You can imagine the shock and awe...
06-01-2005, 05:59 PM
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You can imagine the shock and awe...
<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/90919/sullivans.1.jpg"></center><p>I wanted to give a follow up on the nightmare we have endured from Audi...it is a principle thing at this point. You can imagine the shock and awe of my wife and I after receiving this:
Dear Mr. Sullivan:
I have reviewed your complaint, with comprehensive input from both our technical staff, and our dealer.
It is our firm conviction that the technical problems experienced by you, are directly related to technical modifications made to the vehicle, designed to increase performance by reconfiguration of the engine management system.
This not only places additional stress on the turbo charger and engine components, but in fact on the entire driveline.
I am informed that the decision to drive a rental car instead of your own vehicle, was entirely your own, as the repair order was dated on 12/29/04, and you finally collected the vehicle around mid-April.
In light of the circumstances, I must advise you that we are unable to entertain further assistance regarding the cost of the repair to the vehicle.
Sincerely yours,
Johan de Nysschen
Executive Vice President
Audi of America, Inc.
I contacted my dealer in Florida who said no one from corporate has even called them!!!! I am walking from Audi and am talking my brother-in-law into getting rid of his A8 and all others I meet. I will pursue any open avenue of communicating Audi's "fasinating" lack of customer care in my family's situation.
Obviously, they have had trouble with these "chipping" types but to not give the benefit of the doubt and just group us as their statistic should turn the stomach of any Audi or VW owner.
A brand driven company simply cannot afford to empower disatisfied customers with absolutely no concern. And I am sure the powers over our Audi of America friends would agree.
I do suggest that you write to Mr. de Nysschen not for my sake, but for yours. If this was your family, how would you feel? A company enjoying a ride of prosperity needs to be reminded their success comes from you and me.
Here is his contact information:
Mr. Johan Denysschen
johan.denysschen@audi.com
Executive Vice President
Audi North America
Dear Mr. Sullivan:
I have reviewed your complaint, with comprehensive input from both our technical staff, and our dealer.
It is our firm conviction that the technical problems experienced by you, are directly related to technical modifications made to the vehicle, designed to increase performance by reconfiguration of the engine management system.
This not only places additional stress on the turbo charger and engine components, but in fact on the entire driveline.
I am informed that the decision to drive a rental car instead of your own vehicle, was entirely your own, as the repair order was dated on 12/29/04, and you finally collected the vehicle around mid-April.
In light of the circumstances, I must advise you that we are unable to entertain further assistance regarding the cost of the repair to the vehicle.
Sincerely yours,
Johan de Nysschen
Executive Vice President
Audi of America, Inc.
I contacted my dealer in Florida who said no one from corporate has even called them!!!! I am walking from Audi and am talking my brother-in-law into getting rid of his A8 and all others I meet. I will pursue any open avenue of communicating Audi's "fasinating" lack of customer care in my family's situation.
Obviously, they have had trouble with these "chipping" types but to not give the benefit of the doubt and just group us as their statistic should turn the stomach of any Audi or VW owner.
A brand driven company simply cannot afford to empower disatisfied customers with absolutely no concern. And I am sure the powers over our Audi of America friends would agree.
I do suggest that you write to Mr. de Nysschen not for my sake, but for yours. If this was your family, how would you feel? A company enjoying a ride of prosperity needs to be reminded their success comes from you and me.
Here is his contact information:
Mr. Johan Denysschen
johan.denysschen@audi.com
Executive Vice President
Audi North America
06-01-2005, 06:31 PM
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Re: You can imagine the shock and awe...
Here is the link to the rest of the story...
https://forums.audiworld.com/allroad/msgs/116001.phtml<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/allroad/msgs/116001.phtml">https://forums.audiworld.com/allroad/msgs/116001.phtml</a></li></ul>
https://forums.audiworld.com/allroad/msgs/116001.phtml<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/allroad/msgs/116001.phtml">https://forums.audiworld.com/allroad/msgs/116001.phtml</a></li></ul>
06-01-2005, 06:35 PM
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Re: You can imagine the shock and awe...
Can anyone help? Even the top person at Audi of America refuses to help us after over $35k in warranty repairs and six months in rental cars!! Any advice or education on "chipping" would greatly be appreciated. A note to AoA would be appreciated as well...this could happen to any AUDI owner. Thank you in advance.
The letter I addressed to Audi's highest ranking official is below...
Mr. Johan Denysschen
Executive Vice President
Audi North America
johan.denysschen@audi.com
I am elevating this to you for the sake of saving a loyal customer. I have a leased 2001 Audi Allroad I have been trying to get resolution on since November 2004.
I am a long time Audi customer and realize all manufacturers cannot be perfect with every vehicle produced. I realize manufacturers struggle with some models. I also understand not all service teams are perfect every time although I sure they aim for that.
