Hey there,

Just a quick note of intro. I happened across a beautiful little '97 A6 2.8 Quattro Avant, and couldn't resist, so I bought it! The old gal has 202K miles and 202k miles worth of service history!

I'm not new to the German car scene having always had W124 Benzs, mostly with M119 V8s under the hood, aside from the occasional O961 diesel. My current fleet consists of a 1993 Mercedes 400E black over palomino with 150K on the clock. A 2001 VW Passat GLX V6 (manual trans) with about 90K, and now the '97 A6 2.8 Avant (wagon).

The car really is a gem. Considering it's heft, it drives like a featherweight. Very light steering, nimble, and handles like it's on rails. Coming from a Benz this thing feels like a compact!

Overall, I'm very happy with the car! I'm in the process of giving it a good detail, but the body is absolutley immaculate, and is sporting original, dark blue metalic paint. The interior is clean, but worn grey leather. (Any ideas as to where I might find either 2 new front seats, or the appropriate replacement upholstery/pads?). Its perfectly presentable in its current state, but I'm an absolute fanatic when it comes to a car's appearance. It has the 3rd row seat as well. It's pretty darn loaded actually. The AC could probably be used to cool a large warehouse! Benzs are known for weak AC, so this is a pleasant surprise! The front wheel bearings could use some service as they are just starting to make the slightest noise. Hopefully it's the outter bearings and not the innters. Sounds like its from the wheel though. Overall, the drivetrain is very tight. A good thing. I've driven some shoddy A4s that made a whole bunch of strange noises in the past. All in all, a very fine auto. If this car is any indication, I may soon switch over to a newer model Avant.

Well, that about sums it up... If anyone has any great parts sources or advice, I'd be greatly appreciative!

Best regards,

Aaron

 

Audi doesn't care about their customers, and their cars break down constantly. AUDI Roadside Assistance is a joke!

I leased an A4 Avant in 2005 and then bought it off lease in 2008. Since I bought the car, it has died on the road 4 different times in a year and a half. These issues were all covered by my warranty, meaning the car's own defects were responsible for its repeated failure.

Every time I called Audi Roadside Assistance, I was surprised by 1) how rude they were; 2) how long it took them to come get the vehicle, even when I was on a major and dangerous highway; and 3) how they made me pay for my own tow, even though it was their crap car that had died on me.

One of these times, the car died on Route 93 in Boston on Thanksgiving Day weekend. Audi Roadside never came, and I had to call the Mass State Police. Another time, I was on the tip of Long Island, and I had to walk 5 miles to get back to my house because Audi wouldn't send anyone until the next day. Another time, the car died in the middle of busy traffic in Brooklyn on my way to a birthday dinner. And this last time, the car died in a parking space in front of my apartment building. And guess what? It took FOUR HOURS for them to send a tow truck to take it 30 blocks to Audi Manhattan, the worst dealership in the world. (Try to buy a car from them, and they treat you like crap and never call you back with a quote. Oh, I'm sorry--I wanted to give you tens of thousands of dollars, and, what's this? You don't want it? Hmmmm.)

Audi Roadside was unbearable to deal with, and so I called Audi Customer Service. They, too, were extremely uncooperative. They balked at paying me back for the rental car that I had to rent in Boston to get back to New York, where I lived, on that Thanksgiving Day weekend. They didn't seem to care that I had to take a vacation day to go back up to Boston to pick up the car. They said I should have gotten back up to Boston as soon as it was ready, and why should they have to pay the extra day for the rental car. And then there was the time I had to take a $25.00 bus to Southampton from NYC to pick up the car after it died on Long Island. They didn't reimburse me for that either.

I wanted to trade in the car because I couldn't trust it anymore. They gave me a trade-in price of $13,000. This was for a car that originally cost $38,000. It's a 2005 A4 Avant 3.0--and now, after 4 years and 32,000 miles, it was only worth $13,000!!! This is a crap car and a crap company.

I will NEVER EVER buy another Audi again. It just broke down again because some leaves got caught under the battery, and they want to charge me $700 to fix it. They said the warranty doesn't cover this issue.

I have lost countless hours, days, and minutes arguing with Audi. I have gone without my car for weeks while it was being fixed. They NEVER supplied a loaner, and they never reimbursed me for my monthly payment.

Please tell this story over and over.

 

did anyone else lose their smile from the first post to the second?

