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My dear Bhpians, and also Team Bhp mates in mumbai. Just wanted to share info about an article which I came across in a mumbai newspaper yesterday. The report was about a group of business men who in group bought Audi q3 with total cost of about 3 crores. One owner was coming from a highway and his vehicle stalled in between and later taken to navi mumbai service centre where it was found that the engine had seized because of which the steering also was jammed but luckily nothing fatal happened. Now all the 10 business men are in talks to return their vehicles because of bad after sales service given to one i.e on demand of new replacement for the vehicle the owner was told to either exchange his vehicle with other model for a value of 17 lac or the entire engine shall be replaced to which the owner refused as he said inspite of regular servicing at authorised service station such a thing is totally unacceptable to him as he given a repeat booking to the same dealer for Audi Q5 which he wants to terminate.

I believe that as a brand Audi is very respectable and renowned. But this case highlights the calibre of the workers in the service centre. They lack accumen of dealing to the technical needs of such high end vehicle due to which the brand suffers.

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[rahul4321]

What is a bit funny in this entire story is the "replace the car or we will go and buy another premium brand" part.

If after this dangerous incident, you dont have faith in the car's engineering you would not like a replacement even if it was given to you for free.

But by asking for a replacement, you are implying you do have faith in the car's engineering. However then when Audi said no for replacement, you want to buy a different brand citing 'durability and reliability'. So then why were you asking for a replacement in the first place?

With no solution in sight, the entire group has now decided to return the cars and collectively move on to another high-end car maker. "We chose Audi because we thought the cars will be durable, apart from being a luxury statement," said Dinesh Agarwal, another businessman from the group who owns a Q5. "But when we heard what they did to Chaudhari, we decided it will be best if we simply return the cars."

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by suman

The danger with some of the semi rural customers who buy these high end cars is that they also treat them the way they would treat their Indicas & Safaris. We would probably never come to know what the actual circumstances were that lead to the timing belt snapping.

Would like to share an anecdote here - a neighbour's son was doing a summer internship in a nearby Audi dealership. He saw an R8 that had, ostensibly, come in for an upholstery change. Now he found it weird that an R8 upholstery would get damaged so he asked his senior what the issue was. Turns out that it was a Farmer's car and he had ferried (hold your horses!!!) BAGS OF MANURE in the rear seat. The regular tractor-trailer were probably away on another part of the farm so he just put the stuff in the R8 and carried it to his kheti. Would you believe this?????

So.......municipality hotshot, good knows what the situation was and how many warning lights may have popped up. Some of them even feel that an expensive car should not need any maintenance!

I did not quite understand the logic here. Did the R8 owner complain about the upholstery? if not the dealer staff has no business whatsoever to comment on/object to how dirty the seats are. And how is this relevant to this premature timing belt failure being discussed here?

BTW, A4 engine uses timing belt? And you guys are OK with it?

[suman]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

I did not quite understand the logic here. Did the R8 owner complain about the upholstery? if not the dealer staff has no business whatsoever to comment on/object to how dirty the seats are.

You probably didn't read my post in entirety. No worries, have highlighted the relevant portion in bold -

Originally Posted by suman

He saw an R8 that had, ostensibly, come in for an upholstery change.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

And how is this relevant to this premature timing belt failure being discussed here?

It is relevant in the light of the way some of these high end cars are used (or misused). Once again highlighting the relevant section of my post which you may not have gone through below -

Originally Posted by suman

The danger with some of the semi rural customers who buy these high end cars is that they also treat them the way they would treat their Indicas & Safaris. We would probably never come to know what the actual circumstances were that lead to the timing belt snapping.

So.......municipality hotshot, God knows what the situation was and how many warning lights may have popped up. Some of them even feel that an expensive car should not need any maintenance!

[puchoo]

Just to add , the other members of the group who i assume have functional cars asking for replacements is funny too, i dont think they have any legal ground to stand on especially given that their cars are fine - its equivalent of saying , me and my friend have a car , his timing belt failed mine did not but nevertheless its a sub standard product so i want my car replaced as well even though it has not happened to me.

More details would definitely help this discussion.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by suman

You probably didn't read my post in entirety. No worries, have highlighted the relevant portion in bold -







It is relevant in the light of the way some of these high end cars are used (or misused).

I appreciate the point that the customers of these cars may not be very knowledgeable and careful, especially here in India. And I also personally do not think very highly of these government servants buying such expensive cars . And that's why I am not so keen to get amused by the way these guys are united and are taking Audi head on.

What really bothers me is the technical part - an Audi with a timing belt! And that snaps prematurely!!! This is not forgivable. These Germans clearly (over)charge us and their stuff is not that reliable either. And in light of this, somewhere I feel they have to be dealt with severely.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by suman

The danger with some of the semi rural customers who buy these high end cars is that they also treat them the way they would treat their Indicas & Safaris.

So these HIGH END cars are only tested nicely in perfect good environment and conditions ? .Isn't this one of the main reason one intends to buy these brands , that they can be used day in day out and never breakdown , but warn before failure ?

[car.lover]

Originally Posted by suman

T Turns out that it was a Farmer's car and he had ferried (hold your horses!!!) BAGS OF MANURE in the rear seat. The regular tractor-trailer were probably away on another part of the farm so he just put the stuff in the R8 and carried it to his kheti. Would you believe this?????

Huh? I always thought that the R8 was a 2 seater

Or am I missing something?

