My brand new 2018 SQ5 - In SHOP more than on the road so far!!!
11-03-2018, 01:37 AM
#21
Don't be offended by me saying this....but asking Audi to replace your car with a new one at this point is just ridiculous. In fact, it's not going to help your case. You car doesn't even remotely meet any logical threshold for replacement. Audi knows this, and the fact that you asked for that puts you on the "crazy list", your owner record will reflect your request. That's not a good way to start out a new relationship on a new car, and you will likely not find Audi very receptive in a future correspondence when you start off with that type of first contact with them. Something to think about.... you pretty much just trashed any hope of a goodwill gesture from Audi over this by going this extreme in your first correspondence. I worked in the industry for many years, so trust me when I say this....you shot yourself in the foot and just made this problem worse in my opinion.
It's not unreasonable to expect that a brand new car's engine (that you are paying for) isn't completely ripped into. I've had the same thing (engine replacement) happen on a 2016 GTI w/ 2k miles...it's not a confidence inspiring feeling.
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Skitchr007 (08-03-2019)
11-03-2018, 08:29 AM
#22
AudiWorld Senior Member
Not an Audi fan boy. The Audi I have now is the first I have owned.
What I am a fan of is treating brands and dealerships with respect....because I worked in the industry for years and dealt with these types of service "crisis repairs" daily. Asking for your new car to be replaced over this type of repair is ludicrous.
So yeah....if you don't think that building a relationship with the brand or dealership is important, go right ahead a send your letters and make your phone calls with unreasonable demands. Because sure....Audi is really going to want to go the extra mile to help out someone that is unreasonable and complains incessantly. And now the dealer is going to get drug into this by AoA that one of there customer is complaining and they are gonna get scrutinized as well. So yeah, your service department is not gonna be very happy because they have received a "mark" against them tracked my AoA. Yeah, that's a thing too....dealerships that get penalized by AoA over customer complaints.
So if you don't think the situation hasn't been muddled because of demanding a car....yeah, it has. Take the advice from someone that worked on these repairs daily for many years. Or don't....I don't really care. It just makes me roll my eyes at what people think they are entitled to because they bought a $50,000 that needs a repair....because it happens to tens of thousands of owners in a years time but they manage to not make unreasonable demands.
It's a car...sometimes it breaks. Audi doesn't promise a perfect car, they promise to fix it if it doesn't, not give you a new one instead. So chill and let it be fixed. It's not a crisis because you visited 2 times for a warning light.
What I am a fan of is treating brands and dealerships with respect....because I worked in the industry for years and dealt with these types of service "crisis repairs" daily. Asking for your new car to be replaced over this type of repair is ludicrous.
So yeah....if you don't think that building a relationship with the brand or dealership is important, go right ahead a send your letters and make your phone calls with unreasonable demands. Because sure....Audi is really going to want to go the extra mile to help out someone that is unreasonable and complains incessantly. And now the dealer is going to get drug into this by AoA that one of there customer is complaining and they are gonna get scrutinized as well. So yeah, your service department is not gonna be very happy because they have received a "mark" against them tracked my AoA. Yeah, that's a thing too....dealerships that get penalized by AoA over customer complaints.
So if you don't think the situation hasn't been muddled because of demanding a car....yeah, it has. Take the advice from someone that worked on these repairs daily for many years. Or don't....I don't really care. It just makes me roll my eyes at what people think they are entitled to because they bought a $50,000 that needs a repair....because it happens to tens of thousands of owners in a years time but they manage to not make unreasonable demands.
It's a car...sometimes it breaks. Audi doesn't promise a perfect car, they promise to fix it if it doesn't, not give you a new one instead. So chill and let it be fixed. It's not a crisis because you visited 2 times for a warning light.
11-03-2018, 08:36 AM
#23
Not an Audi fan boy. The Audi I have now is the first I have owned.
What I am a fan of is treating brands and dealerships with respect....because I worked in the industry for years and dealt with these types of service "crisis repairs" daily. Asking for your new car to be replaced over this type of repair is ludicrous.