 

Yeah... Honestly, I have a bud with an A4 who has had some stellar road side service experiences with his car. Once his car got broken into and they tore out the ignition, so he couldn't even start the thing. They stole his wallet (don't know why he left it in the car) so he had no cash, etc. He mentioned to the driver when he got there and loaded up the car that he couldn't wait to get home so he could eat as he hadn't eaten yet that day, and it was 10pm. So, on the way to the dealer, he pulled into a Mc D's and they sat, shot the bull, and he bought him a burger!

Honestly, my car is so old, with so many miles, I'm not expecting much in the way of a dealer or manufacturer relationship from Audi. I may pop into the dealer for oddball parts, etc, and to yak with the sales people.

Mercedes is a completly different animal when it comes to the relationships they have with loyal owners. I have 2 high mileage awards from them. They also offer lifetime roadside assistance on their vehicles (towing, jumps, tire change, lost, etc). My vintage 220 Ponton broke down in deepest darkest Wisconsin when the drive shaft universal pin just plum sheared off. I was screwed. So, on a whim, I had the RS number in my cell for my '95 so I called, gave the vin, and nothing else. The nice lady promptly told me exactly what I was driving, the year, etc, and simply said, "wow, that's an oldy" and asked my location. The truck, a real beaut of a truck, was there in like 20 minutes and took my car, me and my fiance 125 miles to the nearest MB dealership which if I recall, was in Wausau. Didn't cost me a dime!

When I got to the dealership, the car created quite a stir. They were able to get the part overnighted from the historic center in California, and they let me use a lift and work on the car myself, with the help of an interested tech. Funny thing, they gave me the $30 part for free! They were just interested in getting their hands on the car, and getting some photo ops of the old gal on the lift, etc.

I wrote Mercedes, and the dealer a nice letter of thanks, etc. I got a VERY cool Mercedes branded picnic basket from Benz ($250 in their aftermarket book!) and a nice stainless muf from the dealer!

I've been driving the hell out of the Audi just to put it through its courses, and expose anything that may need fixing. So far, nuttin! Honestly, I'm really rather surprised at how different (and logically) the Audi is put together compared to my '01 Passat. A friend brought over his '07 Avant to compare, and it's the same thing. The car is complex, but really rather interesting the way they did things. VW, is just a mess. NOTHING on that car is easy to fix/work on. Takes me an hour just to put in an air filter beacuse of the location of the clips, etc. It's an absolute PIA! To pull a headlamp lense, ya gotta take off the bumper, etc. Just nuts. It's a freakin VW, not a Rolls! How did they get from the vintage bug to this thing!

The Audi is indeed a complex machine, but the little bit of exploratory tinkering I did with it this morning, like take all the covers off the engine to examine what was underneath exposed quite a bit of whitty design. Granted some stuff will be a PIA to get to, but at least you can get to it!

I'm sorry to see that you had a lousy experience with your car... It happens to everyone. As an auto industry proffessional (One time GM Corporate Development & Training) all I can say is treat your dealer and mechanic like you treat your plumber. Like gold... Look at it this way. Obvisouly or usually, they work on these beasties day in and day out, and know more than we do about the cars. They must know something if we're taking them in to them! Anyway... It's in your best interest to keep these guys on your good side. I usually do little things, like pick up a dozen doughnuts and drop them off at the service counter when I go to pick up my car. Literally, every time I have spent like $5 bucks on something like that, they are usually VERY grateful, and usually will knock off SIGNIFICANTLY more than that off my tab. In one instance with a new shop, I spoke to the advisor in a manner to let him know I knew my stuff on this car, and that I'd be glad to help if they had any questions about my car, etc. He was a bit put off and dissmissive. I picked up one of them boxes of Starbucks coffee on my way back to pick up the car, and handed it to him when he called me to get my car. He promptly told me to hold on a sec, put my car back on the lift, and had the guy rotate and balance my tires, and he threw 2 air filters in the trunk (the V8 benzs take 2) and told me it was on him!

These guys are ALWAYS the bringers of bad news, and are forever getting yelled at by customers feeling that they shoudln't have to pay $3000 to have an engine rebuilt, just because they were too cheap to change the oil and basically maintain the damn thing in the first place! They do their best, and if you treat them the way you'd like to be treated in their roll, they will ALWAYS treat you like gold!

Well, enought ranting... Gotta get back to looking for good sources for Audi parts online...

