford to buy any sedan i want. i heppen to own an A4 and live in snow country. they should be closing me like there's no tomorrow.
they're not convincing me yet. stuff like pushing a car to market before it's ready and not having production ramped and not having both ports of entry ready and not pulling out all stops for people whose cars are screwed up, doesn't sit well with me, and it shouldn't sit well with audi, and it shouldn't sit well with you or anyone else here.
yes, we all need to wait and see what happens, but dinan5 certainly doesn't have to passively sit back and wait. he needs to decide what HE wants, map out a plan, and be difficult about it if that's what it comes to. audi has not thus far impressed me with their handling of this. this is supposed to be their "flagship" product.
he has a right to be pissed off and a right to be difficult. these guys have $80K of his hard-earned money. they've sold him the most expensive car they make (well, at the time). if that doesn't warrant some serious bend-over-backwards treatment from audi then they should get out of the high-end sedan market.
it's relatively easy to sell down (eg: boxster, c class, etc.). car companies have a sub-optimal history of learning how to sell up - the customer has a different set of expectations that are harder to meet and they have more at stake. clearly dinan5's expectations are not being handled optimally. audi appears to be giving him a "well, give us some time - let's see what we can figure out" answer instead of a "this stinks - what can we do to make you happy" answer.
and if folks have a soft spot for dealers, note that i think this is not his dealership's fault - this is AoA's error.
the previous A8 was not a smashing success by any stretch of the imagination. they lost huge amounts of money on the car for years - every car built was thousands of dollars in loss. they stuck it out until they sussed it, which is great and admirable. but they were selling A8s to audi people who wanted a bigger car. if they want to compete big-time, and get production up, and get stability up, they need to move more units and to do that they're going to have to be as good as or better than the competition.
we can have endless debates on whether an A8 is better than an S class or a 7 series or whatever. but we here in this forum, regardless of our post counts, represent an ultra-tiny segment of the lux sedan buyers. wildly tiny. the vast majority of the buyers in this segment buy bmw and mercedes, not audi, and it's audi's problem, and audi's problem alone, to convert those customers to the audi brand.
i think audi is a great company. they build great cars. their cars are exceptionally well-suited to the northeast where i live. i want to see the A8 survive and thrive. they need to (and they know they need to) bust it out of its current niche to start eating bmw and benz's market share.
doody.
07-11-2003, 05:03 AM
#15
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FOUR months
that is a shocker!
egads!
if they can't produce them time-efficiently then they are going to have to stock the lots full of them, which so far isn't happening (and i'd wager isn't likely to happen).
whether they use a JIT manufacturing method or an ABC or an XYZ manufacturing method is not relevant. the only thing that should matter to audi at the end of the day is putting a happy customer into a solidly-built A8 L.
let's not make excuses for them under a veil of "it's better this way". the vast majority of lux sedan buyers don't care. either they can buy a high-quality, trouble-free car in short order or they go elsewhere. ABC, XYZ, JIT, isn't their problem.
four months is crazy. i can get a 911, with an insane level of customization in less time than that.
hopefully they'll fix this. in fact, i'm sure they'll fix it. but right now it's certainly sub-optimal.
doody.
egads!
if they can't produce them time-efficiently then they are going to have to stock the lots full of them, which so far isn't happening (and i'd wager isn't likely to happen).
whether they use a JIT manufacturing method or an ABC or an XYZ manufacturing method is not relevant. the only thing that should matter to audi at the end of the day is putting a happy customer into a solidly-built A8 L.
let's not make excuses for them under a veil of "it's better this way". the vast majority of lux sedan buyers don't care. either they can buy a high-quality, trouble-free car in short order or they go elsewhere. ABC, XYZ, JIT, isn't their problem.
four months is crazy. i can get a 911, with an insane level of customization in less time than that.
hopefully they'll fix this. in fact, i'm sure they'll fix it. but right now it's certainly sub-optimal.
doody.
07-11-2003, 05:13 AM
#17
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I agree with Doody...
I think I have been patient enough, and I feel that the dealership is "stringing" me along with "we're trying to find something for you...". I'm about to tell them today to buy the damn car back, give me my Tax, Tag, Title, Down, etc. and let's just walk away. I agree with Doody that Audi should be bending backwards to help me, after all, they converted a BMW fanatic into an Audi and this is "what I get".
I truly do like the A8L, (especially after having test driven the 745i yesterday) but Audi needs to decide and give me a firm answer as to what the heck is happening. Supposedly, the dealer will call me back with finalization as they stated yesterday that they stopped all the "TAX" work.
I truly do like the A8L, (especially after having test driven the 745i yesterday) but Audi needs to decide and give me a firm answer as to what the heck is happening. Supposedly, the dealer will call me back with finalization as they stated yesterday that they stopped all the "TAX" work.
07-11-2003, 05:58 AM
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Re: Audi is trying to locate an A8L for me...don't konw how
I would check the local lemon laws. There may be some legal time limit for them to correct the problem. It is difficult for me to believe that the do not have a certain number of pool cars at the port ready to go. That's how I got my car so quickly, I took an "extra car" at the port. I did have to take a color they had-silver, black, or N. Blue. I chose the northern blue and have been pleased with it. I am still trying to get used to the mass of the car, though this is the first large car I have driven in over a year. My wife loves it and says if I want she wil drive it, and let me take her A4 cab. when it arrives next month.
At any rate, unless someone has some connections legal or otherwise, I guess there is nothing you can do. I wonder if you mentioned sending information about your car and subsequent experiences with audi would speed up the location process?
At any rate, unless someone has some connections legal or otherwise, I guess there is nothing you can do. I wonder if you mentioned sending information about your car and subsequent experiences with audi would speed up the location process?
07-11-2003, 06:58 AM
#19
Re: Audi is trying to locate an A8L for me...don't konw how
As long as AoA is IN PROCESS of locating a car for Dinan, and I have to believe that they are, the best thing to do is sit tight. Lemon laws generally kick in when the car has been in for service three times for the SAME issue or it has been hung up for 30 days. Helper, it doesnt sound as though you are that enthused with your ride.
greenie
04 A8L silver/sabre 19" wheels Aug. del.
greenie
04 A8L silver/sabre 19" wheels Aug. del.