chokboywonda

You see the box you write your message in when you are posting, there is a little box under neath the undo button. Press that and then you can post images to your post.

JNA

$2,000 to once again open the hood on my A8L. Will need to sacrifice the plastic front facia/bumper cover. Two new latches. New cables. Paint and labor. Hope to shoot pictures of the process. Will retain all the old parts.

mishar

Just don't cut hooks.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

original paint on the car... It doesn't matter if Audi pays for everything. Sometimes it's good to listen to people who have done the fix and try it. Breaking things to fix is easy. At least you can open the hood now. How many weeks has it been going back and forth to the dealer and the body shop?
The guys with the 5 minutes saw, PLEASE SHOW THE DARN PICTURES. If you don't know how to put pictures on here, free <a href="https://www.flickr.com">Flickr</a> for Yahoo mail account and <a href="http://picasa.google.com">Picasa</a> for Google email account.

Cheers,

Louis
PS: There are always many Solutions for A problem, but it's hard to find the best One.

mishar

Even harder to find the worst one, but somebody always manage to do that.

JNA

Once again THANK YOU to all of you who have, being the good samaritans you are, tried to help. Bugger Off to those of you who can only pontificate and applaud how brite you consider yourselves. If I were to Monday Morning Quarterback all of this then YES, maybe trying the Sawsall solution would have been a viable option to spending $2k. Duh! But let us not forget that option was taken off the table when the car was returned to me from the dealer with neither latch releasing. Let us not forget I took my car to an Audi dealer to be repaired AND THEY COULD NOT FIX THE CAR when one of the latches released let alone when neither was willing to release. Let me also remind, just in case the service advisors at the Audi dealer in question are following along, that it was others on this string that suggested U.S. techs are seemingly incompetent when compared, I would presume, with their European counterparts. I disagree. I've never had issues with the technical competence of the dealer technicians that have worked on our cars. Just the lack of ethics on the part of a few.

Oh, and while we're discussing the Sawsall solution handed down to us so many time from on high as if it were an addendum to The Ten Commandments, I found it interesting that the technicians at both the dealerships and a premier body shop SPECIALIZING in German cars NEVER ideated the Sawsall solotion with one latch releasing. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

So, I'll get my car fixed and pursue my options with Audi and the dealer. I will pursue a Sawsall method that will prevent any collateral damage should we mere mortals want to give it a try. And to those of you who seem to know it all so much better than those of us who have not spent our lives wrenching on cars (you know who you are you condescending prigs) I say . . .

JNA

Oh, and for all the B.S. I've read on this Sawsall method, why don't one of you prove it 'cause I remain unconvinced it can be done as easily as some of you suggest without causing collateral damage to the car. How 'bout posting some pictures (what, talented enough to take a reciprocating saw to your car but ya can't seem to figure out how to upload pictures to a web site!) or a video of the process! Put up or shut up. Again, my thanks to all of you who tried to help. As one of you suggested, we shouldn't have to take a Sawsall to our beloved cars to overcome the design negligence of the cars manufacturer.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

2-3 people have sworn they're done the saw thing but I haven't seen any pics.
I used to dwell on people incompetency that cause problems for me, but it's not productive so I just be pro active and deal with problems. As I look at my car shut again, I tried to see if the saw blade can get to the hooks, and they did. People should try before assuming it can't be done. If people can do it, you can too.


Cheers,

Louis

dvs_dave

Chill out dude....even if the sawsall method did cause a bit if collateral damage, there is no way it would amount to $2k worth.

Sounds like your anger has made you loose focus on the matter at hand and cost you way more than it should have done...

allenst

hy
why ? just don't cut hooks. why ?
at this stage in vehicle life tell us why someone should spend $2000+ to get their hood open versus cutting the latch and replacing with a $4 latch ?

when ou just say "don't do it" the forum needs to know why imo.

$4 versus $2000 is an amount even the budgetless need to have an answer for