So yeah....if you don't think that building a relationship with the brand or dealership is important, go right ahead a send your letters and make your phone calls with unreasonable demands. Because sure....Audi is really going to want to go the extra mile to help out someone that is unreasonable and complains incessantly. And now the dealer is going to get drug into this by AoA that one of there customer is complaining and they are gonna get scrutinized as well. So yeah, your service department is not gonna be very happy because they have received a "mark" against them tracked my AoA. Yeah, that's a thing too....dealerships that get penalized by AoA over customer complaints.
So if you don't think the situation hasn't been muddled because of demanding a car....yeah, it has. Take the advice from someone that worked on these repairs daily for many years. Or don't....I don't really care. It just makes me roll my eyes at what people think they are entitled to because they bought a $50,000 that needs a repair....because it happens to tens of thousands of owners in a years time but they manage to not make unreasonable demands.
It's a car...sometimes it breaks. Audi doesn't promise a perfect car, they promise to fix it if it doesn't, not give you a new one instead. So chill and let it be fixed. It's not a crisis because you visited 2 times for a warning light.
What I am a fan of is treating brands and dealerships with respect....because I worked in the industry for years and dealt with these types of service "crisis repairs" daily. Asking for your new car to be replaced over this type of repair is ludicrous.
So yeah....if you don't think that building a relationship with the brand or dealership is important, go right ahead a send your letters and make your phone calls with unreasonable demands. Because sure....Audi is really going to want to go the extra mile to help out someone that is unreasonable and complains incessantly. And now the dealer is going to get drug into this by AoA that one of there customer is complaining and they are gonna get scrutinized as well. So yeah, your service department is not gonna be very happy because they have received a "mark" against them tracked my AoA. Yeah, that's a thing too....dealerships that get penalized by AoA over customer complaints.
So if you don't think the situation hasn't been muddled because of demanding a car....yeah, it has. Take the advice from someone that worked on these repairs daily for many years. Or don't....I don't really care. It just makes me roll my eyes at what people think they are entitled to because they bought a $50,000 that needs a repair....because it happens to tens of thousands of owners in a years time but they manage to not make unreasonable demands.
It's a car...sometimes it breaks. Audi doesn't promise a perfect car, they promise to fix it if it doesn't, not give you a new one instead. So chill and let it be fixed. It's not a crisis because you visited 2 times for a warning light.
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Skitchr007 (08-03-2019)
11-03-2018, 08:36 AM
#24
Not an Audi fan boy. The Audi I have now is the first I have owned.
What I am a fan of is treating brands and dealerships with respect....because I worked in the industry for years and dealt with these types of service "crisis repairs" daily. Asking for your new car to be replaced over this type of repair is ludicrous.
So yeah....if you don't think that building a relationship with the brand or dealership is important, go right ahead a send your letters and make your phone calls with unreasonable demands. Because sure....Audi is really going to want to go the extra mile to help out someone that is unreasonable and complains incessantly. And now the dealer is going to get drug into this by AoA that one of there customer is complaining and they are gonna get scrutinized as well. So yeah, your service department is not gonna be very happy because they have received a "mark" against them tracked my AoA. Yeah, that's a thing too....dealerships that get penalized by AoA over customer complaints.
So if you don't think the situation hasn't been muddled because of demanding a car....yeah, it has. Take the advice from someone that worked on these repairs daily for many years. Or don't....I don't really care. It just makes me roll my eyes at what people think they are entitled to because they bought a $50,000 that needs a repair....because it happens to tens of thousands of owners in a years time but they manage to not make unreasonable demands.
It's a car...sometimes it breaks. Audi doesn't promise a perfect car, they promise to fix it if it doesn't, not give you a new one instead. So chill and let it be fixed. It's not a crisis because you visited 2 times for a warning light.
What I am a fan of is treating brands and dealerships with respect....because I worked in the industry for years and dealt with these types of service "crisis repairs" daily. Asking for your new car to be replaced over this type of repair is ludicrous.
So yeah....if you don't think that building a relationship with the brand or dealership is important, go right ahead a send your letters and make your phone calls with unreasonable demands. Because sure....Audi is really going to want to go the extra mile to help out someone that is unreasonable and complains incessantly. And now the dealer is going to get drug into this by AoA that one of there customer is complaining and they are gonna get scrutinized as well. So yeah, your service department is not gonna be very happy because they have received a "mark" against them tracked my AoA. Yeah, that's a thing too....dealerships that get penalized by AoA over customer complaints.