My wife and I have been in a rental car since November for 5 months since we took the car into the local Atlanta dealership for an evaluation. We have continued to pay our lease payment on time every month and have also been paying Enterprise Rental Car 755.00 per month for five months for a less than comparable vehicle.
Due to repairs over the course of the lease, my wife and children have spent almost nine months in rental vehicles no where near the safety level of the Audi vehicle I leased. The safety level of the car was one of our deciding factors in choosing an Audi. We have also been inconvenienced by the numerous trips to and from the dealership. For a car driven by a mother of two, this car has produced many fearful situations by breaking down on the highway, etc. I cannot tell you how many panic calls I have received while traveling saying the car broke down and the kids are waiting to be picked up from school or practice.
The vehicle has been maintained on the entire scheduled maintenance program yet the problems have been major things like cracked engine block, turbo failures, never ending suspension/electrical failures and the list goes on. I was told by my service team in Florida that the car has had over $35,000 worth of repairs done to it. The cars value when purchased was $44,000.
I was transferred to Atlanta in the early fall and brought the vehicle into my dealer, Braman Motorcars in West Palm Beach, Florida before our move to have the scheduled service done. I was told there was a transmission seal that needed to be changed and a CV boot needed to be replaced. I was told these were relatively simple repairs and the bill was $1200.
We then had the car shipped directly to Atlanta from Braman. As soon as it was taken off the truck, it did not drive correctly. The first thing we noticed with the car was the transmission felt like it was not shifting into 5th gear and my wife said she felt the suspension going up and down in an odd fashion. I took it to the local dealership in Atlanta (Jim Ellis) to have it checked out. The dealership's service person called me four days later saying I needed two new Axle rods, new rotors, new brakes a new CV boot (which I thought Braman had replaced) and a full new transmission...and the estimated cost would be around $9000! Needless to say, I was dumbfounded. We had just had the scheduled service done at Braman in Florida less than 3 months before that and the service folks found no sign of this!
I raised the issue to the COO of my home dealer (Vince Cerone), as they were the only people to have touched the car and he raised the issue to the Regional Audi office in Atlanta. No formal communication ever came from any Audi representative except for a Regional Technician who took over a month to call me back.
The Technician told me that my car had been chipped†and Audi would not offer any assistance whatsoever! I have to tell you when he mentioned the  echipping†I thought he was talking about the paint! I had no idea about these things. I am not a car person. Another reason for choosing the Audi was for the maintenance plan. I travel and don‼sup>TM</sup>t have the time to deal with things like this. He told me people put computer chips in their cars to increase horsepower. I questioned him why I would want to make an already fast vehicle even faster or dangerous for my wife and two young children? His tone was very accusatory and despite being located in Atlanta, he refused to even go and look at the car personally, stating he does not have to. I come to find out later from the Jim Ellis folks that a cover of some sort was had four screws loose? Is that enough to treat a customer as some sort of criminal? Is it not possible the prior service team forgot to tighten some screws? Mr. Denysshen, don‼sup>TM</sup>t you agree no company has room to treat their customers like this, particularly loyal ones?
I spoke to my former Service Representative in Palm Beach who has been involved in every repair since the beginning of the lease. He could not believe the reaction I received. He also stated some issues that are very concerning to me:
• The  echipping†issue is obsolete as they would have seen it with the prior service
• The Allroads, company-wide, have had many issues, particularly with turbos, computer software and suspensions.
• The engine replaced on my vehicle was the very first the crew replaced.
• All Service Representatives are paid commissions on repairs.
Mr. Denysschen, my family went through the Audi 5000 transmission problem in the 1980s and when I went to lease this car, I assured my father that Audi had changed and they were a completely new kind of car and company.
With all that said, you have the ability to make the right decision quickly. I am a family man saving for a new home and college. I travel 15 days out of the month. I just want to put my family in a safe car as soon as possible without these worries. We cannot afford to continue to pay 1200.00 a month in car payments to be driving a rental car.
Please contact us with any questions. Thank you in advance for your help and expedition in this process.
Kind regards,
The letter I addressed to Audi's highest ranking official is below...
Mr. Johan Denysschen
Executive Vice President
Audi North America
johan.denysschen@audi.com
I am elevating this to you for the sake of saving a loyal customer. I have a leased 2001 Audi Allroad I have been trying to get resolution on since November 2004.
I am a long time Audi customer and realize all manufacturers cannot be perfect with every vehicle produced. I realize manufacturers struggle with some models. I also understand not all service teams are perfect every time although I sure they aim for that.
My wife and I have been in a rental car since November for 5 months since we took the car into the local Atlanta dealership for an evaluation. We have continued to pay our lease payment on time every month and have also been paying Enterprise Rental Car 755.00 per month for five months for a less than comparable vehicle.
Due to repairs over the course of the lease, my wife and children have spent almost nine months in rental vehicles no where near the safety level of the Audi vehicle I leased. The safety level of the car was one of our deciding factors in choosing an Audi. We have also been inconvenienced by the numerous trips to and from the dealership. For a car driven by a mother of two, this car has produced many fearful situations by breaking down on the highway, etc. I cannot tell you how many panic calls I have received while traveling saying the car broke down and the kids are waiting to be picked up from school or practice.
