[JoshMachine]

#TheAudiLife

Good times become good memories, the saying goes. And rightly so, for #TheAudiLife connoisseurs

Keeping true to their promised lifestyle, Audi Pune invited its patrons in Pune to a wine & dine event at Hotel Conrad, Pune.

Mr. Kedar Rajhans (Senior Sales Advisor @ Audi Pune) had extended the invitation to me earlier on couple of occasions as well, but I somehow couldn't make it due to other pre-scheduled commitments. So this time round when he again requested, I gladly accepted!

Having experienced Audi Pune's warm & professional demeanor so many times in the past, I expected this event to be no different. And surely, it was a good event!
The hotel itself was a good choice, considering both location and the theme of the event.

The gorgeous Q3 Sportback coupe was on display and I must say, the Chronos Grey color looked beautiful:



As with every other Audi that I have seen so far, the interiors of this Q3 were just exquisite, everything felt like handcrafted:



While the quattro tech will work definitely in its favor, some die-hard Q3 aficionados might miss its pre-BS6 punchy diesel avatar. The 2 liter turbo-petrol compensates that to an extent though, hopefully. On the miss list is also the auto-hold feature, which is a boon in today's crazy traffic times. There's also the price angle vis-à-vis its VW family siblings (Kodiaq, Tiguan et al), but going by the Audi SAs, the Q3 since its launch last year has managed to trigger that long lost charm of the Four Ringer brand in the local market.

The event had all the razzmatazz charm associated with it - lively ambience + music + food + liquids.

The Four Ringer branding prominently displayed, but again with the quintessential Audi-esque sleekness:





I met few fellow patrons, some of them who had just taken the plunge and while some others who were invited to a glimpse of what it could mean, to own a piece of the German marquee!

I was also introduced to Mr. Ashish Parab, COO of Jubilant Sports Cars Private Ltd, largest partner for Audi India across multiple cities in West and South India. We chatted for some time and he gladly brought about the topic of my A4 ownership on our very own TBHP, going on to say that many SAs across Jubilant dealerships have now started following the thread for continuous updates!

Food was good, with company of fellow Audi owners making the overall ambience very pleasant.

Like the welcome, the parting formalities also were orchestrated very well.
A beautiful gift with some nice goodies rounded off the proceedings:-



..with a parting shot of my A4 to serve as a memory of the #TheAudiLife:

[manson]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Hope you enjoyed this crisp, short TL, cheers

Looks like Pawana is a hit with four ringers offlate

[Jaisalmeriya]

Glad to see your short travelogue JoshMachine after our Lonavala meet-up. The place looks awesome for me next short trip. Cheers!

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by Jaisalmeriya

Glad to see your short travelogue JoshMachine after our Lonavala meet-up. The place looks awesome for me next short trip. Cheers!

Thanks
Yes, the Pawana farmhouse villa is indeed very good for family & friends alike. Just to note, they told us that they usually rent out the entire 5-room villa at one go & not individual rooms, so this is something that you want to be aware of.

[carbonatorburno]

Originally Posted by penpavan

4. Wireless android auto is a big omission. Painful to connect your phone every time to get android auto. Also the initialization time for the MMI is significantly more. I bought Motorola MA1 wireless adapter and using it for 2 days now. Some good bits and bad bits. I will reserve my opinion for now until I use for some more time.

I agree. The dongle really helps.
You mention that the initialization time for MMI is high. Do you mean to say loading the user information takes time?

Originally Posted by penpavan

5. Got my dashcam fixed with help of JoshMachine. I just copied him from dashcam model till installation. Very useful addition.

Ever thought of installing a 360 degrees camera which is in fashion now with all lower segment cars and looks cool and useful?

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by carbonatorburno

I agree. The dongle really helps.
You mention that the initialization time for MMI is high. Do you mean to say loading the user information takes time?

Sorry for late reply. Well yes, loading user information takes and until then you are totally blocked from making any selection in the phone. The screen is not showing you your phone and you are already driving.

Originally Posted by carbonatorburno

Ever thought of installing a 360 degrees camera which is in fashion now with all lower segment cars and looks cool and useful?

Can this be done? I am not aware of any official accessory or any aftermarket ones.

[carbonatorburno]

Originally Posted by penpavan

Sorry for late reply. Well yes, loading user information takes and until then you are totally blocked from making any selection in the phone. The screen is not showing you your phone and you are already driving.

That sucks. I have sent a mail to Audi India regarding this bad user experience. Hopefully will receive a reply.

Originally Posted by penpavan

Can this be done? I am not aware of any official accessory or any aftermarket ones.

It can be done with aftermarket. There are some options in the market now which work well but it definitely involves lots of work in the car (including drilling in the external mirrors) which I'm sure most users would want to avoid!

[Radeon]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

1st annual service report

So, with the odo inching close to the 15000 km mark, it was time to call up Audi for the first annual service schedule.
And like all the previous pre & post sales experiences, this one too was quite a smooth process by Audi Pune.