So if you don't think the situation hasn't been muddled because of demanding a car....yeah, it has. Take the advice from someone that worked on these repairs daily for many years. Or don't....I don't really care. It just makes me roll my eyes at what people think they are entitled to because they bought a $50,000 that needs a repair....because it happens to tens of thousands of owners in a years time but they manage to not make unreasonable demands.
It's a car...sometimes it breaks. Audi doesn't promise a perfect car, they promise to fix it if it doesn't, not give you a new one instead. So chill and let it be fixed. It's not a crisis because you visited 2 times for a warning light.
11-03-2018, 09:32 AM
#25
AudiWorld Super User
I agree, being a "difficult" customer doesn't help the case. One gets much farther by being reasonable and trying to build a relationship. Legal action and such should be last resort if things don't get resolved. Even the lemon law allows manufacturers a reasonable number of attempts to correct an issue, before you have a case. Starting to demand the car be replaced before you even have a lemon law case, doesn't help. This whole situation certainly sucks. I wouldn't be happy, either, but the dealership didn't build the car. They are a franchise that sells and services them. You want them on your side and go to battle for you. Getting them penalized by AoA, because you complained directly to AoA, won't make them very eager to be on your side. Just something to consider. I deal with customers on a daily basis as a consultant and "difficult" customers don't deserve my full attention. The lemon law is there to step in if an issue can't be resolved in a reasonable amount of time, so that the manufacturer is forced to fix the issue on their time and not the customer's time. I don't think you are there yet. Since you are leasing the car, a more reasonable request to AoA once the issue is fixed is to request compensation for the time you weren't able to use the car. After all, you don't actually own this car. You are renting it from AFS (or other lesser) and are contractually responsible for its upkeep. If you can't use the car, because it's defective, then pursuing compensation for the lost time is much more reasonable.
Last edited by superswiss; 11-03-2018 at 09:35 AM.
11-03-2018, 03:09 PM
#26
AudiWorld Junior Member
Thread Starter
Wow… I think I am being accused unfairly of a few things, so let me recap the situation…
Leased the vehicle on the 16th. I believe it was 2 days later I received the drive system malfunction error. Called the dealer where I leased the vehicle the next AM. The service department there tells me they can’t fit me in for an appointment for 5 days. I politely ask if they can fit me in sooner. The answer is no. I contact my salesperson to explain the situation and I ask if he can talk to the service department to get me in sooner. He basically says there’s nothing he can do, and suggests I take it to another Audi dealer if they can get me in sooner, which is what I do.
I get an appointment for the next business day at a different local dealer. Drop the car off on a Monday receive it back on a Thursday, with the cam sensor replaced. Issue pops up again the next AM. I call the original dealer’s service department and I explain the situation. I ask (again politely) if I can bring the vehicle in. They tell me they cannot touch the vehicle – that as a result of this being a recurring issue, I can only bring it to the dealer that worked on the problem the first time. So I drop if off that AM at the dealer who worked on the car the first time (this was a week ago Friday).
On Monday the dealer says they are stuck waiting on Audi to authorize the ECM repair, so I take the initiative and call up Audi customer care for this specific reason only. I politely explain the situation, say I am unhappy that the car I just acquired is having this issue, and ask if they can do anything to get the repair approved and expedite things so I can get back into my vehicle. I am told “I am sorry you’re having this issue.. we’ll see what we can do… someone will call you back”.
I get a call back the next day while in a meeting. Even though I thoroughly explained the situation and provided my VIN, the Audi voicemail says they’re confused which dealer has my vehicle and that I should e-mail them with that info, which I immediately do. I never heard one word back from Audi customer care after that.
In the meantime, I also never once heard anything from the original dealer.. like an email asking me if things were going OK with the repair. I am stuck in a weird situation because they are not actually servicing the car either.
