[The Rationalist]

Hi Althaf,
Hope your problem gets resolved soon. My friend had a bad experience with the Audi service centre at Kochi.We had parked the car when we went for hospital rounds and when we were back one tyre was flat.We tried to change the tyres, but it had got stuck. My friend called up the service centre(It was a Sunday), the reply was so callous, keep your car there till Tuesday, they will get someone to look into the problem then as they have lot of work! My friend was fuming with rage and gave an earful to them.Never compare the Japs and Koreans, because for them customer is King. I will narrate my experience, on my way to home town in 2012 around 12.30 am my 12 year old Zen broke down. I was getting it serviced at a FNG,so didn't have any contact of MASS. I googled and got Popular customer care number and gave it a try without much hope , the time being midnight. To my surprise, the call was answered and a guy took down my car's detail. I told him that I have stopped going to their service centre sometime back, but he assured me that they will help me out and the nearest service centre is 20 kms and somebody would come down. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere and thought they were joking. I had few death sticks at hand( left the habit in 2013) and lit up one and sat there inside my car. After 5 minutes I got a call from the nearest service centre and told they will leave soon. At 1.15 am, I was shocked and surprised to see two guys get down from their service vehicle, an Omni and attend my car. They found that the radiator is leaking and did a temporary solution. Charged ₹150 and went back. I was wondering , is this happening or I'm dreaming. A service centre had sent their technician at mid night to someone who is not even their customer without any hesitation! That day Maruti and Popular earned my respect. You now know why the Japs and Koreans rule the charts, their work ethics and attitude is exemplary.
The Rationalist.

[althaaf]

Thanks for sharing your experience The Rationalist. This is exactly how a good brand spoils their reputation. I don't think, even your friend will ever suggest an Audi to his friends or relatives, just because of bad dealership attitude. I don't say, these cars are supposed to be problem free, it is a machine and anything can happen. But what differentiates this from the rest of the machines is the premium the customer pays for which they expect a minimum peace of mind. Audi should at least take proper care of customers once a problem pops up.
Anyway, in my case the vehicle is still at the dealership as they are not done assessing the problems. I

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

Hi Althaf,
Hope your problem gets resolved soon. My friend had a bad experience with the Audi service centre at Kochi.We had parked the car when we went for hospital rounds and when we were back one tyre was flat.We tried to change the tyres, but it had got stuck. My friend called up the service centre(It was a Sunday), the reply was so callous, keep your car there till Tuesday, they will get someone to look into the problem then as they have lot of work! My friend was fuming with rage and gave an earful to them.Never compare the Japs and Koreans, because for them customer is King. I will narrate my experience, on my way to home town in 2012 around 12.30 am my 12 year old Zen broke down. I was getting it serviced at a FNG,so didn't have any contact of MASS. I googled and got Popular customer care number and gave it a try without much hope , the time being midnight. To my surprise, the call was answered and a guy took down my car's detail. I told him that I have stopped going to their service centre sometime back, but he assured me that they will help me out and the nearest service centre is 20 kms and somebody would come down. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere and thought they were joking. I had few death sticks at hand( left the habit in 2013) and lit up one and sat there inside my car. After 5 minutes I got a call from the nearest service centre and told they will leave soon. At 1.15 am, I was shocked and surprised to see two guys get down from their service vehicle, an Omni and attend my car. They found that the radiator is leaking and did a temporary solution. Charged ₹150 and went back. I was wondering , is this happening or I'm dreaming. A service centre had sent their technician at mid night to someone who is not even their customer without any hesitation! That day Maruti and Popular earned my respect. You now know why the Japs and Koreans rule the charts, their work ethics and attitude is exemplary.
The Rationalist.

[althaaf]

First, let me apologise for the back to back post.
Today I realized, Audi is the worst vehicle to own. After so many days of inspection, today the dealer called me to inform that the check engine light was due to some blown out fuse. He is talking as if he knew nothing about steering failure(s) and is behaving as if I gave the vehicle for fixing the check engine light only.Which was not true.I had even asked them not to fix any fault until they inform me and come up with a solution. I had specified it in every mail and telephonic conversation. Now the customer relationship officer is denying all that. I even asked her to take my car back and give me only the present market price, if they are confident about my car, but as expected, she denied. With such a bad service /part change history even the Audi dealer can't sell this car. I sincerely request suggestions from each one of you on further action.
Audi has cheated me in all sense. What will I do with a car which even the dealer is not willing to buy back? All these while the vehicle is still under warranty. To add to it, they even manipulated the service history which they now claim as "man error"!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Probably the last thing you would want is another Audi, but do they do exchange offers on new cars? What would be their answer if you offered yours as an exchange?

