Well I have been so satisfied with my decision to get an A4 - extremely happy with the car in every way.... until now, that is. I'm a mature, late 40s enthusiast who actually drives conservatively but still enjoys a nice sporty vehicle. After narrowing down the list for a new sport sedan, I decided on a 2007 2.0 T and got a brand new A4 7 months ago. Everything was fine until about one month ago when I noticed a slight pulsating during light to moderate braking. After a few weeks it became worse to point of going into a high frequency shimmy so I took it to the dealer I got it from. They took the car for a test drive and said I should get it back the following day. The following day I was told they had not received warranty authorization from Audi. I called Audi USA and spoke to a customer care representative who explained the brakes are not covered under my warranty because they are considered a "wear and tear" item. I never abused the brakes, never overheated them, never panic stopped, etc. I am at a loss as to how Audi can claim that a 7 month old car with 8000 miles has two warped front rotors as a result of wear and tear... I spoke again with the dealer to find out what they communicated to Audi, and they assured me they told Audi the rotors were defective. I again called Audi USA to inquire how they could overrule the dealer who actually serviced the vehicle, but they maintained that the brakes are not covered under warranty since they are a wear and tear item. Gee, I have owned over 20 different cars and none of them ever had rotor problems including the ones I drove for over 100,000 miles...
Has anyone else experienced this kind of treatment from Audi? I told Audi I will be going car shopping this weekend since I will not represent their brand any longer even if it means eating the depreciation on a 7 month old car. Ironically, just a month ago I was looking forward to trading the '07 A4 on the next generation '09 A4 - until Audi showed how little they value my loyalty.
Oh, and the dealer called late today and said Audi would reconsider, but wants me to bring the car to the dealer so they can send digital pictures of the rotors to Audi... talk about micromanagement gone awry!! What a complete farce.
Thanks, I feel better already.

 

I took the car back to the dealer so they could take digital photos and send them to AoA. The dealer was apologetic, and I think also ashamed that Audi is treating me this way. We'll see what happens this week.
I'm surprised no one here responded to my rant with advice/comments/suggestions - anyone?

 

My case is a little bit different, I was also treated very unfairly at the audi dealership. I have not had my car for very long. Its a 2002 and came with every last one of the service records (It was always serviced at Audi). Since I had the car I have always had it serviced at Audi. Well me and my wife just recently moved to Philadelphia from N.C. and I took my car in to the Audi Dealership here. After about 5 minutes of dropping it off they pulled it around front and told me that whoever serviced the car before put sheet metal screws into the bottom engine cover and said that they refuse to take it down to do the oil change. I asked him if he could show me what he was talking about, he then said that its too late they already pulled the car around front. and then asked the person behind me if they needed help. They didn't even offer any type of solution to the problem. They didn't even ask if they could fix it. Just blew me off. That one situation left a really bad taste in my mouth with Audi. I love the car but I think this is going to be the one and only Audi I own.

 

The big question is why you are taking the car to a dealer for an oil change? Why pay 100 dollars for something that PEP Boys can do for 40

 

I used to work at one of those quick oil change places and we did alot of shady stuff. but aparently dealership sucks too.

 

they call it the Stealership for a reason, if you really are a enthusiast and Audi refuses to helop you buy new rotors, go to ECStuning.com and pick up a pair of nic rotors and ceramic pads and be done with it. Deff bitch and complain about this to audi and see what they will give you. 8000 miles for the rotors to wear out is jsut garbage these cars are way to dam $$ for these kinds of prioblems, when the luxory car companies start cutting corners then you know the world is going to ****

 

I would fight until they replace them.
Even if you tracked the dang car, the rotors should last longer than 8000K!!!!!
You could slam on the brakes every damn time and the rotors should be able to handle it.
How worn are the brake pads? I bet the rotors came warped on the car new, right from the factory.
You would think that audi would be reasonable with such low mileage, I could see if you had 30 or 40k on the car, but 8k is barely anything. I hope they come around for you and make things right.

If worst comes to worst and you have to replace them, do as mentioned, and look at it as an excuse to upgrade the braking system. Go with some performance rotors and ceramic pads and have an import shop install them rather than the dealer.

 

mludes, the dealership is fighting on your side, so what does that tell you? AOA is like corporate and they get the rule book that says that its a wear and tear item. Perhaps a different agent would give you more leeway, but they are probably going by whatever they were told. You may just have to go a bit higher up (agents manager etc) to someone who can over-rule the general rule. But having the dealership fight for you is a good thing, don't look past that. It sounds like they are trying to give you the customer service you deserve. They may be able to pull some strings for you too to get it covered.

A4philly, welcome to Philly baby. If you can't handle some ignorant people, you better move back down south. What they did is really rude, but having grown up about 45 mins from philly and now living in SC, I would say the way you got treated is more of a regional thing than an Audi thing. Now I don't want to hear the BS replies/comments on this, I am only giving my opion, but people around Philly are much more likely to treat you like crap than down south . . . at least to your face anyway. Sorry for the bad experience.

 

TDRILL what part of SC do you live in now?....funny thing is I was born and raised in SC till I was 19 then joined the military and moved to NC.

 

Good to see some responses - thanks guys. I'll let you know what happens, and I may have a few other questions too if I keep the car. One of them right now: I used to do my own oil changes but with age and a $15 labor charge to change oil I have been going to a local shop. This is a bit embarassing to admit, but I have not looked closely at the Audi - I seem to remember reading thata B7generation has a non-standard filter or something else?? Can anyone shed light this? thanks