Another horrible Don Rosen Audi experience... (very long!)
09-13-2005, 06:21 PM
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Another horrible Don Rosen Audi experience... (very long!)
So, I go to drop off my wife's 2003 A4 on Friday morning around 8:15. I had called and asked for either an Audi demo/loaner or a midsized sedan from enterprise since I'm 6'5" and have gotten plenty of little POS cars in the past as loaners. I actually even called to confirm the availability of an Audi loaner the day before to give them a friendly reminder.
Well, when I go to pull into the lot off of a fairly busy 4 lane highway (Ridge Pike for the locals) I quickly realize that the ENTIRE lot is full and there is literally no place to turn around - let alone anyplace to park the car and go into service. I had NEVER seen such a clusterf_ck ever before. I ended up having to park the car basically in the middle of the lot where I had stopped from pulling into the lot. I then had to wait 15 mins just to see a SA...meanwhile 2-3 other SAs had been walking around like they didn't have a care in the world. At this point I almost left, but after looking out the window I realize I was completely parked in. When I finally got waited on I presented my list of 1o items that I had teken the time to type out ahead of time...including itemizing everything that I expected to be done as part of the 30k mile service. I literally had to sit there and practically read the list to the SA as they typed it into the system and for some strange reason felt the need to reword almost everything on the list. I was promised it would be done by end of day and that I'd get a call between 1 and 2 that afternoon. Not to get ahead of myself, but just in case anyone is wondering...I didn't get a call as promised and had to follow up myself...only to find out that the car was not finished and would have to sit there over the weekend!
After being told I'd get a call regarding the car's status I then found out that there were "no more Audi loaners or demos for me and I'd have to settle for a rental. When I walked over the the Porsche showroom where the Enterprise Rent a Car reps are located I almost went through the roof when I realized there were 7 people in line waiting for cars ahead of me...none of them looked too happy either. I asked the guy in the front how long he had been waiting and he said 20 mins! Skip ahead another 30 minutes of waiting in line and when I finally get my rental/loaner car (paid for by dealer) I go out to find that I have been given an f'ing MINIVAN! Why in god's name are they even giving these out at a Porsche/Audi dealer. I asked what about the Jeep Liberty or Grand Cherokee I saw the one guy get and they said they were all out...only MINIVANS left! Now I have to admit I wasn't even frigging sure what the hell kind of car/van I was staring at when they pulled it up for me, but it was a totally fugly beige metallic mess! Just in case anyone is interested do a Google Images search for Chevy Uplander...yeah I was rollin in style!
Now the kicker...the gas tank initially reads one quarter tank of gas and for some reason drops to EMPTY within 2 miles on the highway. Now I'm already late for work + I'm driving a minivan + I'm about to run out of gas...let's say I was beyond PISSED! However, I held out hope that they'd get the service cranked out and I'd be picking up my wife's A4 for the weekend. Yeah, you guessed it...I had to wait all weekend AND MONDAY to get the car. Apparently my SA was out on vacation ro sick and nobody cared to call me to let me know the car was ready...this is after I left a message with her vmail AND asked the operator if somebody could check the status of the car and either put me on hold or call me back...nada on either attempt!
So, I dump the Chevy Uplander on my wife and when she goes to pickup the car today before work she pulls up to find the parking lot of the dealer in even worse shape then when I had been there Friday! She was only able to half pull into the lot b/c the car that pulled in ahead of her had nowhere to go. Some jerk of a car jockey from the service dept told her to "back the car up onto the road (4 lane highway) to and pull into the lot across the street" and run across 4 lanes of traffic. WTF are these idiots thinking? This is the worst run dealership barr none!
Things have actually seemed to get worse not better as some have claimed. At least they seemed to do most of the things on the list, but were unable to fix the ignition that some times lets you spin the key in the ignition 360 degrees. They ordered the part on TUESDAY not Friday for some reason...so they expect us to come back for more fun and games.