So obviously mid last week the ECM was swapped and it didn’t solve the problem. Dealer says they are going to replace the cam adjuster, but need to get a special part from Audi in order to remove it because they’ve never done this repair at the dealership (or at least not on this vehicle) and don’t have all the proper tools. They said I should have the vehicle back on Thur or Fri. Still… up till now I’ve been polite while expressing my strong desire to have the vehicle back ASAP. Yesterday they text me end of day and say it’s now Monday / Tuesday to get the car back because the job is way more involved than they expected - 30 hours of labor. Then they call ½ hour later and say… make that Thur next week because Audi sent us the wrong shims to put the car back together.
Sometime yesterday I called Audi customer care. I am not yelling or rude in any way. I told them that I am unhappy with the situation, that the deadline to get my car back to me keeps moving out, and that even after they manage to fix this problem I am going to have a difficult time feeling confident in the car that has this type of engine issue out of the gate. I say I would be happier if they provided me a working vehicle that doesn’t have major engine issues right off the lot. They said, “we’ll let you know in 7-10 business days if your request is approved”.
In the meantime, I send a polite e-mail to my sales person and explain that I had this conversation with Audi and I ask if he can have the dealer’s GM advocate for Audi to approve my request. The sales person apologizes profusely and says he will of course. That’s where things stand.
I don’t think it’s fair or accurate to say I am disrespecting the “relationship with the dealerships or the brand” or that I am “complaining incessantly”. Up until now, it feels like no one has gone the ‘extra mile’ for me or done anything to make me feel less unhappy with the situation. Somehow I am the villain here and should feel sympathy for the dealers and feel regret that if I only handled this differently I’d have a better outcome? Tough crowd.
Leased the vehicle on the 16th. I believe it was 2 days later I received the drive system malfunction error. Called the dealer where I leased the vehicle the next AM. The service department there tells me they can’t fit me in for an appointment for 5 days. I politely ask if they can fit me in sooner. The answer is no. I contact my salesperson to explain the situation and I ask if he can talk to the service department to get me in sooner. He basically says there’s nothing he can do, and suggests I take it to another Audi dealer if they can get me in sooner, which is what I do.
I get an appointment for the next business day at a different local dealer. Drop the car off on a Monday receive it back on a Thursday, with the cam sensor replaced. Issue pops up again the next AM. I call the original dealer’s service department and I explain the situation. I ask (again politely) if I can bring the vehicle in. They tell me they cannot touch the vehicle – that as a result of this being a recurring issue, I can only bring it to the dealer that worked on the problem the first time. So I drop if off that AM at the dealer who worked on the car the first time (this was a week ago Friday).
On Monday the dealer says they are stuck waiting on Audi to authorize the ECM repair, so I take the initiative and call up Audi customer care for this specific reason only. I politely explain the situation, say I am unhappy that the car I just acquired is having this issue, and ask if they can do anything to get the repair approved and expedite things so I can get back into my vehicle. I am told “I am sorry you’re having this issue.. we’ll see what we can do… someone will call you back”.
I get a call back the next day while in a meeting. Even though I thoroughly explained the situation and provided my VIN, the Audi voicemail says they’re confused which dealer has my vehicle and that I should e-mail them with that info, which I immediately do. I never heard one word back from Audi customer care after that.
In the meantime, I also never once heard anything from the original dealer.. like an email asking me if things were going OK with the repair. I am stuck in a weird situation because they are not actually servicing the car either.
So obviously mid last week the ECM was swapped and it didn’t solve the problem. Dealer says they are going to replace the cam adjuster, but need to get a special part from Audi in order to remove it because they’ve never done this repair at the dealership (or at least not on this vehicle) and don’t have all the proper tools. They said I should have the vehicle back on Thur or Fri. Still… up till now I’ve been polite while expressing my strong desire to have the vehicle back ASAP. Yesterday they text me end of day and say it’s now Monday / Tuesday to get the car back because the job is way more involved than they expected - 30 hours of labor. Then they call ½ hour later and say… make that Thur next week because Audi sent us the wrong shims to put the car back together.
Sometime yesterday I called Audi customer care. I am not yelling or rude in any way. I told them that I am unhappy with the situation, that the deadline to get my car back to me keeps moving out, and that even after they manage to fix this problem I am going to have a difficult time feeling confident in the car that has this type of engine issue out of the gate. I say I would be happier if they provided me a working vehicle that doesn’t have major engine issues right off the lot. They said, “we’ll let you know in 7-10 business days if your request is approved”.
