Torque450

Yes, a lack of skilled technicians across all the premium manufacturers because:-
a) The job doesn't pay enough / isn't appealing enough to younger people
b) The vehicles need different skills and mindset to fix the faults.

For what it's worth, my Volvo cut out when driving on a busy high street the day after a service at Volvo last year, because the technician hadn't followed the correct steps for a fuel filter change. Was that because the cars are getting more complicated or the technicians aren't very good ?

aklim69

Problem today is the job doesn't pay enough. No job ever had, does or will. Double it and it still won't be enough. They want owner level money and janitor jevel responsibility. Pre-pandemic, my local McD was paying $9.13. Today, it is $17. Sorry, still not good enough. That swaid, prices go up and your $17 is now the new $10.

If you can't follow the procedure, don't complain how complicated it is.

JeffNIL

I bought my car AFTER I found this forum. I am not sure I would have purchased my S8 if I found the forum first. And I am amazed Audi treats their customers so poorly and can't answer questions. I emailed Audi to ask for the 511 00 oil spec. They couldn't give it to me. The fricking manufacturer can't give you their own oil spec!

Hopefully I don't have these problems.

And when I went to the dealership to buy parts, you couldn't get near a mechanic. A good Audi mechanic could make a fortune on this forum, answering people's questions.

Joe, the Ford mechanic I know, has been priceless in helping me with my Lincolns. I'd Venmo a mechanic if he could give me insight on how to do a job....

angrypengu

YMMV. I have two mechanics I have access to at my dealership. They work on my car while I'm standing next to it.

It's best to think about Audi as any other mainstream auto maker with the same margin pressures as everyone else. There's not much that separates Audi from a Ford (sorry folks). Just like it's YMMV with Ford, it's YMMV with Audi.

Even the premium brands like Rolls Royce have been watered down over recent years. It's all about how you treat others and the relationships that you build. "Brand consistency" died in the 90s.

pcc125

Brand consistency is absolutely dead for sure. Look at Mercedes as an example, nothing with their newer cars is consistent with the history of Mercedes cars. And did I say their design department is in need of a complete overhaul?

aklim69

It never hurts to grease the palms. A couple boxes of donuts, coffee, etc. At the end of some jobs, I have the mechanic empty my ashtray. BTW, I don't smoke........

I think the engineering is better. The mechanics, not so much difference.

aklim69

In what way? IIRC, back in the day, you can get replacement parts for older cars. You might have to wait for it to come from the Fatherland but it will arrive sometime and you might have to blow off the inch of dust that has accumulated over the years but you can get it. Today, they obsolete more parts, IMO.

Overhaul to what? Work ethic is down the toilet and they are not going to buck the management from where they are. If it comes from the top to spend $100K, they can't overspend, can they?

pcc125

Mercedes' claim to fame is that you can always get parts for your Mercedes no matter how old it is. They even used to advertise that in the past. I have had several MB cars and I currently have a 1995 E320 Cabriolet and a 1998 SL500. The remote module on the doors needed to be replaced and you cannot get the parts for it from Mercedes Benz. The MB dealership I always used in the past said MB is no longer supporting parts production for their older cars. By overhaul, I meant the deisgn of their cars and how ugly they have gotten lately especially the electric ones which are not selling. In the old days, a Mercedes design used to be good for at least 7 years and some even longer. As the saying goes, they just don't build them the way they used to, but that really applies to all makes.

Torque450

It's 12-15 years from the final model year of production with Volkswagen Group. So, if you buy a new Audi today that they will stop making this year, you can still order parts for it up to 2039.

The 'however' is that there is no guarantee that the original supplier is still able to supply or that Audi want to order a vehicle specific part in a quantity of 1. That means they might accept the order, but there is no delivery date available until or if they have enough demand and margin to want to make it.

The other point is that the genuine parts that are still available could be horrendously expensive, because gone are the days when parts are left for years on the shelf. My Audi A6 Allroad needed new air suspension at 15 years old. The aftermarket parts weren't very good (lots of US or German badged Chinese parts), but Bilstein OEM were still available , which I bought direct from in Germany. Before I did, I checked the Audi parts and they were 300% of the Bilstein OEM prices. £7,000 GBP vs £2,400 GBP...

aklim69

Is that a fact with VAG? I know they are supposed to have parts up till the last warranty expires but I did not know about 13 to 25 years from the last model sold. Good to know.