Now to add insult to injury I had to drop my buddy off at the local BMW dealer (Devon Hill) to get his M3 serviced and even though Bimmer dealers have reps as being ******...this placed was well organized, uncluttered, and ended up giving him a new 540 demo loaner since his car was going to need 2 days instead of 1 in the shop. I was even complimented on my S4...especially the AWE exhaust system and Nogaro paint! Not saying I'm going over to the dark side, but if this type of crap continues I highly doubt I'll be staying such a loyal Audi enthusiast. They're actually going out of their way to make service appointments a complete nightmare. Looks like it's up to Audi of Huntingdon Valley or Holberts to try and save me when I take my car someplace other than Don Rosen for my 15k mile service soon.
I'll end the rant here...just had to share my complete disgust and disbelief. Hopefully this will save somebody from having to go through this grief themself.
Sully
Well, when I go to pull into the lot off of a fairly busy 4 lane highway (Ridge Pike for the locals) I quickly realize that the ENTIRE lot is full and there is literally no place to turn around - let alone anyplace to park the car and go into service. I had NEVER seen such a clusterf_ck ever before. I ended up having to park the car basically in the middle of the lot where I had stopped from pulling into the lot. I then had to wait 15 mins just to see a SA...meanwhile 2-3 other SAs had been walking around like they didn't have a care in the world. At this point I almost left, but after looking out the window I realize I was completely parked in. When I finally got waited on I presented my list of 1o items that I had teken the time to type out ahead of time...including itemizing everything that I expected to be done as part of the 30k mile service. I literally had to sit there and practically read the list to the SA as they typed it into the system and for some strange reason felt the need to reword almost everything on the list. I was promised it would be done by end of day and that I'd get a call between 1 and 2 that afternoon. Not to get ahead of myself, but just in case anyone is wondering...I didn't get a call as promised and had to follow up myself...only to find out that the car was not finished and would have to sit there over the weekend!
After being told I'd get a call regarding the car's status I then found out that there were "no more Audi loaners or demos for me and I'd have to settle for a rental. When I walked over the the Porsche showroom where the Enterprise Rent a Car reps are located I almost went through the roof when I realized there were 7 people in line waiting for cars ahead of me...none of them looked too happy either. I asked the guy in the front how long he had been waiting and he said 20 mins! Skip ahead another 30 minutes of waiting in line and when I finally get my rental/loaner car (paid for by dealer) I go out to find that I have been given an f'ing MINIVAN! Why in god's name are they even giving these out at a Porsche/Audi dealer. I asked what about the Jeep Liberty or Grand Cherokee I saw the one guy get and they said they were all out...only MINIVANS left! Now I have to admit I wasn't even frigging sure what the hell kind of car/van I was staring at when they pulled it up for me, but it was a totally fugly beige metallic mess! Just in case anyone is interested do a Google Images search for Chevy Uplander...yeah I was rollin in style!
Now the kicker...the gas tank initially reads one quarter tank of gas and for some reason drops to EMPTY within 2 miles on the highway. Now I'm already late for work + I'm driving a minivan + I'm about to run out of gas...let's say I was beyond PISSED! However, I held out hope that they'd get the service cranked out and I'd be picking up my wife's A4 for the weekend. Yeah, you guessed it...I had to wait all weekend AND MONDAY to get the car. Apparently my SA was out on vacation ro sick and nobody cared to call me to let me know the car was ready...this is after I left a message with her vmail AND asked the operator if somebody could check the status of the car and either put me on hold or call me back...nada on either attempt!
So, I dump the Chevy Uplander on my wife and when she goes to pickup the car today before work she pulls up to find the parking lot of the dealer in even worse shape then when I had been there Friday! She was only able to half pull into the lot b/c the car that pulled in ahead of her had nowhere to go. Some jerk of a car jockey from the service dept told her to "back the car up onto the road (4 lane highway) to and pull into the lot across the street" and run across 4 lanes of traffic. WTF are these idiots thinking? This is the worst run dealership barr none!
