alrightroad

My dealer quoted me $220 (or 2 hours).

arob

Ask for Matt Fricke and tell him that Rob with the black allroad sent you.

Unbelievable.

paulroad

another 4x poster with no 'thank you' or 'follow up'...use us and abandon us!!

mustbeaudi

Watch it, Paul, you'll be mistaken for the "mad mustbe".

banjo mark

Thanx for the multiple responses. I was out of town all weekend and didn't have access to a computer to respond. It seems the consensus is: $475 is too much, by a factor of at least 2 and perhaps 4; there is no "secret tool"; there is a lower cross-member loosening issue which the typical tire shop may not be prepared or qualified to perform, and I ought to try HBL at Tysons Corner instead of Audi of Alexandria, but first call to see whether the quote was a mistake. Did I miss anything?
Mark

grey-2002-ar-6sp

Nope, thanks for the summary! (and please let us know how things work out

mustbeaudi

Whew, that was close. Thanks for the closure - that is, until you report the end results?

banjo mark

Well, I had the alignment done when I was traveling down in Tennessee to visit with family. Rick Hill Imports, ( http://www.rickhillimports.com/ ) (which until April was a sanctioned Audi dealer) did the alignment for me for $100. I went into the back when they brought the car around to see if the tech seemed to know what he was doing (when I mentioned locking the suspension to the guy at the desk he acted like most who don't know about the allroad adjustable suspension and raised his eyebrows - which told me he didn't know). The tech in the back said he had been the Audi guy for the past 30 years - so he knew what was what. I mentioned to him the reaction of the guy at the intake desk when I mentioned locking the suspension and he said he was not suprised. He said he unlocked it, raised and lowered it, and locked it again just to double check.
Anyway, it is done, the car handles great, rides a little better, doesn't pull to the right, and your collective input was invaluable.
Thanks loads.
Mark Byrum