Fixed up the appointment over a call and they sent someone to pick up the car next day at the scheduled time. With my anxiety writ large all over, the person sensed this and actually demonstrated (by his mannerisms and knowledge) that he was quite experienced at getting the initial job card ready at my doorstep. No fuss, just crisp professional conduct and off the car went to the service center.
As soon as the car reached the center, the rep called to inform that they have received the car and the allocated Service Advisor would soon call me. Really appreciate the customer communication protocol!

I had no major complaints as such but few things that had been bothering me for some time:-

* horn pad hard to operate
* acceleration response bit numbed
* rattling noise (mild) emanating from right side driver/passenger door

Ofcourse, there was the issue of myConnectAudi OBD dongle being totally inoperative, but it was more of an Audi India issue rather than the car itself.

Since it was the first service check-up, only the fundamental things were to be addressed. These included:-

* engine oil change & refill
* replacement of all filters - fuel, cabin air/dust & pollen filter
* all other fluids top-up as needed
* brake inspection

On the last point, upon inspection I was informed:
* Brake pad minimum required thickness is 10 mm - actual thickness is 15 mm and 14.9mm of front and rear respectively.
* Brake disc minimum required thickness 23mm and 10 mm, actual thickness is 24.8 mm and 11.7 mm of front and rear respectively.
So all good on this front. Maybe in due course of time when more wear & tear happens, the info cluster will probably throw up a warning to get these parts changed.

The invoice copy:-

Attachment 2418200

Attachment 2418201

..all adding upto a reasonably neat sum of Rs 15,161. On the face of it, this was conducted very professionally - no extra additives forced, no fancy 1000-rupee microfiber cloth, no 500-rupee nuts & bolts - you get the picture!

But hey, the good part doesn't end here.

As I had mentioned in my initial ownership post, during the purchase process last year, Audi Pune had sweetened the deal by offering a 5-year / 80000 km Comprehensive Service Value Package (worth Rs 430,700) as FoC. And so now, it was time to reclaim the first instalment of that bit.

Here's what the CSVP covers:-

Attachment 2418202

The catch here (rather the expensive bits) is the wear & tear parts, which I am told, can wear down your pockets, pun intended. But even that's accounted for!

So with everything covered in the CSVP, I walked out paying nought. nada. Felt good!
And I should be able to experience this goodness for the next 5 years

To top off the professionalism, the Service Advisor accompanied me for the post-service test drive and patiently answered all my queries. Also ensured that my pre-service complaints were addressed - mainly the mild rattling noise which was attributed to a loose trim fitting just above the right passenger door. The SA informed that the technician had to very painstakingly and consciously check for the noise since it was not very obvious, and it was a sound that an average customer / driver wouldn't have noticed at all.
But then, do we TBHPians fall into that category?!

Shot on a sunny late afternoon, the majestic machine continues to mesmerize -

Attachment 2418207

My friend's son says it resembles a Transformer autobot. Well, I will take that as a compliment.

Thank you joshmachine for the amazing pre and post ownership review. I really hope this is the norm for most Audi owners (which segways nicely into my query below).

I myself am considering an A4 for the old man, but this potentially being my first Audi product, I would like to know the general opinion on the following matters :-

1.To all Audi owners :-
#Do you have a similar experience with the CSVP and the service experience ?
#Does the CSVP do what is says on the tin, or were there any nasty surprises (read:
exclusions) ?
#Were there any delays in car delivery on account of "part procurement" ? (I had this
issue with my E250's window winder mechanism)

2.To all Audi A4 owners: How has the reliability been so far ?

3.To all Audi owners in Goa :-
#How has your experience been with the service workshop in Verna, Goa ?
I heard the service quality while only tolerable during the MVR times has now improved markedly after Jubilant's takeover.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by Radeon

Thank you joshmachine for the amazing pre and post ownership review. I really hope this is the norm for most Audi owners (which segways nicely into my query below).

Thanks for the kind words, and I also hope that this norm continues ahead (for me & other owners)

I myself am considering an A4 for the old man, but this potentially being my first Audi product, I would like to know the general opinion on the following matters :-

1.To all Audi owners :-
#Do you have a similar experience with the CSVP and the service experience ?
#Does the CSVP do what is says on the tin, or were there any nasty surprises (read:
exclusions) ?
#Were there any delays in car delivery on account of "part procurement" ? (I had this
issue with my E250's window winder mechanism)

I have known some of the Audi Pune owners carrying the CSVP (either paid for it or got a deal, like me) and all have given a positive feedback. In general, all Audi dealerships have to register each and every transaction to Audi Service HQ (specially more so for CSVP, since it entails Audi India compensating the dealer). Hence there is a rarity that an authorized dealer will/can do any mischief. They have to go strictly by the book, what's there in the CSVP will get honored.

Delays for part procurement is a subjective matter, depending on what part is being sourced. The usual running replacement items are usually stocked, is the impression I got. But I am assuming the dealer will make the timeline process atleast predictable.

2.To all Audi A4 owners: How has the reliability been so far ?

Very wide ranging question, obviously.

