[Aditya]

Audi India has opened its first pre-owned car showroom under the Audi Approved: plus programme in India at Gurgaon.

With an expanse of 26,000 sq. ft., the showroom can display up to 33 cars. Audi claims that vehicles are put through 110 multi-point checks involving the mechanical, bodywork, interior and electrical inspections as well as a full road-test. Following these checks, the vehicles are refurbished with Audi genuine parts and then offered for sale. Customers of the Audi Approved: plus programme will be offered a two-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, 24-hour roadside assistance and finance and insurance facilities.

The Audi Approved: plus will have a total of eight dedicated showrooms in Gurgaon, Delhi West, Delhi South, Noida, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

[libranof1987]

Looks like the German luxury car manufacturers have realized that there's only so many people who can afford new vehicles from that segment. Most of the cattle class can only afford an Audi/BMW/Merc if it's pre-owned.

Smart move!

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Looks like the German luxury car manufacturers have realized that there's only so many people who can afford new vehicles from that segment. Most of the cattle class can only afford an Audi/BMW/Merc if it's pre-owned.

Smart move!

And they also realize that this is additional revenue and profits for them to channel the used sales through their own network, rather than give it up to someone else.

[zenren]

With the kind of discounts that they are forced to give to new customers occasionally, this move might let them ensure that the resale value of well maintained Audis does not tank in a few years and the existing owners would be more inclined towards changing their cars with another Audi more frequently.

If they apply the same tactic that the Maruti and Hyundai does among hatchbacks and offers a higher than market rate offer as exchange price for an existing Audi in lieu of big discounts that they would otherwise offer, they would retain some of their customers during the car upgrades.

Unless the Audi service stations screw up, this scheme has a lot of potential to retain their lead over Merc and BMW.

[lamborghini]

I think this is a great move.
I personally think that the 2 year warranty will be a big draw for many buyers keeping in mind running costs and reliabity of these brands.

Upset to see they have no plans of introducing the same in Mumbai as yet.

Are these showrooms different from the dealers?

[scopriobharath]

Suddenly there seems to be a flurry of manufacturers stepping into the used car business.

The problem is they charge a premium for this "certification" service For a common buyer, even Maruti True value certified M800s are steeply priced. I am pretty sure Audi would do the same thing too. In a 10 lac rupee vehicle, there seems to be a 1-2 lakh premium for the certified option with Warranty. In similar terms, a 2.5 million rupee Audi would command a 4 lac premium at the very least compared to the "uncertified" counterpart. I feel the certification amount is too much even though it offers peace of mind factor.

I am sorry to sound negative but i am pretty sure this initiative would not be as successfull. There are far more cheaper Audi/BMW options in the market, where one could take a mechanic and get him to certify it and decide rather than spend premium money on official certification.

My Personal Experience: Please DO NOT get fooled with the 110 multi-point checks. It does not specificially mean that 110 items in the cars are checked. Neither does it mean that known point of failure like leaky hose edges,electrical contact point, linkage point, Bushes and other rubber washers etc are checked or replaced. Multi-point check works as illustrated below.

Body Exterior check: 50 points
Vehicle Interior check: 50 points
Fluid level check: 10 points.

Even though there are only 3 checks in reality, it is absurdly projected as 110 point check. The number of points can vary by each workshop. I could even say 1100 point check and do the above checks (500,500,100). Each workshop offers a variation of the above model, give or take couple of checks more. The "point" absolutely has no meaning or value and is merely a way to fool the customer

[rnidumolu]

I have seen Audi Approved Plus showroom in Bangalore. Audi has started their service center near Electronics City toll booth towards Hosur Road and this is sharing the premises with the service station. Though I know it as a service station, I have observed this today only.

Thanks,

[scopriobharath]

The website still needs doing i guess. The search results do not give even 1 car in the results. Abhishek Bachchan opens the Audi Gurgaon outlet. When there is so much Film personality and media coverage, a premium brand like Audi should have started their website in parallel.

It is a good idea to go online, since most used Audi car customers would be techsavvy and internet friendly. It might also be a good idea to give some apps for the smartphone on Audi Approved plus.

If i was looking for a 25 lac A4, i would find it better to go into the showroom and say i am looking for that white 2010 model A4 instead of walking up to them and telling i am looking for a used A4 and hear sorry sir, we dont have one.

[Rahulkool]

IMO its best way to buy pre owned german cars. I am sure the prices would be very high, but 2 years warranty is what you want.

[iSpoke]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Audi claims that vehicles are put through 110 multi-point checks involving the mechanical, bodywork, interior and electrical inspections as well as a full road-test. Customers of the Audi Approved: plus programme will be offered a two-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, 24-hour roadside assistance and finance and insurance facilities.

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

IMO its best way to buy pre owned german cars. I am sure the prices would be very high, but 2 years warranty is what you want.

Seems they modified some of the terms, now it comes with 300+ multi-point check and 12 months warranty.

[rohanmeets]

Hi,

Do not buy any car from Audi Approved Plus. The entire system is fraud, they do not conduct any checks, I bought a A4 from them and they sold be a car with high engine oil consumption (raised in service history by previous owner).

The car had to be in workshop for about 5 months for various issues just after purchase. Will be posting a separate thread on the entire issue with AAP, Gurgaon workshop, Audi India's arrogance and Audi Germany's refusal to even intervene.

Please stay away and do not waste your hard earned money