In the meantime, I send a polite e-mail to my sales person and explain that I had this conversation with Audi and I ask if he can have the dealer’s GM advocate for Audi to approve my request. The sales person apologizes profusely and says he will of course. That’s where things stand.
I don’t think it’s fair or accurate to say I am disrespecting the “relationship with the dealerships or the brand” or that I am “complaining incessantly”. Up until now, it feels like no one has gone the ‘extra mile’ for me or done anything to make me feel less unhappy with the situation. Somehow I am the villain here and should feel sympathy for the dealers and feel regret that if I only handled this differently I’d have a better outcome? Tough crowd.
Last edited by GC500; 11-30-2018 at 09:49 AM.
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Skitchr007 (08-03-2019)
11-03-2018, 03:43 PM
#27
AudiWorld Member
Have you been driving a loaner this entire time? As long as you're paying money for a lease, you should at least have use of a comprable vehicle for the money you're spending, or the money returned.
11-03-2018, 03:47 PM
#28
AudiWorld Super User
I'm not sure anyone is accusing you, I'm certainly not intending it. Just trying to give some perspective. Everything you've said is not unusual. Mixups happen, wrong parts get shipped, parts can get damaged during shipping etc. and as said even a brand new car can have issues from the factory. I understand that it is frustrating not having the car. I've actually been in a similar situation with my current RS5. I did European Delivery. Drove the car for about 4000 miles in Europe. Somewhere along the way, the transmission oil filter came loose and dented the oil pan. I was unaware of the issue until the car arrived state side and I took it in for the 5k service. They replaced the filter and oil pan, but two days later it started to leak again. Took the car back, they replaced the oil pan again, and it still leaked. Dealer got an Audi engineer on site to figure out what's going on. They told me that I might need a new transmission, but eventually they discovered that the oil pans were getting damaged during shipping and arrived slightly bent. Once they managed to procure one that wasn't bent, issue was resolved. I was w/o my car for several weeks. That's after I had waited 10 weeks for the car to arrive here after dropping it off in Europe. Certainly wasn't happy about the situation, but it got resolved and now I have close to 70k miles on it and enjoyed every minute. I was a bit concerned at first given that I was driving the car hard in Germany on the Autobahn and Nurburgring and that the transmission may have been oil starved, but they assured me that the oil level was fine and all is good with the car. Clearly the oil filter hadn't been properly installed at the factory. Moral of the story is, these are complex machine's and things can fail, even as early as in your case. Generally, you want things to fail early if they are going to fail, so they can be addressed under warranty. Chances are the car will be fine once they find and fix the actual cause, but in case they can't fix it there is still time to pursue a buyback should it come to that. Don't exhaust all your options right away. A replacement is no guarantee that you won't have issues with the next car.
11-03-2018, 03:48 PM
#29
WOW...farmerjones, you make it sound like GC500 threatened to go down to his Audi dealer, and start shooting up the place. Sounds like you're the one who needs to chill.
250 miles? Come on, use your head. He has every right to be upset, and Audi (Who monitor this sight) should make every effort to make him happy. A replacement car is NOT asking to much.
I have had 3 Audi's so far, and I am watching what happens to GC500 very carefully.
250 miles? Come on, use your head. He has every right to be upset, and Audi (Who monitor this sight) should make every effort to make him happy. A replacement car is NOT asking to much.
I have had 3 Audi's so far, and I am watching what happens to GC500 very carefully.
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Skitchr007 (08-03-2019)
11-03-2018, 04:08 PM
#30
AudiWorld Junior Member
Thread Starter
@Benzie I have been driving a loaner this whole time, which I am getting for free from the servicing dealer. It's a base Q5 (mine is a Prem Plus SQ5 with tech, B&O, etc). I've not asked to be reimbursed on the lease payment, and am fine with that as they are giving me the loaner for free.
@96gs917 I checked the paperwork from the 1st time dropping off the car for service. Odometer reading was 203 mi.
@96gs917 I checked the paperwork from the 1st time dropping off the car for service. Odometer reading was 203 mi.
Last edited by GC500; 11-03-2018 at 04:28 PM.