Team-BHP - 15 bizmen set to return their Audis after ‘bad service’

Do take such news with a pinch of salt. Sometimes the customers can be really greedy and foolish too. And I always fail to understand the logic behind statements like " My car costed 30L and hence shouldn't/cannot fail". Please excuse us the melodrama. Its a car at the end of the day with mechanical and electrical parts involved which do fail from time to time. For heaven's sake even Aircrafts and Jets fail for that matter. And honestly speaking if the engine has seized and Audi is offering to replace the whole thing free of charge with maybe extended warranty on the concerned part thrown in then the customer should not deny it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3214632)

+1 to it!

The Audi owner is unnecessarily blowing the issue out of proportion. If he's a well informed guy, he should just accept the "V belt" replacement and move on.

If the car acts up again, then he could try all this drama.

If this customer mindset continues, people will start demanding "Replacements" even if one of their tyres run flat :Frustrati

Quote:

The Audi spokesperson said Chaudhari's car was trouble-free for the last 20 months except "this one incident." "Normal procedure would entail replacing the affected part (V-Belt)," said the spokesperson in an e-mail response. "However, to reinforce customer confidence, we advised him to replace the engine. But the customer insisted on getting a new car as a replacement."

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3214632)

I wouldn't completely agree with you Dr.

The engine being siezed isn't something small. It's infact very very rare. And therefore calls for a replacement.

There's another thread on tbhp actually where a BMW 520d owner in MUMBAI had to get his engine replaced due to some faults. After the engine replacement the car has developed a number of small issues and the dealer is giving him a hard time.

You know what the funny part is. The whole BHP community has commented on that saying he shouldn't have accepted the engine replacement in the first place. He should've asked for a new car then itself.
Now the new issues are too small to be asking for the car to be replaced. But they're there because of the engine replacement.

The bottom line is that an Audi A4 carries the engine of a jetta but costs double that money to own and maintain. At that price a certain level of quality is expected. The problem with us is, we seem to be more than grateful to these guys even if they just replace the parts for free where infact the product is indeed faulty and these Germans are getting away with it so easily.

I reckon that is why all these guys have come together because the dealership has left no other choice to them.

I think you will agree this is still a very small price to pay compared to what AUDI would have to pay if this was a western country.

While i agree some of the owners may just be getting greedy but i dont think i need to prove who's greedier here, AUDI or the customer.
Try walking into an AUDI showroom and talking to an SA. The first thing that'll come to your mind is "how arrogant are these people". And it only gets worse when you're an owner talking to the after sales guys.
Not such a bad idea to teach these guys a lesson.

As an Audi Owner, I have to agree with Bluebeam.

According to the article, this was a 2 year old car, maintained by Audi dealership, that had an engine seizure, on an highway. This is a very dangerous situation to be in, and yes, while its fair to expect problems from everything mechanical and electrical, the article stresses about how poor their experience was even after the incident.

I wouldn't trust the A.S.S. to carry out such a major component change, and for such a new car developing such an issue, a proper investigation needs to be carried out by Audi India.

We have a BMW, Mercedes, and an Audi parked downstairs, and the Audi experience has been THE WORST by far, so such stories of owners being forced to take such drastic decisions doesn't shock me - remember, the other 14 members of the group are going to be taking the depreciation hit, and as Bluebeam said, I am quite sure they wouldn't do such a thing unless they were forced to.

Audi really needs to catch up to BMW and Mercedes levels, rather than focussing on launching bare basic trims in their variants to boost sales figures.

EDIT: How many of you'll would really go in with the engine replacement done by the not-so-great A.S.S.? Even with the extended warranty and other jazz thrown in, would you be willing to deal with the minor niggles, and downtime spent in the garage, that such a car would require? Keep in mind that this is for no fault of yours.
It's not an easy plug and play replacement part.
P.S.: Audi took 3 days to service the A6 - just a simple regular service. Factor that while counting the downtime required to replace the engine, and sort out all the niggles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3214632)

And I always fail to understand the logic behind statements like " My car costed 30L and hence shouldn't/cannot fail".

Well these owners would have upgraded to an Audi from a Toyota or a Honda which are the epitome of reliability, are hassle free to own & well known for good after sales service! Hence, probably the logic & expectation.

The engine being seized is a very serious issue which i haven't come across in any of my regular cars & such a thing happening within 2 years is shocking! The bad service experience bit starts once the problem is diagnosed & then how the dealership goes about things.
Perschke may have taken Audi to no.1 thanks to his marketing blitzkrieg but they need immediate attention when it comes to service. I read online that he's headed back to HQ & another guy is replacing him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluebeem (Post 3214673)

The engine being siezed isn't something small. It's infact very very rare. And therefore calls for a replacement.
Not such a bad idea to teach these guys a lesson.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lamborghini (Post 3214730)

As an Audi Owner, I have to agree with Bluebeam.