Happy motoring,

Aaron

 

Nearly forgot... Audi's A4s have a terrible reputation with non Audi dealerships. The A4s always seem more tepermental, and generally troublesome to them. So, they will usually offer REALLY low trade ins. The only advice I could give would be to shop around different dealers for a buyer/trade in source. NEVER say anything bad about your trade to the dealer. When they ask why your trading in, make something up! NEVER say you hate it, or its a PITA. It WILL affect the trade value!

Audi Manhattan is at the bottom of Audi's CSI list. You couldn't pay me to go there - knowing that! Look for a different dealer, and simply start off any conversation with them explaining how poorly you've been treated by them, etc. They'll like the competitive intellegence, and will surely treat you better.

May I ask, what other cars are you looking at?

Regards,

Aaron

 

So, I've already written about my problems with my A4 Avant above. Yet, the problems that I continue to encounter, as well as the lack of cooperation that I'm getting from Audi, truly astounds me.

So, they quote me $13,000 for the trade-in value, and I balk. The loan is thousands more than that, and the Kelley Blue Book trade-in value is $17,500Kelley says the private sale value is $21,000. Remember--this car has only 32,000 miles on it and is in good condition.

And by the way, the sales guy from Audi Manhattan gets on the phone and says, "So, for your 2005 A4 Avant 2.0, we'll give you $13,000." That's funny, because my car is a 3.0 with a V6. I said, "Did you look at the car? You're quoting me for the wrong car." He said, "No, I just asked one of the service guys, and he said it's a 2005 A4 in fair condtion. Let me go back and work these numbers because the trade-in value will be higher."

So, he calls me a couple of hours later and says, "We'll give you $13,000 for the car." Um, excuse me? I thought you told me a 3.0 would get a higher trade-in value. He said, "That's what I can give you--$13,000."

Audi had offered me a trade-in credit for my car if I agreed to buy a new Audi and give up my car. But the trade-in credit added to the trade-in value did not add up to the amount I owe on the car. So, I said no to their offer and no to buying a new car. Why would I want another Audi anyway?

There was a guy in the service department who was anxious to get the car out of the dealer and called my periodically to see where I was with fixing it or buying a new car. He quoted me about $700 for repairs (the car was flooded and the battery dead from leaves accumulating in something called the plenum [sp?]). He said he was going on vacation last Friday, and that he'd like to get it all taken care of. I said that I was waiting for one last call from Audi about increasing the trade-in credit, and then I would decide. I got that call at 8pm on Friday night saying they would not increase the value of the trade-in credit.

So, I said to myself, "The hell with this, I've just got to get the car fixed and then resolve to get a different make of car so I never to have to deal with Audi, their crap cars, their dealers, and their bad customer service again."

I called the service deparement at Audi Manhattan on Monday, and I get someone else because my guy is on vacation. The guy says, "What? Who? Where?" He doesn't know anything about my car. He gets my file but doesn't see anything about what's wrong with it, so I have to tell him what I know. He says, "I'll have to get you a quote." I said, "I already have a quote. It's like $700 with some kind of discount, according to the other guy. He says, "Well, from what you describe, that kind of problem could cost $1200." I said, "Excuse me? How could the amount double since Friday?" He said, "Well, it's a big job, they have to take out the seats, etc." He said, "I'll call you tomorrow to let you know more."

Yesterday came--no call. So today, I call Audi USA and ask to speak to someone I had been working with--a woman who had been helping me for a while and then stopped taking my calls. Of course, she doesn't get on the line, so I have to tell my whole story again.

I said, "Please, please help me. I need my car back. They are giving me two different estimates. I'd like a fax or email detailing everything that's wrong with the car." She said it wasn't possible to get a fax or email on what's wrong with the car. So I said, "Well, I will go up to Audi Manhattan and sit with a service guy while he goes over everything." She said, "I don't know if it's possible for you to go up there and do that." I said, "Um, it's my car. I own it. I can do whatever I want with my car." She gave me a stock bromide--"I'm sorry you've had so much trouble Mr. ____. I will call the dealer and see if I can find out what's wrong with the car." I said I was thinking of having it towed from Audi and having it fixed somewhere else. Even if it cost more because of the tow, it would be worth it to get it away from Audi Manhattan. She said they might charge me for having already diagnosed the car.

I feel like I'm in an alternate universe where someone says, "We will take $38,000 from you and cause you all of these problems, including leaving you stranded on highways and deserted roads, and then we will make it all seem inconsequential, as if we don't care if you ever buy another one of our cars."

I had planned on being a lifetime Audi buyer, and I told that to one of the several different customer service people that I had to talk to during this ordeal. Not now. Never again.