[althaaf]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Probably the last thing you would want is another Audi, but do they do exchange offers on new cars? What would be their answer if you offered yours as an exchange?

I would like to get rid of this vehicle at first place, especially after the dealer himself is not confident to buy the vehicle back from me at the existing market price. Exchange and extended warranty is second option now. Audi is already showing true Volkswagen colours.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by althaaf

I would like to get rid of this vehicle at first place, especially after the dealer himself is not confident to buy the vehicle back from me at the existing market price. Exchange and extended warranty is second option now. Audi is already showing true Volkswagen colours.

That is a sad update buddy. I had expected that Audi will step in to solve matters now since you had escalated your issue higher up. Haven't you got any call from Audi personnel (service head etc), you can call him and update on this issue. Can you escalate it to Audi Germany?

If your car is ready and repaired, just bring her home (no point keeping it parked at workshop) and escalate the entire episode to Audi again. There is no use swapping your car to another Audi, you have already seen how the whole group works.

If the car is not having any more issues, just keep fingers crossed and drive it. If the issues reoccur, then i guess it is time to bid farewell to this car before warranty ends and look for some thing else. Mails mostly work, i had mailed BMW about my workshop and the workshop guys were pleading me to provide a positive feedback.

Bring the car home buddy, have a long drive and then we can find ways out to escalate the matter higher up.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

If the car is not having any more issues, just keep fingers crossed and drive it.

But what a sad state of affairs, owning a premium vehicle and having to think like that, and especially with a potentially disastrous fault lurking in the mind. It is certainly not what anyone pays that much money for

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But what a sad state of affairs, owning a premium vehicle and having to think like that, and especially with a potentially disastrous fault lurking in the mind. It is certainly not what anyone pays that much money for

It is indeed sad state of affairs but what can one do now? In India, there are no lemon laws and the courts are not consumer friendly so the legal way is out as well. The only other option is to sell this car and move on, after taking the huge depreciation hit. Audi is just not helping in this case.

[althaaf]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

That is a sad update buddy. I had expected that Audi will step in to solve matters now since you had escalated your issue higher up. Haven't you got any call from Audi personnel (service head etc), you can call him and update on this issue. Can you escalate it to Audi Germany?

If your car is ready and repaired, just bring her home (no point keeping it parked at workshop) and escalate the entire episode to Audi again. There is no use swapping your car to another Audi, you have already seen how the whole group works.

If the car is not having any more issues, just keep fingers crossed and drive it. If the issues reoccur, then i guess it is time to bid farewell to this car before warranty ends and look for some thing else. Mails mostly work, i had mailed BMW about my workshop and the workshop guys were pleading me to provide a positive feedback.

Bring the car home buddy, have a long drive and then we can find ways out to escalate the matter higher up.

There is no update from Audi India or club Audi. Trying to escalate the matter to Audi Germany, but no idea on how to contact them.
Am planning to bring it back today, no point keeping it there as u said

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But what a sad state of affairs, owning a premium vehicle and having to think like that, and especially with a potentially disastrous fault lurking in the mind. It is certainly not what anyone pays that much money for

Exactly! Can't drive the vehicle with confidence anymore. Most depressing thing is that, even the dealer is not confident about buying the vehicle back from me,

at a price they would sell a similar model A4 (second hand). I am not even asking for a complete refund of my money.

Originally Posted by coolboy007

It is indeed sad state of affairs but what can one do now? In India, there are no lemon laws and the courts are not consumer friendly so the legal way is out as well. The only other option is to sell this car and move on, after taking the huge depreciation hit. Audi is just not helping in this case.

I don't want to win the case, I am already frustrated but I 'll definitely go to court just to make sure that anyone planning to buy an Audi know how the company deals with you once there is a serious problem. Need all your guidance on what should be the next step, and how to spread this sad story.

[rohanmeets]

Hi Althaaf.

Did you finally go ahead with a court case? I am struggling with Audi after buying a car from Audi Approved Plus. Will post the details on a separate thread.

Just wanted all the information before I go for a legal action.

Thanks,
Rohan

[apachelongbow]

@althaaf, very sorry to hear about your Audi problems man!! From what I could gather, there is a repeated problem with your power steering unit, either it fails, locking the steering (potentially fatal), or it allows steering manually without power assist(highly irritating but not dangerous). Have you tried to ensure that Audi replace the entire power steering unit? That may be possible under warranty and definitely easier to do than get them to give you a new car/buy off your current car. Regarding check engine light, if there is no power loss, and engine is performing normally, it's most likely a faulty electrical connection like a blown fuse. I do understand your anguish after paying through your nose for a premium product and premium brand, however if the niggles are small and the dealer is willing to replace parts under warranty, that is the easiest way to go.