I will let the other A4 owners comment based on their experiences, but my 2 cents say that reliability (within India) should be generally acceptable for this luxe brand:- given the tighter integration between India & world releases + general improvement in CKD assembly (majority of sales numbers happen via CKD) products + increasing availability of dealerships (Jubilant, specially) + Audi's ambition to (re) capture the market with a service-oriented approach. Mr. Dhillon said in an interview - While you buy a car once every three, four or five years, you service your car on an annual basis. So the idea is to be closer to the customer as far as the workshops go.

3.To all Audi owners in Goa :-
#How has your experience been with the service workshop in Verna, Goa ?
I heard the service quality while only tolerable during the MVR times has now improved markedly after Jubilant's takeover.

Goa owners can comment better, but in my view Jubilant has known to be adopting a corporate or an institutionalized approach to handling sales & problem resolution given its scale across India...rather than a small-time business house /franchise not able to keep up the necessary quality levels required for a luxe brand.

Hoping you get home a A4 for your old man soon

[Radeon]

Obrigado Joshmachine for those insightful replies.
With a mere hand gesture (read: signing) on an Audi header form, my old happy man now completes his bucketlist of owning the German trifecta.

Regardless, hope some other Audi owners chime in as well for the community's benefit.

[Radeon]

Sorry just had another query; Does the Audi accessory-antimarten device work as advertised ?
I do have a rodent problem.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by Radeon

Obrigado Joshmachine for those insightful replies.
With a mere hand gesture (read: signing) on an Audi header form, my old happy man now completes his bucketlist of owning the German trifecta.

Congratulations of the highest order on getting the Four Ringer
You owe us some pictures, surely

Which variant did you opt for?

Regardless, hope some other Audi owners chime in as well for the community's benefit.

Well, for a start, you can start posting any query here (or on the forum), and am sure everyone with the remotest knowledge will jump right in to help out.

Originally Posted by Radeon

Sorry just had another query; Does the Audi accessory-antimarten device work as advertised ?
I do have a rodent problem.

It definitely does work, no questions asked. But its a very expensive setup, being sold by the OEM.

You may want to check out some other interesting solutions at these links:-

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...nt-menace.html (Rat-proof Fencing as a solution for the rodent menace?)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ns-advice.html (Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice)

[JoshMachine]

1 year, 17000 kms later...

The odo went past a significant milestone sometime back in April, completed a year of owning my first luxury car with 17,000 kms of great joy.



Feels just like yesterday when we brought home the magnificent machine last year! Time flies, and how.



My time with the A4, and the associated experience has been nothing short of surreal. And as I have documented in some of the earlier posts, the entire experience - of the product itself and the people supporting the product (service), has been terrific.

Stats-wise, I was more than pleasantly surprised at few things:-
* Overall fuel efficiency of 13+ kmpl, till date
* 1st annual service cost zero (courtesy, comprehensive service package)
* Running cost comprised only fuel (XP95, mostly), no repair cost so far
* Average cost per km (for fuel) tad above Rs 9 per km

I will admit that I have stopped monitoring fuel costs sometime back already, since I have now got accustomed to what this car will entail more or less, and I am liking that.

Speaking of likes, let me try to re-summarize the "likes and dislikes" section from what I wrote during the first month of ownership last year.





I would say this is quite self-explanatory, but goes to show what I really admire (and what I don't) in the car after having spent a year with it.

By the way, 17,000 km in a year for the A4 is probably the most I have spent, when I compare this with all my cars till date in the past ~25 years or so. And this has come inspite of the hybrid (not daily) commute to office in the last year, which means that I have taken the car to far away places more frequently that ever.
Another proof that I really love sitting in the driver's seat of the A4

On that note, ending with a gorgeous click:-



Cheers!

[neoonwheels]

Awesome as always !! Your thread is going to be the de facto guide for someone buying this beauty new or pre-owned. Loved the side profile of the car in your last pic.

I have 2022 Octavia and I was pleasantly surprised to see your average FE has been around 13. For me, over last 12500 KMs, it has been approx 12. As you rightly said, this engine and the GB is a match made in heaven. I am not sure how much this combo differs between our cars but my experience is not too different from what you have penned down in the thread. I will be completing 1 year ownership next month and hoping to cross 13K milestone

Thanks once again for keeping your thread alive, its fun to read your updates

[GForceEnjoyer]

A hearty congratulations! Your A4 is such a stunner and that beautiful colour makes it all the more elegant. Grey is something not too easy to do well, but Audi has done it brilliantly here. This is a wonderful thread for anyone looking for painstakingly detailed information on the A4 or a thoroughly enjoyable read, or both!

It's amazing to see how efficient the 2.0 TSI can be for the performance it offers. Looks like the Budack cycle really works wonders! Last I checked, even our Superb's long term efficiency was hovering around 13 km/l despite us not having put it in eco mode even once during our entire ownership.

It's really cool that you take your A4 literally everywhere. Wishing you many, many more miles of similarly blissful ownership and looking forward to future updates.