The vehicle has been maintained on the entire scheduled maintenance program yet the problems have been major things like cracked engine block, turbo failures, never ending suspension/electrical failures and the list goes on. I was told by my service team in Florida that the car has had over $35,000 worth of repairs done to it. The cars value when purchased was $44,000.
I was transferred to Atlanta in the early fall and brought the vehicle into my dealer, Braman Motorcars in West Palm Beach, Florida before our move to have the scheduled service done. I was told there was a transmission seal that needed to be changed and a CV boot needed to be replaced. I was told these were relatively simple repairs and the bill was $1200.
We then had the car shipped directly to Atlanta from Braman. As soon as it was taken off the truck, it did not drive correctly. The first thing we noticed with the car was the transmission felt like it was not shifting into 5th gear and my wife said she felt the suspension going up and down in an odd fashion. I took it to the local dealership in Atlanta (Jim Ellis) to have it checked out. The dealership's service person called me four days later saying I needed two new Axle rods, new rotors, new brakes a new CV boot (which I thought Braman had replaced) and a full new transmission...and the estimated cost would be around $9000! Needless to say, I was dumbfounded. We had just had the scheduled service done at Braman in Florida less than 3 months before that and the service folks found no sign of this!
I raised the issue to the COO of my home dealer (Vince Cerone), as they were the only people to have touched the car and he raised the issue to the Regional Audi office in Atlanta. No formal communication ever came from any Audi representative except for a Regional Technician who took over a month to call me back.
The Technician told me that my car had been chipped†and Audi would not offer any assistance whatsoever! I have to tell you when he mentioned the  echipping†I thought he was talking about the paint! I had no idea about these things. I am not a car person. Another reason for choosing the Audi was for the maintenance plan. I travel and don‼sup>TM</sup>t have the time to deal with things like this. He told me people put computer chips in their cars to increase horsepower. I questioned him why I would want to make an already fast vehicle even faster or dangerous for my wife and two young children? His tone was very accusatory and despite being located in Atlanta, he refused to even go and look at the car personally, stating he does not have to. I come to find out later from the Jim Ellis folks that a cover of some sort was had four screws loose? Is that enough to treat a customer as some sort of criminal? Is it not possible the prior service team forgot to tighten some screws? Mr. Denysshen, don‼sup>TM</sup>t you agree no company has room to treat their customers like this, particularly loyal ones?
I spoke to my former Service Representative in Palm Beach who has been involved in every repair since the beginning of the lease. He could not believe the reaction I received. He also stated some issues that are very concerning to me:
• The  echipping†issue is obsolete as they would have seen it with the prior service
• The Allroads, company-wide, have had many issues, particularly with turbos, computer software and suspensions.
• The engine replaced on my vehicle was the very first the crew replaced.
• All Service Representatives are paid commissions on repairs.
Mr. Denysschen, my family went through the Audi 5000 transmission problem in the 1980s and when I went to lease this car, I assured my father that Audi had changed and they were a completely new kind of car and company.
With all that said, you have the ability to make the right decision quickly. I am a family man saving for a new home and college. I travel 15 days out of the month. I just want to put my family in a safe car as soon as possible without these worries. We cannot afford to continue to pay 1200.00 a month in car payments to be driving a rental car.
Please contact us with any questions. Thank you in advance for your help and expedition in this process.
Kind regards,
06-02-2005, 10:53 AM
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The folks in the Allroad forum have probably given you the best advice.
You have a dispute with AoA that won't be settled online, so hire a lawyer if you must and seek remedy through the courts.
Outside of that, your story is really confusing.
Outside of that, your story is really confusing.
06-03-2005, 12:26 PM
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ugh, saaaaame thing happened to me.
I wrote letters to the BBB in ATL, the pres. of the dealer, and Axel Mees, the then-VP of AoA. It took over a month, but they covered my rental bill, which was over $1000. This was after a turbo swap as well. God that makes me have flashbacks.
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06-03-2005, 12:31 PM
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write Johan back.
tell him you talked to the Jim Ellis peeps, the techs, everyone. Have the techs say that your car was never chipped, which it sounds like is the truth. Then write Johan back, stating the next step is to contact lawyers. Make good on that threat, too. If the car was never modified, you'll have a great chance of winning. Best of luck. I had to deal with this last summer when I had friggin surgery. Ugh.
06-04-2005, 01:09 PM
#9
AudiWorld Super User
35k in repairs sounds like you get unlucky and bought total junk or dealer helps ...
they do it sometimes , we find this and this. More repairs mean more money and people who own audi have money and don't know much about cars (thats what i see in my dealer). Anyway 35k is shame for Audi and i will be very angry. So fight for your rights and Good luck !!!