Lets keep emotions aside. Western laws are called western for a reason, so lets not expect Audi to follow the same standards when none of the other companies or for that matter industry follow them.

Now I am not sure about this but as per the article how serious or major a component does the V belt constitute? Does it amount to the whole engine having gone kaput? What are the factors that can cause the belt to snap or lead to early wear and tear? Because as per the article what I understood was that standard Audi procedure says that the belt only needs to be replaced. But as a goodwill gesture they are replacing the whole engine.

As far as the other BMW 5 series thread is concerned, what I remember of it is that the owner was facing multiple issues from different parts of the car. In such a case the car can be rightfully termed as a lemon and a replacement can be sought.

Bottomline is: In your opinion how would the court rule in this case assuming that the owner files a case. Would they upheld the Audi's line of action of replacing the faulty part/giving extended warranty or the owner's demand of getting a new car?

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3214802)

Lets keep emotions aside. Western laws are called western for a reason, so lets not expect Audi to follow the same standards when none of the other companies or for that matter industry follow them.

Bottomline is: In your opinion how would the court rule in this case assuming that the owner files a case. Would they upheld the Audi's line of action of replacing the faulty part/giving extended warranty or the owner's demand of getting a new car?

I guess everyone is entitled to their views.

My comments were related to:

Quote:

The driver called the helpline and the car was towed away to Audi's Navi Mumbai service centre, where engineers said the engine had seized and will have to be replaced.

As for the court, sadly, this is India. There are various examples of how tedious a process this is, present on the forum itself.
Maybe this just encourages manufacturers to take customers for a ride.

Either ways, everyone has their own views. My father for one would agree with you. Maybe I just have young rash blood flowing in my veins :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lamborghini (Post 3214807)

I guess everyone is entitled to their views.

My comments were related to:

I think you took me wrong. By keeping emotions aside I meant to say that we should see the case by its merit and not pass a judgement based on how Audi dealership experience are etc. I have no problem with your views whatsoever. :thumbs up

Also reports in these tabloids are always made to look eye catchy and sensational. So there might be more to this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lamborghini (Post 3214807)

My father for one would agree with you. Maybe I just have young rash blood flowing in my veins :)

Ouch. I am not that old buddy. By most standards might still be considered young lol:.

5 bizmen set to return cars after ‘bad service’

Source & Full Article : Mumbai Mirror

Quote:

The businessmen who had bought the cars took decision when the manufacturer refused to replace one of their cars following an engine failure in April
Yogesh.Sadhwani @timesgroup.com
IN MUMBAI

A bunch of Ambernath businessmen who had bought 10 Audi A4s as a group have come together to return their cars after the company refused to replace one of their cars following an engine failure. Five more new owners of Q5s have also joined this group.

To make matters worse for the company, the owners are planning to get their cars towed back to the dealer, saying it is beneath them to drive the car of a company “that treats its customers badly.” The businessmen had bought their cars, which collectively cost Rs 3 crore, in 2011.

An Audi spokesperson said the company advised him to replace the engine but the customer insisted on getting a new car as a replacement.

15 bizmen set to return their Audis after ‘bad service’-getimage.jpg

Sunil Chaudhari, in the foreground, with other car owners

@MODS couldnt find a relevant thread so started a new one. Pls move / merge if reqd.

Regards,

If I were with Audi, I wont say or do anything.

No car, not even a Nano or a M800, will have its engine seizing before giving multiple warning signs. Despite that, Audi has agreed to replace the engine, which is a very commendable action in my view. A new car is just completely un-reasonable request.

Of course the guys car is valued 7lakh less than other cars of similar age. The car has no engine!!! How do you expect Audi to pay the same amount as other cars.

And if I was part of JLR/Merc/BMW, I would be sending out letters to dealers saying not to accept these people as customers at all. Its better to not sell a few cars, than selling car to crazy people like these.

Not trying to defend anyone here but if only the engine has failed, and Audi has agreed to replace the entire engine, isn't that good enough?

Understood an engine failure is an epic failure, specially when regular and routine service has happened at the authorised service center. It isn't like a coolant box has failed or fuel pump has failed. But like any other, the part is accepted for total replacement. Many DSG gear boxes have failed in earlier Skoda cars where they have been changed (within or outside warranty) but don't think that warranted a totally new car.

Can understand that the customer has totally lost faith in the product because it's an Audi and the engine has failed without reason as per his claim, but is the request also reasonable? I think Audi should investigate why the engine failed and also formally release the finding. If the fault is not of Audi's, then it would counter such negative publicity..

This bad press for Audi won't do good for their long term plans. Surely the other German luxury car makers will try to make good the risen opportunity.