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by suman

It is relevant in the light of the way some of these high end cars are used (or misused).

Originally Posted by black12rr

So these HIGH END cars are only tested nicely in perfect good environment and conditions ?

Exactly. If the cars aren't fit be used in semi-urban area by semi-urban people, Audi should disallow sales to those people, tagging it only for sale in Urban areas. If Audi can prove that the car was abused and not serviced properly, thus leading to a failure, then they are right in disallowing repairs under warranty.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

What really bothers me is the technical part - an Audi with a timing belt! And that snaps prematurely!!! This is not forgivable. These Germans clearly (over)charge us and their stuff is not that reliable either. And in light of this, somewhere I feel they have to be dealt with severely.

I agree completely.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by black12rr

So these HIGH END cars are only tested nicely in perfect good environment and conditions ?

Usually, you equate price with quality. At one time, German cars were simply indestructible. They could handle whatever abuse you threw at them. Over-engineered to perfection.

Today's Germans are complicated pieces of unreliable junk. Just amazed at why anyone would buy an A4 2.0 Diesel when you can buy a mechanically identical / superior Laura / Jetta for 1/2 the money!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQSLwcUrPXM

Originally Posted by julupani

Audi seem to be offering exactly that. So I dont see what is the issue at all.

=

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

What really bothers me is the technical part - an Audi with a timing belt! And that snaps prematurely!!! This is not forgivable.

@ Julupani : Ask the owner of a premium German car about the frustration he faces via frequent breakdowns, problems & niggles. Look through my 220 thread, or think about the guy whose brand new S-Class suffered a suspension failure in Mahabaleshwar and had to be flat-bedded back to Mumbai.

[raul]

I don't think we should use Skoda service as a benchmark to praise Audi, nowhere is it mentioned that Audi has taken responsibility for the engine failure and offered to replace the engine for free. Which would be a start and the minimum level of customer support expected.

Since when do we give car manufacturers a free pass here, this has never happened on this board before? Forget the car, the owner had a narrow escape as the truck behind him on the highway managed to brake and swerve in time, I don't know about others defending Audi here but I can imagine anyone with this experience would have been vocal about this.

The minimum response from a responsible automaker would be to take immediate responsibility, investigate so other owners do not have the same harrowing experience. The article clearly shows weasel words from Audi and no mention of taking responsibility for their product. This is not a responsible response. Some the comments on this thread are difficult to understand.

These folks are not returning the car because they are politicians or anything else, they have clearly lost confidence in the product since they all bought it at the same time and do not want to be in harms way like their friend, why are so we quick to ascribe ulterior motives to them when we are well aware how automakers in India especially VW group behave.

Most high end cars, even middle tier cars have sophisticated electronics to prevent engine failure, the article mentioned the car has been serviced regularly at Audi authorized workshops. This is clearly Audi's responsibility and if this was a western country they would be sued for endangering their customer's life. We have to take customer safety and rights much more seriously here.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by suman

The danger with some of the semi rural customers who buy these high end cars is that they also treat them the way they would treat their Indicas & Safaris.

So.......municipality hotshot, good knows what the situation was and how many warning lights may have popped up. Some of them even feel that an expensive car should not need any maintenance!

Actually most semi-rural customers who buy these cars have better facilities at home to maintain these cars than urban owners. Most high end cars I have seen in Bangalore have dents, sratches and black smoke spewing from the exhaust while the ones I have seen in rural and semi-rural Kerala are always gleaming and ship shape.

The manure story seems a bit unlikely, what size of bag will fit in the cabin of an R8? Its most likely spilled liquids and a change of carpet. The work around is to keep charcoal in the car, takes care of the smell.

The car warning systems are the only things that malfunctioned on our Fiesta and given the reliability of European electronics I woudn't be surprised if the seatbelt warning sign came up before it croaked on a highway, nearly getting the owner killed. The expectation that a high end car shouldn't require constant maintenance is not unrealistic, if the car needs an engine replacement when nearly new, maybe the manufacturer should stop touting engineering superiority of it's products.

[suman]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

And I also personally do not think very highly of these government servants buying such expensive cars .

I share your opinion on this

Originally Posted by black12rr

So these HIGH END cars are only tested nicely in perfect good environment and conditions ?

Nope, but an R8 is definitely not the vehicle to take to slushy farm fields. And the facts of the current case are sketchy, to say the least.

Originally Posted by car.lover

Huh? I always thought that the R8 was a 2 seater

Rear seat as in rear "bench"

Originally Posted by avira_tk

The manure story seems a bit unlikely, what size of bag will fit in the cabin of an R8? Its most likely spilled liquids and a change of carpet. The work around is to keep charcoal in the car, takes care of the smell.

The manure "story" (as you have labeled it) was given by the owner, why would anyone disbelieve it. I wasn't there so can't vouch for the smell - whether it was manure or liquids

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just amazed at why anyone would buy an A4 2.0 Diesel when you can buy a mechanically identical / superior Laura / Jetta for 1/2 the money!!

I did. For the 4 interlocking rings .

[parrys]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

And I also personally do not think very highly of these government servants buying such expensive cars

+1.

It just amazes me how a Municipal Council President can afford to buy the A4 and then abandon it.

May be the money is inherited or may be black, but still worth a thought when the salary for the President of India is rated at 1.5L monthly. Won't it be significantly lower for someone so down the scale?

Audi should follow a very formal and structured approach, send out a release after inspecting the car and replace the engine, max.