Things have actually seemed to get worse not better as some have claimed. At least they seemed to do most of the things on the list, but were unable to fix the ignition that some times lets you spin the key in the ignition 360 degrees. They ordered the part on TUESDAY not Friday for some reason...so they expect us to come back for more fun and games.
Now to add insult to injury I had to drop my buddy off at the local BMW dealer (Devon Hill) to get his M3 serviced and even though Bimmer dealers have reps as being ******...this placed was well organized, uncluttered, and ended up giving him a new 540 demo loaner since his car was going to need 2 days instead of 1 in the shop. I was even complimented on my S4...especially the AWE exhaust system and Nogaro paint! Not saying I'm going over to the dark side, but if this type of crap continues I highly doubt I'll be staying such a loyal Audi enthusiast. They're actually going out of their way to make service appointments a complete nightmare. Looks like it's up to Audi of Huntingdon Valley or Holberts to try and save me when I take my car someplace other than Don Rosen for my 15k mile service soon.
I'll end the rant here...just had to share my complete disgust and disbelief. Hopefully this will save somebody from having to go through this grief themself.
Sully
09-13-2005, 06:26 PM
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Man that sucks...
I used to live in Texas when I had my B5 and was treated to new 2.7t A6's everytime my car was in. I move to Va. and all I get are Chevy Cobalts.
BTW: Sully thanks for the hat and man purse I like them a lot. Thanks again!!
BTW: Sully thanks for the hat and man purse I like them a lot. Thanks again!!
09-13-2005, 06:30 PM
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Check-in with me after Thursday and I'll give you my 2nd impression...
of one of the other dealerships you mentioned.
They didn't exactly leave me smiling the first time. (strike one)
If Audi truly wants to be recognized on the level of BMW/MB/Lexus, this is the area that needs the most attention.
They didn't exactly leave me smiling the first time. (strike one)
If Audi truly wants to be recognized on the level of BMW/MB/Lexus, this is the area that needs the most attention.
09-13-2005, 06:38 PM
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Which SA did you deal with?
And next time ask for a Hertz Rental Car, DR now does Hertz as well, they just dont have them onsight. The Hertz cars are much better. I know to ask from now on. Also I do agree Don Rosen is two busy for their own good right now. I know they are trying to buy up property where every they can but they are simply out of room. I have been there when its busy, but knowing the techs and my SA I would rather have my car their then anywhere else.
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09-13-2005, 06:41 PM
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parallels my experiences years back...
only worse. Seems like they have gotten busier, and the bad has become worse. AoHV has been pretty good to me in the past. Not sure how they have dealt with the rapid growth and demand for service though. I haven't gone back very often once the warranty was up.
As for their strange need to rephrase every item you described...it's normal. All Audi dealers will do that, as well as other brands. Cuts down on confusion between service and the service advisors. What AoHV usually does is staple my typed list to the service order, so the tech can refer to it, should he require clarification or should the typed sheet contain more clues or details regarding the problem. After dealing with Don Rosen, I was relieved to find AoHV doing this. Saved me a ton of grief.
As for their strange need to rephrase every item you described...it's normal. All Audi dealers will do that, as well as other brands. Cuts down on confusion between service and the service advisors. What AoHV usually does is staple my typed list to the service order, so the tech can refer to it, should he require clarification or should the typed sheet contain more clues or details regarding the problem. After dealing with Don Rosen, I was relieved to find AoHV doing this. Saved me a ton of grief.
09-13-2005, 06:44 PM
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At the end of the day...
its all in the SA. A good SA makes life easy. With my car in the shop the SA and the Tech invited me down frequently to see the car and see the progress.
09-13-2005, 07:11 PM
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I'm not buying it...I shouldn't need to count on getting a "good SA" or one of the other 90% of them
I hear what your saying about your experiences with DR, but they seem to be atypical. I'm glad you're getting great service, but then again, if anyone is having major problems with our $52k cars I'd hope AoA and any dealer or SA would be bending over backwards to keep us happy.